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Have you ever wanted to be surrounded by hooting owls or stared at by sleepy felines? The Japanese certainly have, and like any good enterprising individual, they have worked to make their dreams a reality.

A large map of the world, plastered with clusters of brightly-colored sewing pins, hangs in the home of 73-year-old Myrna Towers. Each pin marks a place that Towers, her husband, Dave, or one of their six children has visited. Myrna and Dave have traveled extensively, and have lived in Great Britain, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. What the map does not show, however, is where they have slept on their travels. A cabin on the African savanna, a chateau in the Alps, and a hut in Mexico are only a few. “If you stay in Best Westerns everywhere you go, you’ll have a very typical trip,” says Towers. They are always on the alert for rare lodging opportunities.

When we landed in LAX after 12 months and 28 countries, my wife, Sara, and I looked back and couldn’t believe our trip had cost each of us only around $900 a month—a little over $10,000 a person! It was cheaper to be traveling for that entire year than it would have been to stay home.