Don’t Pack That 1x3l4b

DON’T PACK THAT

SARAH MAY

DON’T PACK THAT

Copyright © 2020 Sarah May.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-8353-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-8352-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019915509

iUniverse rev. date: 03/06/2020

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1 PACK THIS

Scarf

Headphones

Non-electric Form of Entertainment

Filtered Water Bottle

Phrase Book

Travel Nail Kit

Bonus Item

Chapter 2 HOSTELS

Horror Films Mislead

Shared Rooms

My First Hostel Experience

Hostel Search in Amsterdam

Sugar Cubes in Prague

International Politics in Berlin

Almost Lost in Budapest

The Downsides

Alternatives to Hostels

Home Rental

Overnight Travel

Chapter 3 AWESOME STRANGERS

A Winding Adventure

Questionable Decisions on a Train

The Error of My Ways

Full of Surprises

A Stranger’s Recommendation

Dark Streets & Shady Characters

Awesome Strangers are Everywhere

Chapter 4 TRANSPORTATION

Trains

Buses & Metro

Rail es

Taxis

Ride Sharing

Ferries

Deck Space

Reserved Seat

Private Room

Vehicles on a Ferry

Flights

Security

Budget Airlines

Transfer Flights

Window or Aisle?

Chapter 5 SOUVENIRS

Souvenirs for Everyone

Only for the Important Ones

Only for the Memories

Functional Souvenirs

Cheap Junk

Small Tokens

Helping Others

Experiences – A Low Budget Alternative

Chapter 6 LUGGAGE

Packing Method

“A” Packer

“B” Packer

“C” Packer

Luggage Types

My Luggage Crises

Chapter 7 SECURITY

At the Market

Military Surplus

Moving with Luggage

Scammers

Beggars

A Token from a Stranger

The Demand

The Train Beggar

The Peddler

Just Walk Away

ability

Chapter 8 BIG DUMB AMERICAN

English Only

Local Customs

Being Selfish

Selfies

Judging Local Food

Stereotypes

Chapter 9 WARDROBE

Footwear

“A” Feet

“B” Feet

“C” Feet

Strike a Balance

Shoes in Prague

The Flight Attendant

Why Two Pairs?

Clothing

Weather

Time of Year

Landscape of your Trip

Your Personal Style

Staying Organized on the Road

Chapter 10 MISCELLANEOUS TIPS

Learning a Language

Toiletries

Feeling Clean

Food Trucks

Potty Talk

Bring your Own Pen

Dining Out

Smoking in China

Go with the Flow

Packing Cube Selection

Grocery Stores in Europe

Chapter 11 THE ROOKIE

Which Airline do you Fly?

Do you Check a Bag?

How Do you Get Off the Plane So Fast?

How Do you Get Through Security so Quickly?

How do you Afford to Travel so Much?

Why Even Bother Traveling, the US Has So Much!

What Bothers you Most About Flying?

How do you Know What Money to Take?

How do you Choose a Destination?

Where do you Look to Find Cool Things to Do?

Aren’t you Ever Scared Traveling Alone?

What is your Favorite Country to Visit?

For the Seasoned Traveler

Chapter 12 UNPLUGGING

Unplugged Hotels

Screens and your Health

Surrounded by People & Silence

Are you Really on your Screen for you?

The Facebook Group Turned Bad

Keeping the Balance

The Short Version

Chapter 13 SOMETIMES TRAVEL SUCKS

Visa Trouble

Mechanical Failures

Busted APU

Re-Routed

Stuck on the Tarmac

No Flight Crew, No Plane

Flight Cancellations

Medical Delays

To Sum Up

Chapter 14 BAD TRAVELERS

The Crotch-ety enger

The Yogi

The Bubble Breaker

The Foot Monster

The Frequent Riser

The Space Claimer

The Fragrant Eater

The Arrogant Jerk

The No-Headphones Guy

The Guy Who Gets Mad at Babies on a Plane

The Parent Who Changes Diapers in the Seat

The Parent Who Ignores Their Screaming Child

The Slow Aisle Walker

The Tray Leaner

The Screen Poker

The In-Seat Eater

The Table Camper

The Personal Groomer

Chapter 15 PLANNING A TRIP

Where do I Start?

What Do you Want to Achieve in This Trip?

What Do you Like?

When Do you Want to Go & for How Long?

How much do you want to spend?

Budgeting: The Rule of Thirds

Final Thoughts

About the Author

Dedication

To all those in my life who have ed my travels. I thank you for all of your love, encouragement, and patience. Especially my Grandmother and my Aunt who taught me that the world is a place not to fear, but to explore.

Introduction

Hello world! Travel is a long-standing favorite of mine that I have made many efforts to include in all aspects of my life. In today’s world of the internet, I started a blog, then I started a travel agency, and now I’m going to try my hand at a book. Why not? The bottom line is that I love to travel, and I love to talk. So, I’m going to talk to you about travel. When I was a mere thirteen, I set foot outside of the United States for the very first time. I was fortunate enough to have a great band director in high school that swung the impossible. He arranged for us to take a cruise to Mexico to perform for our band trip my freshman year. I am convinced that this is the trip that gave me the bug for traveling. Since then, I’ve been to 26 countries and counting. Because of this, I get asked by friends and family where to go and how to pack for it. Typically, I end up saying, “don’t pack that”. It seemed a fitting title considering how often I say it, so here we are. If I could spend my life traveling from one awesome place to another, I would, believe me. Unfortunately for me, that is not a reasonable career path at this point. Consequently, I’ll settle for making a blog, helping other people see cool places, and writing a book. I hope that you enjoy this work and that you get what you are seeking from it. Whether you want to learn how to travel, live vicariously through my adventures, or just be entertained; I hope that you find it in these pages, and I thank you for taking the time to read them. that the courage to take the first step is what counts and anyone can make adventure anywhere in the world.

One

PACK THIS

“Adventure is worthwhile” Aesop

A n adventure begins that day the idea is born, not when you get on the plane and not when you land where you’re going. A large portion of the fun of a vacation or a travel journey is the planning and understanding of what you are getting into. Don’t misunderstand in this moment. I am not saying that everyone should plan every moment of a trip. That is not my style. I spent a month in Europe in 2012 by myself with a small backpack. When I left the States, I had nothing more than a rail , some cash, and a return flight. That trip was as open ended as trips get and it was truly a liberating experience. That being said, not everyone is built to travel this way. The first step of planning a vacation is determining what level of planning you need. Move on from there. This disclaimer aside, let’s move along to the traveling part. There are so many things that I’ve learned through my travels to different places and I hope that at least a few of those lessons can shine through and help you to better prepare for your next vacation. So, long story short, bear with me and maybe just maybe, you’ll get a chuckle out of it at some point or another. Where to start? Just like traveling, you start by deciding to go. I’m inclined to start at the beginning, but I think that chronological things are organized and boring. I will start with my most common piece of advice. How to pack for a trip is the biggest question that I get asked. Nobody seems to ever know how to pack. Everyone is concerned with over packing, underpacking, packing the wrong stuff, just outright being lost in their own suitcase. So many factors go into a packing strategy. There are simple tips up front. Be organized, pack what you need, take things that fit where you are going, and keep track of what you take. Season, region, religion, budget, and duration all affect what to pack and what not to. There is no cookie cutter packing list that will work for every trip. Likewise, there is no cookie cutter packing method that works for every person. Research is needed and an understanding of where you are going and what you are doing is needed. When I went on that backpacking trip, I only brought flip flops. I did not have the correct planning at the time. I learned and I know better now. I ended up buying some socks in and some better walking shoes in . Apart from footwear, there are some things that are great to have on every trip.

SCARF

First of all, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, you should have a scarf with you when you travel. I suggest at least three feet by three feet, made of a relatively durable material, thick enough to accommodate the average temperature where you will be traveling in the season you will be traveling there, and a color that functions with all of your wardrobe. Obviously, if you are traveling to Finland in January, you will want a thick woolen scarf, whereas if you are traveling to Rome in July, you want a thinner fabric. You will have to gage the material for yourself. Regardless of whether you are traveling in a warm place, cold place, beach, or Mount Everest, you should have a scarf with you for various uses. There are so many things that a scarf is good for. Scarves serve to supplement a travel wardrobe in fashion, yes, but bear in mind fashionistas of the world; they are handy, too. Scarves are a tool in my mind and they are useful in so many situations. I was sitting on a train to somewhere from somewhere on a backpacking trip in Europe and I looked over and saw a heart-warming scene play out. A young girl was sitting with her mother cuddled up close. After some time on the train, the young girl scrunched even closer to her mother and was clearly a little cold. The mother, looking down at her young daughter and smiling, unwrapped a scarf from her neck and laid it over the pair so they could nap for the remainder of the train ride. In that moment, it hit me. Scarf-blanket! Those thin, stylish scarves are something that I never really understood, probably because I have no fashion sense; but this, this newly witnessed scarf-blanket concept was right up my ally thanks to its functionality. I was so glad I brought one with me. It occurred to me that a nap was a good idea, so I grabbed the scarf I brought with me and rolled it up into a little makeshift pillow. It worked pretty well for that, too. Scarves are also lesser known as a trusty laundry bag. Though laundry may not be the first thing to jump to mind when traveling, if you are on an extended trip, packing less and washing clothes half way through a good way to stretch out your travel closet and pack less stuff. I was in a hostel in and had

reached the point in my trip when it was time to wash clothes. I didn’t want to carry my whole backpack downstairs, so I just balled up all of my dirties in my huge scarf and dumped it all in the washer, scarf included. I feel compelled to point out that you should make sure that your scarf is machine washable before you use it in this way. Once my clothes were done washing, I balled them all back up in the same, but now clean, scarf and headed back upstairs to my bunk. Large skirts work well for this too, if you happen to be a fan of those.

Pack for function.

HEADPHONES

Another great addition to your luggage for a variety of reasons is a great pair of wired headphones. Most obvious is plane noise. Sleeping is much easier with noise cancelling headphones, as is enjoying a movie either on your own device or on the in-seat entertainment. This one is a no brainer and there are countless horror stories of obnoxious people on planes and trains, let’s move along. It is important to mention that as of 2019, most planes can only accept a 3.5mm jack for in-seat entertainment. Don’t think that your Bluetooth headphones will work here.

Pack the wired headphones.

NON-ELECTRIC FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT

In the same vein as headphones, I strongly recommend a non-electric form of entertainment whenever you travel. It could be anything. A book, a journal, a deck of cards… Whatever items you enjoy spending time with without a battery life. Carrying a backup battery for electronics is good practice, but sometimes you find yourself in situations where they just don’t work out. I being on a plane once across the pond. It was an eight-hour flight and my in-seat screen did not function. The flight was booked which meant I couldn’t swap seats to a working one. This left me on my own for a frightfully long time. I had a travel journal with me at the time and a book to read. This was enough to keep me entertained for the duration of the flight. It’s such a simple thing that makes such a difference when you find yourself in an unfortunate situation.

Pack a book.

FILTERED WATER BOTTLE

Throughout Europe there are public water fountains. By this I mean, a literal fountain in a public location that spurts drinking water out constantly. While some are queasier than others to such things, I highly recommend bringing a filtered water bottle with you wherever you go so that you can enjoy water without having to pay for it. It is important to point out here that you should be very cautious of what water sources you consume from and that your personal safety is very important. Gage the level of filtered bottle needed based on where you are going and purchase one accordingly. Having a bottle on you while you’re walking around the streets of Italy or Croatia will go a long way to save your precious vacation money from being blown on something you would have otherwise paid nothing for. In Geneva, Switzerland, there is a side of town that is full of beautiful old buildings that stretch on and wind around for as far as your eyes can see. The streets are shaded, and the roads are cobblestone. Wandering from street to street getting lost, it is easy to find yourself thirsty and not near a restaurant or shop. As luck would have it, I stumbled on public fountains on many corners in this delightful town. My water bottle came in quite handy and saved me money. On the other hand, if you are traveling to Machu Picchu, going on a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains, or taking a safari in Kenya, you may want to invest in a LifeStraw® water bottle. This type of filtration is claimed to be safe to use in streams and rivers. It will keep a much larger number of microbes out of your water than a simple Brita® bottle. Don’t gamble with your health.

Pack the filtered water bottle.

PHRASE BOOK

Speaking of saving money, being able to win over the hearts of strangers is an excellent help to finding the best deal and negotiating prices down to lower figures to make them more palatable. There are a variety of ways to do this, not the least of which being personable. Getting along with strangers is essential to negotiating your way to better deals. Another thing that helps is some knowledge of the local language. In many European countries, several languages are spoken. If you plan to go, make sure you do some research on what is spoken in the region and get your hands on some introductory language classes via YouTube, apps on your phone carrier, books, audiobooks, anything. I’m a free spirit traveler. That means that I don’t like to plan a lot when I travel and I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants, so to speak. This means that I don’t always have a hotel reservation lined up when I go somewhere new. In order to negotiate for one, I must know a bit of the local language to win my way into the desk clerk’s heart so that he’ll hook me up. In Geneva, Switzerland in early 2018, I walked into a hotel lobby. I had stayed in this hotel before, so I knew that I liked the area and the ambiance. In Geneva, they speak a great deal of French, so I put my two years of high school French to work and requested a night. The gentlemen behind the counter opened his computer and looked for a room for me. When he was trying to explain that he had no rooms, my high school French ran out. He saw the confusion on my face and politely switched to English. “Would you prefer English, miss?” I smiled, grateful and said yes. He explained again, this time in a language I understood. Bummed, I asked about any other hotels in the area. He appreciated my attempt at speaking in his native language and helped me find another hotel. The same thing happened to me in Rome only a few days prior. I walked into a hotel I stayed before previously and asked if there was a room available, in Italian. When he was explaining that there was no vacancy, I was able to keep up a little better than with French. He commented that my Italian was good for an American and proceeded to let me use the Wi-Fi in the lobby to find a different

hotel. Speaking a touch of another language can work wonders. One last language story: In Rome, I was planning to visit the Vatican. Knowing that the lines are ridiculously long, I headed for the front gates knowing that there would be a variety of tour guides peddling their tours who would be hunting for customers. Having been there before and taken the tour, I knew what price I should have been paying and wouldn’t take the initial offers. After turning away several tour guides who were overpriced, a man walked up to me with a laminated paper showing the options available for tours. He started his speech and I knew what he was saying. Instead of cutting him off, I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Egypt. I asked him what they spoke in Egypt and he told me Arabic. In this moment, I felt confident. I leaned back a bit, looked at him, and said the Arabic word for “Hello”. He was so surprised that I was familiar with his language and asked me if I knew any more. I went on to say the handful of words that I could pronounce, and he was so appreciative that he gave me a deep discount on the tour. After the sale was made, I thanked him in Arabic. He smiled and went on about his day. There are so many opportunities for languages to come up as useful and a conversation starter. This is a skill worth having.

Pack a phrase book.

TRAVEL NAIL KIT

The last of these basics is a travel nail kit. Again, regardless of gender, you should find one of those small case nail kits. In these kits, typically, are a pair of tweezers, nail clippers, small scissors, a nail file, a small pry bar (I think it’s supposed to be used to clean your ears), and any variety of other tools depending on which kit you get. These have made it through airports all over the world and are incredibly useful. Everything from using the nail file to smooth out rough corners on things like chopsticks, the scissors to detach small threads from your clothing or open packages, the nail clippers to open blister packs when you buy something, and even using this little kit to actually do your nails. This little tool chest of magic can be a godsend when you find yourself wrestling to solve a problem.

Pack a nail kit.

BONUS ITEM

The bonus packing list item on the “Pack This” list, I cannot preach enough is common sense. This is also a no-brainer, but I still feel compelled to share. When we travel, we find ourselves clicking into vacation brain mode and sometimes we forget ourselves. When you travel to an unknown area, there are things that you cannot foresee that will happen at one point or another. It pays to keep a level head on your shoulders and remove yourself from those situations as carefully as possible. This includes the basic city safety tips like don’t wander down back alleys, but that will be delved into more in Chapter 7. It’s not limited to crime; something as simple as asking what is in a meal if you have a food allergy can be the difference between a great vacation and a language barrier at the hospital. Carrying an epinephrine pen if you do have allergies is a given, but you don’t necessarily know that you will be allergic to something until you encounter it. It is better to be prepared. We discovered in Rome that my mother had an allergic reaction to something. It took us a while to figure it out, but we got there eventually. Her allergies ended up changing our course during our trip, but we’ll get to that in Chapter 10.

Pack a good attitude.

that when packing for a trip, it is important to plan for what you will encounter to the best of your abilities. Take what you need, but don’t take everything. Many things are available along the way. I tell people all the time that when you travel, there are only a handful of things that you really really need. You need travel documents (i.e. port, visa paperwork), necessary medications, and a method of payment. You can get by on just that if you must. I can’t tell you how many times I touch my port in my bag when I am on my way to the airport for a big international trip. A port and a credit card can correct a laundry list of forgotten items.

Two

HOSTELS

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” Eugene Fodor

L et me start by saying that I love hostels. I would like to add that they aren’t just for teenagers and twenty-somethings on a backpacking trip. I saw people in their twenties, thirties, forties, and I’m pretty sure that I saw a couple in their fifties at one point. There are age limits on some, so look for that when researching, but otherwise enjoy. Some hostels also cater to one gender, so be on the lookout for that as well. I guess the place to start with the hostels is at the beginning since they get pretty interesting the further into the trip I got. During my big backpacking trip in 2012, I stayed in quite a few hostels along the way. The beds are usually cheap, the people are usually cool, and the ambiance is usually worth the price of ission.

HORROR FILMS MISLEAD

You should probably know how the hostel thing works before you freak out. Many people have seen a movie that showed some rather nefarious characters around hostels, but I will say that I still have all of my organs and no one tried to kidnap me. Most hostels have a bar/lounge/common room type area on the main level where you check in. A number of them serve breakfast either for an additional price or included with the cost of the bed and a number of those will also serve alcohol in the afternoons and evenings. They usually have internet and computers in the common area and if you’re lucky, you can get Wi-Fi in your room.

Pack local currency in cash.

SHARED ROOMS

The rooms can be private or shared. Shared rooms are cheaper and yes, they do mean shared. A shared room is sometimes gender-specific, but not always. Yes, you could be sharing a room with the opposite sex and if that makes you uncomfortable, then make sure that you specifically look for a hostel that has gender separated rooms. A shared room can have anywhere from four to twenty people in it and the places I stayed were co-ed. The rooms will vary in quality from place to place, but they should all have the essentials: a bed, a locker, and a shared bathroom. If you’re lucky, you get linens and a pillow; if you’re not, you can rent them for a couple of bucks a night. If you’re really lucky, you’ll have that Wi-Fi I mentioned earlier. The main thing to is to lock up your stuff. I can’t stress that one enough. Hostels are great places to meet cool people along the way, but sometimes, people will steal your things. A padlock is one of those must-have’s that should go on every packing list if hostels are on the table as a lodging option. Bear in mind that your stuff must fit in that locker to be locked up, so don’t think you can lock up a checked bag.

Pack a padlock.

MY FIRST HOSTEL EXPERIENCE

The first hostel that I ever stayed in was a place called the Pink Palace in Greece back in 2008. I learned later how famous this place was and a lot of college students go there every year. I think the best part about staying there was the Ouzo. You get a shot for everything you do. You check in, you got a shot, you sign up for a tour, you got a shot, I bought a wrap for my bathing suit, and I got a shot! A little tipsy and happy to be in Greece, I opted for a private room. It was my first time in a hostel, after all. I was uncomfortable staying in a room with strangers. So, I dished out the extra little bit for the private room and bunked up! Man, was it worth it. I paid 25 Euros extra for the private room with a private bathroom. It even had a balcony that looked out over the Mediterranean. The view was stunning. There was no air conditioning, this was August, and it was hot; but the breeze off of the water made up for it. Aside from the room, there was always something to do there. After I got checked in, I looked at the long list of activities that this place had up for grabs, and it was impressive. Four-wheeler tours, a booze cruise around the island, games in the bar, the list went on. I should mention that the Pink Palace is on Corfu, the westernmost island of Greece. I decided to go for the four-wheeler tour that took me up to the top of that little island to visit a monastery. After what felt like hours of dust being blown in my face and coating my skin in my bathing suit, we reached the top. The view was unlike anything I had ever seen. Gorgeous blue water reached in all directions with small mountains peeking up from the water’s surface in the distance. The sky was ever reaching and the people I was with were fun to be around. Despite being covered in dirt and a little worn out, being in this place was life changing for me. I realized in this moment that I would always be a traveler. The monastery was nondescript, but very old which made it interesting. They made a special kind of brandy there that I have still not been able to find in the United States. They called it Raisin Brandy and it is entirely possible that they were making it up, now that I look back. Perhaps my decade long search has been completely in vain. Oh well, moving right along. We finished our time at the monastery and made our way back down the mountain, stopping at a smaller

local bar on the way down for a drink of that aforementioned “Raisin Brandy” mixed with Coca-Cola™, affectionately named a “Hot & Sexy” by the tour guides. When I asked why they called it a Hot & Sexy, they told me it’s because it was how it made you feel when you drank it. They were right. To a certain extent, I’m sure that this was vacation brain taking over for me, but sometimes, you have to give in to the vacation brain and just enjoy what you are doing. However small or made up it might be. Part of the perks of this place was that you got an evening meal and a drink coupon. There was a bar open every night that had karaoke and dancing. I can’t recall now whether the food was any good, but you know what? I’m still alive, so it couldn’t have been too bad. I ended up singing Michael Jackson at karaoke later with a group of Canadian girls. We were terrible. The best part was that we didn’t know the words and none of us cared. In the morning, they served breakfast, where I learned that yogurt and cereal is quite delicious mixed together. I ended up staying there a few days longer than originally planned.

Pack an open mind.

HOSTEL SEARCH IN AMSTERDAM

I did not stay in another hostel until four years later on my long trip to Europe in 2012. This one was in Amsterdam. I recall that it was conveniently located and that there was a couple that was quite affectionate. It got a little noisy. They weren’t super rude or anything, I just noticed noises that I had no business hearing and quickly put in my headphones, another reason to travel with headphones. That hostel was pretty cool, but it wasn’t the first one I had walked into that day. After a late-night train ride from Paris into Amsterdam, I began to worry. It was nearly midnight and we were about to pull into a town I had never been to when it was dark outside, and I did not speak Dutch. This was not good. After being extremely relieved to see that the city was very much alive for being so late, I wandered on to find a place to stay. Walking around, I saw a sign that said “HOSTEL” on the outside of a building that was in a central and well-lit area. The innkeeper was an older man with a creepy vibe to him. He told me that their rooms were gender specific and that he had no vacancies in his female room. When I asked about co-ed, he told me that there were some guys in the co-ed room that he did not trust and that he wouldn’t sell me the bunk. Frustrated and tired, I walked out. In hind sight, I am grateful to the man for his insistence. It can be amazing what you think you know when you are young and seeing new things. I was upset with this man when I walked out of his hostel, but looking back, I appreciate what he did for me.

Pack some humility.

After a few blocks, I discovered another that was more receptive. It was right down the street from a bar called The Grasshopper. I know that’s oddly specific, but I wanted to mention it because almost everyone that I talk to about Amsterdam has been to The Grasshopper. I guess because it’s an easy English

word that makes sense to every English-speaking person. You know how the same word can mean different things in the same language in different places; well I’m pretty sure that in Australia, The United States, The United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa that grasshopper is just a little jumpy bug. Nice neutral word. This hostel down the street from The Grasshopper was a small place next to a coffee shop. I stayed in a shared room that had twelve bunks in it. They were all bunk beds and I chose a top with no one in the bottom, I was lucky. There were lockers and a bathroom, the usual, as I learned. I had to rent linens, but that was ok. They were really cheap and they just tacked it on my room. I locked everything up and no one messed with my bunk. I was free to roam about the red-light district. In this particular town, I chose an odd sleep routine. I would sleep for a few hours, then get up and walk around, then return and nap a few more. I did this for two days. This way I got to see Amsterdam morning, noon, and night. It was a great experience and I met some interesting people. Each hostel has its own reasons for being awesome. I wish that I could pick a favorite, but I never can. I it that the one in Amsterdam was kind of low on the list because the quality was lacking, but everything else about Amsterdam more than made up for it.

SUGAR CUBES IN PRAGUE

One of the more memorable places that I stayed was in Prague. The hostel there was clean and elegant. Yes, you read that right. It was elegant, for a hostel. It put my bedroom back home to shame. There was a beautiful chandelier in the room and nice beds against the walls. It was eight to a room, if memory serves, but each bed had an associated cabinet with a spot for a lock and a power outlet. You could charge your electronics under lock and key. These people had this figured out. I met the owners of the hostel and they were great people. They were so laid back and insisted on taking care of you. They were always offering you Nescafe and cookies. The thing that always sticks out the most in my memories is the window. I grabbed a bed right next to the window. When I tell you I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast, I’m not kidding. There was a set of glass windows that opened into the room and a set of shutters that opened out. We were on the second floor above a jewelry shop and on a main street that didn’t allow vehicles to drive on it. It was all foot traffic. So, I pull in the glass windows and I pushed out the shutters to greet the day and felt like a Disney princess. Single-handedly, one of the coolest things I’ve done. Low standards, I know, but it’s the little things in life.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IN BERLIN

Another favorite of mine was a hostel in Berlin. It was what you might expect in . Stark, clean, white, metal, square pillows and sleeping strangers; this is . I liked it immediately. There were big picture windows that looked out on some buildings and made for a cool view. I claimed a top bunk again and found a locker to put my stuff in. Linens were included and again, the price was under 20 Euros. The most expensive place I stayed was in Prague which was exactly 20 Euros a night. The coolest thing about the hostel in was the people. I met a neat fellow traveler from Finland who told me all about her country. I can’t believe how low the crime rate is there and how mellow the weather is, despite being stupid cold. I can’t really handle the cold all that well, but I think that it sounds like a good place to visit (in the summer). I met a bunch of people who were interested in New Orleans and asked a lot of questions about Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, the international media did not do the event justice. I spent some time telling stories from that time and people were fascinated by the experience. That felt good. I don’t like to be the only uninteresting person in a group. In return, I learned a lot about the countries other people were from. Of course, that wasn’t just in , but everywhere I stayed.

ALMOST LOST IN BUDAPEST

There’s one more hostel I want to tell you about. I was at a train station trying to figure out where to go next. There was a young woman there from Brazil. She was tall and pretty and traveling alone, like me. She had a reservation at a specific hostel in Budapest and asked where I was heading. I told her I had nowhere in mind and she suggested we travel together. Having had good experiences with travel buddies before, I agreed and away we went. We painted our nails on the train and chatted about different places in Europe that we had seen. It didn’t matter that we weren’t friends before; you would have never known to look at us then. The hostel took forever to reach on foot and my newfound travel buddy had made some poor packing decisions. Consequently, she was dragging a large roller bag along behind her on the cobbled streets of Hungary. I was a little embarrassed at the time, as I only had a backpack and her roller bag made a great deal of noise. She was struggling to lug it behind her and navigate the streets to find this hostel, but we got there eventually. The hostel itself was a captivating flurry of colors and sound. It was a large, brightly colored building behind a dance studio. There was a large open-air area between the dance studio and the rooms. That is where they put the bar, which is where I headed immediately after checking in. This story doesn’t really have a climax, just a fond memory of sipping on a beer in an open-air bar watching Hungarian dancers practice their routines to American hip hop music. It was an experience.

THE DOWNSIDES

There are many reasons to book hostels, likewise there are many reasons that you may not want to. Hostel travel is not for everyone and can be a culture shock if you are not prepared for it. One of the downsides to a hostel is the public nature of it. You should know that if you are going to stay in hostels (which I strongly advise for a multitude of reasons) you should have a padlock, shower shoes, a shower caddy of some sort, and an open mind. All the hostels that I stayed in had a place for you to lock up your belongings. The lockers were usually right near the beds, so you never had to go far to get to your stuff and some even sell padlocks at the front desk. You must lock up your things. It is very important that you understand that while hostels are a beautifully social place where you can meet all manner of people from all walks of life, they are very open and public. You should not leave anything out when you are not in the room. There is also the public bathroom side, which isn’t for everyone, I understand. Shared bathrooms don’t really faze me that much, but I understand that some people aren’t fans. Just be aware that having a pair of waterproof flip flops will go a long way if you are staying somewhere that has shared bathrooms. You don’t want to come down with some weird foot fungus while you are on your trip.

Pack some flip flops.

Also, a good shower caddy-type bag is very beneficial. I have more to say on bathing stuff and general miscellaneous items that you will need on your trip, but I will cover those in Chapter 10 Miscellaneous Tips.

ALTERNATIVES TO HOSTELS

If hostels are not for you, that is completely understandable. There are other options besides lower end hotels to accommodate your pocketbook. You can try looking on the hotel search websites and limit the price so that you can only see hotels that are in your budget. Or, you can branch out and try borrowing someone else’s space.

HOME RENTAL

This is a very popular option. You can rent someone’s couch or their whole house on Air B&B. Your budget, desired location, personal boundaries and travel dates are the limiting factors on whether or not you will find a place that you are ok with. You should know that for some Air B&B’s, the owner of the property is present. In others, the owner is away. You should be sure to specify which option you want when you are searching. During a girls’ trip to Ireland in 2016, my mother, my sister, and I stayed in an Air B&B in Dublin. We did not realize that we had only rented a single room in the apartment. We thought that we were renting the whole space. The owner of the place was kind enough to let us use the whole apartment despite having only paid for the spare bedroom. He was a sweet man, but it would have been easy to make this an uncomfortable situation all around. Finding an Air B&B can be difficult. It is perfectly reasonable to worry about sleeping in someone else’s home, especially if they are present. On the other side, some people enjoy talking with people and having a local as a guide for things to do in the area. VRBO is another option where you can rent a home, but in this case, I have not found any of the homes to have the owners present when you are staying there. You can’t always find places at such low prices as you can with Air B&B, but VRBO is a great option. While in Branson, MO in February 2019, we rented a cabin on Table Rock Lake. The description online was true to the location that we stayed. The cabin was delightful, and everything worked out great. I’m pretty sure that the poor woman who had to refill the wood rack was angry with us. We had a fire burning in the hearth the entire weekend and it was wonderful.

OVERNIGHT TRAVEL

There are many methods of travel that involve overnight transit. Flights are the main one people think of. Many flights over eight hours happen in an overnight capacity. Sleeping on a train can be tricky and no solution works for 100% of people 100% of the time. I recommend using this method sparingly. Meaning, I don’t think that you should use airplanes as a hotel while you jet set your way around the world. I suppose if you can afford to fly that often, you could certainly enjoy the perks of business class where it is easier to sleep. Rail travel can often be arranged to happen overnight as well. This is a great method for saving on lodging. It is also suggested that you get good at sleeping in a chair prior to using this method with any regularity.

Pack an eye mask.

When I was on my big backpacking trip in 2012, I used my rail to claim my seat on a long-distance train trip overnight, so that I would not have to find a hostel or a hotel for the night. This can be a very useful way to avoid a lodging expense. If you want to simply handle two problems at once, regardless of cost, there are berths available on some trains that will allow you to rent a bed overnight. This can be a great way to get where you intend to go and get a good night’s sleep. Ferries and Cruises are another example of overnight transit that don’t require a hotel reservation. There are many ferries in Europe that take longer than four hours to get from one place to another and can be used to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. You can absolutely travel Europe for two weeks without ever staying in a hotel. There are a few things you need to consider should you choose this. For

example: showers. Hostels, hotels, some ferries, and cruises tend to have showers; whereas trains tend to not. There are exceptions to everything, but as a general rule, if you are interested in a shower, you may have to make some concessions.

Pack baby wipes.

Another thing to consider is comfort. Often times, we like to think of ourselves as tougher than we are and believe that we can sleep through anything. While that may be true for a two-hour nap after being awake for two days, it is not always the case for nightly sleep. Give yourself rest on your trip. the old adage: it is a marathon, not a sprint. I don’t recommend traveling Europe for two weeks with no hotel room, but it can certainly be done. The last thing to consider without traditional lodging is meals. Many Americans are accustomed to having breakfast provided by a hotel in the morning. In Europe, this is not always the case. Regardless of whether it is a hostel or a 5-star hotel; breakfast is not guaranteed. If you are comfortable eating at more restaurants or grabbing something on the go, then you might be alright. Regardless of lodging choice, you should conduct your research ahead of time. There are a variety of resources where you can do this. As outlined above, you can use:

• Airbnb.com • Vrbo.com • Hotels.com • HostelWorld.com • Hostels.com

These are not the only sources by a long shot, but they are a great place to start. I consult these websites frequently myself when planning vacations for myself or my clients.

Three

AWESOME STRANGERS

“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” Shirley MacLaine

I n all of the trips that I have taken, I have met new awesome people that I got to spend some time with. There was a young lady in Budapest, roughly my age. She was Brazilian and was very entertaining. I met her in Bratislava, Slovakia and like I said in Chapter 2, we went on to Budapest, Hungary. A lucky meeting in a train station is pretty common among travelers over there.

A WINDING ADVENTURE

She’s not the only person that I met that way. When I first landed for my big backpacking trip in 2012, I met a Chinese girl who was studying abroad in Ireland. She had the most interesting accent I think I’ve ever heard. She was learning English in Ireland. We met at the ferry port in Rosslare Harbour, Ireland. Both bound for Cherbourg, , we struck up a conversation. After boarding, we ran into each other that evening and hung out for a while. We ended up in the lounge on the boat drinking beer and watching Irish singers sing American pop music. Ferries in Europe are not quite what Americans are used to, but more on that in Chapter 4. The next day, when we were getting off the boat in , we ran into each other again and we decided to walk together for a while. She told me that her hotel wasn’t far and that they might have additional rooms. Turns out her room had an extra bed and she let me stay with her for free. She was a nice chick. We ended up walking around the town for a while and finding some neat little places. We went to a grocery store and got a bunch of food and wine and ended up watching the sunset out of the room’s window. It was a great experience. She was getting on a train to Paris the next day. I wanted to go to Paris anyway, so I asked if I could tag along. We spent the ride playing cards and chatting and once we got to the train station in Paris, she met up with her friend and we said goodbye. Single serving friend. There is one memory that I’ll never forget from walking around with her. We had just walked past a graveyard and were plodding along on the street. While coming up to a cross street, we decided that we would turn left to see what was down the road. As we reached the cross road, we did turn left; right into a dead end. We were met with a large pair of doors that appeared to lead to a private parking lot. We looked at each other, laughed about it, and as we turned back towards the road, we both heard it. Footsteps pounded away from that dead-end street. As if a scene from a movie, we looked down this twenty-foot-deep dead end and then back at each other, confused. The footsteps grew louder and then seemingly from out of the wall popped a

young girl who was clearly late for something. My new friend and I looked at each other again, smiled, and turned to see from where the girl had appeared. There was an alley at the back of that dead end. A age behind a long row of homes; the age des Jardins, it was called. We decided to walk down it and see where it would lead us. People’s backyards butted up to this alley and there were so many beautiful flowers everywhere. Such a small moment but shared with a travel friend.

QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS ON A TRAIN

Either there are a lot of really nice strangers in Europe or I’m the luckiest stranger-finder in the world. One day, I was on a train from Munich to Verona. I will start by saying I never made it to Verona. This story begins with mountains and pretty much stays in the mountains for the duration. While the decisions I made in this circumstance were likely not the safest ones I could have, everything happened to turn out alright in my case. I am, in no way, condoning reckless behavior on your vacation. Disclaimer being said, here is what happened. While on the train, I found myself looking out of a window at the mountains that were starting to grow bigger and bigger. I was minding my own business. Riding on a Eurail , Second Class, I opted for the spaces in between cars more often than a seat. The scenery was more interesting and sometimes it’s nice not to talk to people. A man walked up to me with a bottle in his hand and said something in German that I didn’t understand. My German, like my French, could be better. Only knowing the basics, I did what I could; I smiled and shook my head as he held the bottle out towards me. I was assuming that he was offering it to me. He repeated himself in English, “would you like a beer?” Being a safe girl, I said no thank you, but he insisted. The bottle was not open, his train car was nearby, and there was another traveler roughly my age sitting with them imbibing. I weighed the gamble and made the risky call. I walked over to the other traveler and the man with his friends. There were six of them altogether and they were a riot. I sat with them for a while and we drank and talked, and I mean talked. One of the men was speaking in English, another in very broken English, another in Spanish, and the last in French. In addition to the group of friends, there was one backpacker and me. Sounds like the start of a missing person’s report, right? In this case, it wasn’t. With all these languages floating around, not to mention, the alcohol, it was a delight to spend time with them. Talk about my mind switching gears. That was one heck of an afternoon. This group of gentlemen went to school together and every year, take the same vacation. They taught me some words in German, I taught them some words in English, we drank, and we laughed.

Along the route we took through the Alps, we wound our way in and out of tunnels. Having never seen mountains before, I was quite captivated. The gentlemen must have noticed, because they let me sit in the window seat for part of the ride. They were laughing at my new experience. Not in a critical way, but in an endearing way. At least that’s how it felt. Sitting in that train car was like hanging out with a bunch of uncles I only get to see once a year. It was a great time. After we got off the train, they bought me pizza and sent me on my way. I distinctly the pizza. I recall them saying, “she’s American, of course she likes pizza!”

THE ERROR OF MY WAYS

In the same jaunt, after the pizza, I stumbled onto the first train that I found at the station. I wandered my way through the Alps to wherever the last station was. After plenty of sobering up and lots of wondering where in the world I was, we ended up pulling into a station. Officially freaked out, I got off the train and walked up to the first person that I saw. A tall, gorgeous woman with brown hair stepped off the train shortly after me. I asked her if she spoke English. I’d like to make the point that I NEVER lead with this question. It is so offensive to many people. Unfortunately for me, I was quite unsettled by this being where I was going to be stuck for the rest of the night and I gave into my baser instincts. I asked this woman where I was and she told me San Candido, Italy. She explained to me that I had taken the last train of the night and that this was a ski resort town. This being May, the resort was not open. I learned from her that there were no hostels in this town and that I would likely end up somewhere more expensive. In this moment of freaking out, I didn’t notice that she had reached into her pocket and was now holding a fifty Euro bill in my direction. When I saw it, I shook my head emphatically, said no, and thanked her profusely. I had money; after all, this ski town would just be out of my budget for one night. I could survive it. She insisted she would not sleep well unless she knew I was not sleeping in a train station and extended the money out closer to me. This was one of the most humbling moments of my life. I had no idea what to say or do. I accepted her help, feeling an inch tall and was grateful for her understanding. She walked me into town and showed the direction the hotel and we parted company. I still use this woman as a ruler for kindness. Of course, the hotel was closed; but the story doesn’t stop here.

FULL OF SURPRISES

I looked to one side and saw two young girls walking through the streets looking in shop windows in the night. I walked up to them and more collected, I asked if they spoke English, but this time I asked in Italian. They looked at me and said, in English, mind you, “Of course we do, we’re children. We all learn English in school now.” They laughed at me a little bit, too. Long story short, they were able to help me. Their grandmother owned a bed and breakfast not too far from where we were. They insisted on walking me there and it began to rain lightly. One of the girls shared her umbrella with me. I was again humbled by the kindness in these people. We got to the inn and the girl told her grandmother that I needed a room. The grandmother responded to the girl who relayed the pricing and information to me. I accepted, bewildered that this was happening. Her grandmother showed me to my room and the girls bid me a good night. I was quite comfortable and slept like a baby. When I woke up, I walked out of the french doors off the back porch and saw a panoramic view of snow-covered Alps greeting me for the day. After catching my breath and being amazed with my luck, I headed down to breakfast with my things, ready to catch a train to wherever I would end up today. At breakfast, the young girl’s father came over to hear my story, as his daughter had told him the night before. He also wanted to practice his English and came over to speak with me for a little bit. Meanwhile, there was an Austrian couple sitting next to me who overheard the whole thing. They chimed in after the girl’s father left and offered me a ride to Bolzano, saying the train station was larger and more likely to have a train for me. Again, my scrutiny was employed. I looked at these two and tried to glean whether they were serial killers or not. After much debate, I agreed to the ride and confirmed a meeting time. They turned out to be a lovely German couple who’d moved to Austria. It turned out they were both engineers, which was a marvelous coincidence as I was in college for engineering at the time. We talked at length about my degree program and how it compared to theirs and enjoyed driving the Autobahn to Bolzano. It was truly a magical journey.

A STRANGER’S RECOMMENDATION

Speaking of crazy awesome Germans, here’s another story. While on a journey from Berlin to Prague, I was seated next to a lovely German woman who was very curious about my trip. She said that she loved hearing what travelers enjoyed about her country. I don’t blame her, I am the same way about the United States. During our conversation, she told me that if I liked beautiful architecture, I should stop in Dresden for the day. Again, I did not finish the journey as I intended. I did as she recommended. I got off the train in Dresden and decided to wander until I found something interesting. I wandered around all day and loved every minute of it; even with a backpack on my back and flip flops on my feet. Every step led me to another building that made me want to cry. Every corner I turned revealed a new piece of architecture worthy of being featured in paintings. I have never felt so moved by buildings before and while I know that sounds strange, it was nearly overwhelming. By the end of the day, I still hadn’t found a place to stay. Then again, I wasn’t really looking at hostels, I was busy looking at churches and palaces. By the time I decided I should find somewhere, everything was full or too expensive, so I kept walking. I found my way to a landmark I had noted on the way in and figured I’d just make my way back to the train station to sleep on a bench until the first train of the day. It was there I saw a woman outside smoking. Now, I was a bit of a swindler and I wanted a cigarette and before you judge me too harshly, cigarettes are expensive in . This lady looked very nice, so I asked if I could buy one from her. She insisted on giving me one and I accepted, so she pulled out a little pouch and started rolling a smoke for me. I realized that she was ridiculously fast with rollyour-owns and I immediately felt bad. Not only was a being a dirty bum, but there was extra work involved for this entirely-too-nice woman. So, I thanked her again and enjoyed a hand rolled German tobacco cigarette. It was nearly midnight, but we talked about Dresden and Berlin like old friends. She was in town to attend a concert with her friends. She asked about my travels so far and where I was headed next. The topic of lodging for that night came up

and I explained my lack of bed situation to her. Her demeanor changed and I was instructed to wait there while she checked with her friend on something upstairs. Turns out, she went upstairs to her friend’s apartment, searched nearby hostels, found one with a vacancy, and told them I was coming. When her and her friend came down and told me this, I was floored. Her friend offered to drive me to the hostel, but I insisted they had done too much already. He told me the general direction of where the hostel was located and the name of it. I knew I could find it. I thanked them profusely and headed on my way.

DARK STREETS & SHADY CHARACTERS

Walking to my freshly found bunk for the night, I took the turn my new German friends told me to take and the street looked a little shady. I mean, they wouldn’t send me down a dark scary alley, would they? I seriously don’t think they would, but this road did look sketchy. I debated heading to the train station and sticking with the original plan, but they had gone through so much trouble to help me out, I felt like I would be doing them a disservice by not seeing it through. Then again, I could also be a lamb to the slaughter and those nice Germans called their less nice German friends to rob me. I knew in my mind this was paranoia. At least, I hoped that was the case. I cautiously walked down the sketchy road and headed towards where they told me the hostel would be. About halfway down the street, I heard voices in the distance behind me. I turned around and saw a group of eight or so guys walking and being generally rowdy with each other. My discomfort grew in this moment, but I held it together. I took a quick estimate of how far until I would reach the hostel, started walking a little quicker, and began cycling through the things I could use as weapons in my head. They were gaining on me and they were loud. I was officially uncomfortable at this point. Now, clearly you know that they didn’t murder me, because I am alive to write this book. They caught up to where I was in the street and one of them came up to talk to me. In German, of course, he greeted me. At least, I assume it was a greeting. I struggled to get out, “I don’t speak German” in terrible German and he laughed at me. It was obvious that I didn’t speak German. “English, then,” he says with a light-hearted laugh. This made more nervous somehow. I nodded and laughed nervously in response, still walking quite quickly. He started asking me where I was headed and why I was alone. I was uncomfortable, but the more I talked to him, the more relaxed I got. I could see the hostel now. I entertained his questions with simple answers. I told him that I was meeting up with friends in Dresden and that they were waiting for me at the hostel. He carried on the conversation for a bit and then said something that caught my attention. “We are

a biker gang,” he said, gesturing to his friends. Yes, a biker gang. A real, live, self-affirmed biker gang. In this moment, I took stock of my life and wondered what my eulogy would say. While I was counting up my debts, he went on to describe what they did together. I was expecting him to tell me about the bars they got thrown out of and how many laws they had broken; instead, he told me about the charity events they rode in. In bunny suits. Yeah, you read that right. Grown man sized bunnies on street style motorcycles for charity to raise money for children’s cancer. It almost stopped me in my tracks right there on that shady street. This is the story that I love the most from that trip because it’s very reflective of the trip as a whole. Things that looked scary weren’t and they usually turned out to be the best possible version of the thing that was in my head.

Pack some self-defense classes if you’re traveling alone, just in case.

AWESOME STRANGERS ARE EVERYWHERE

In 2018, there was a man on a train from Pisa to Florence whose brother lived in Sicily. This man was American and was as funny as the day is long. He told me about places to go in Florence, the history of some of the churches there, the food to eat and where to drink. He and I had similar pasts and got along right away. I even ended up running into him again the next day at the leather market and we spent some time together. I met his family and his poor daughter was so sick. Something in the air did not agree with her sinuses. There are great people everywhere. You just have to say hi. After traveling to Iceland in the spring of 2018, it was painfully obvious that coffee may as well be made from liquid gold based on the price tag of a single cup. The last night I was there, there was a gas station up the road that we stopped at to grab some snacks and a coffee. When asked about the price of the coffee, I bought two. His coffee was easily a third the price of everyone else’s and when I looked so surprised, he laughed and said to me, “it’s just coffee.” I couldn’t believe it. It was the cheapest and best cup of the trip. He gave me the third cup on the house. In Amsterdam in 2012, there was a man who was kind enough to let me use his phone in a coffee shop to email my family and tell them I was alive while we sat chatting over a cup of coffee. On a train to Prague in 2012, there was a fellow traveler who was kind enough to let me tag along with him to his hostel to check for a vacant bed. We ended up spending the day together walking around seeing the sites. Teaming up like this makes it easier to get photos of yourself in a new place. In Dublin in 2016, there was a cab driver who told the absolute best stories on our way to the airport; my favorite being the one describing how much he loved his ma. In China in 2018, there was a man in an ancient village who insisted on feeding me and my group for only one US dollar per person. We wouldn’t stand for it and tipped him a very large amount before we left. I had to pull a made-you-look

on him to get him to look away so that I could drop a ten Yuan note into his bucket. It was quite amusing. Now, I’m not saying that every time you travel, you will have this experience. Obviously, there is a great deal of crime and trouble that happens everywhere in the world. I am merely telling stories that exemplify the reality that I experienced in my travels and I am hopeful that in your travels, you find similar situations. Though it is important to maintain your awareness, not put yourself in dangerous situations, and be mindful of what you consume, that when you travel, the people you are around are people too. By and large, my experiences in Europe have been positive ones. Not because I stayed in 5-star hotels and not because I traveled with tour groups or university courses, but because I was genuine and open with people that I met. Carry your smile with you and be ready to muddle through difficult-to-understand conversations and language barriers, because it’s fun to get to know other travelers. It’s fun to get to know locals. It is more enjoyable on your trip if you interact with those around you. I have seen strangers along the way that have small things to trade. I well trading books with a young American girl on a train once. She was done reading her book and I was done with mine. We opted to swap to have a new book to read. This is very common with backpackers. Another thing I’ve seen handed out was a coin. A coin that was unique to the individual’s history. Those were pretty cool. Candies, coins, stamps, postcards, business cards, the list is endless of what you could carry with you as a small token of gratitude for those you meet along the way.

Pack a small token to give to awesome strangers that is unique to you.

Four

TRANSPORTATION

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Andre Gide

T ransportation seems like low hanging fruit to me. There are so many ways to use the transportation systems that are in place to your advantage in a tight-knit place like Europe. Transportation is one of the things on a trip that can be great or awful. The trick is to make the most of it. Traveling between one city and another on public transportation does not have to be the most boring thing in the world.

TRAINS

First off, I have used the Eurail a few times in Europe. If you take long overnight trains from one city to another, you will get a full night’s sleep without having to pay for a hostel. The same is true with overnight ferries (and sometimes, you can get a discount on the ferry cost if you have a Eurail ). Trains are a pretty cool place to meet people and to see the landscape. I met all those crazy Germans on a train in the Alps and they even gave me the window seat when we were going through the deepest part of the mountains. There was so much snow it blew my mind and the mountains were tall and dark and beautiful. I loved riding through the mountains. The Italian countryside is also gorgeous. The train from Verona to Milan proved to be a beautiful ride, as was the ride from Venice to Rome. You get to see vineyards and regular houses. I liked seeing the regular houses because “regular” in Italy is stupid-freaking-cool in the US. I liked the old architecture and the tiny cars. Fields after fields of olives and grapes and weird trees that weren’t shaped like any trees I’d ever seen. If you’re lucky and you pick your trains wisely, you can get power at your seat and keep everything charged up while you’re moving. I was rarely on a train that was so busy that I couldn’t find a power outlet.

Pack a power adapter.

BUSES & METRO

Like the countryside, the cities have a lot of cool stuff to see too, usually. I found that using the bus system to get around a city was the best to get a feel for the lay of the land. When I was in Paris, I bought a transit that was good for the day. That meant that I could take any bus or metro all day for a flat rate. I picked up a map of the city and I got on a bus. You should know that Paris has an interesting system. There are zones set up in Paris and you pay by the zone. Each zone is based on its centrality to the city itself. Not all of the cool monuments are in the main zone, so you have to be careful when you’re buying your tickets. Make sure that they are good for the zones that have the things you want to see in them. I used the bus system to see where all of the monuments were, I hopped on and hopped off whenever I saw something interesting and the most useful part of this is when your feet get tired, you just hop on a bus and you get some rest. Keep on riding for as long as you like and you can even catch a quick nap if you need to. That’s the nice thing about the , it’s unlimited. In a little less than six hours in Paris, I was able to see all the monuments that I wanted to see, including going into Notre Dame. I it that’s not a lot of time, but there were a lot of things about Paris that I wasn’t fond of and I really only wanted to see the highlights. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre (though I didn’t go in), and a statue of Thomas Jefferson next to a bridge on the Seine. I put a love lock on a bridge, ittedly a terrible idea, but I did make an effort to get it back. Unfortunately for me, it was rusted shut. All in all, it was a wonderful time. Six hours turned out to be just enough time for me to get around by myself. That’s another thing that’s nice about traveling alone. You can be selfish. You only want to stay in Paris for six hours, and then only stay in Paris for six hours! Leave when you’re ready, not when you’re expected to. That stubborn independence aside, I find that the bus system is a great way to get around, get some rest, and see what’s going on. I used this technique in a large number of cities that I visited, but not all. My budgeting didn’t for this

kind of cost, so it’s something to plan for if you want to use this trick on your trip. I learned this is Paris, in particular. A day of the transit system was €20. That was as much a bed in a hostel and I did not prepare to spend that kind of money. In the majority of major cities, there is a solid metro system that will get you pretty much anywhere you want to be. You can usually get day es or even multi-day es for public transit within the city. The metro is fast and easy and as long as you have a map and a general idea where you’re headed, you can get there. Most of the metros I’ve been on in Europe have a nice little list of all the stops they make and sometimes, there’s even a monument or landmark written next to the stop on the list. I should mention here that a map is very useful. Tourist maps not only tell you where cool things are, but where you can eat, where metro stations are, and some things to do. This is always the first thing that I do when I get somewhere new. Every train station I’ve been to have tourist maps and I always get one. Sometimes two. I know it may sound dumb, but I’ll touch on why in the next chapter.

Pack an Envelope to Keep Maps.

RAIL ES

I mentioned a rail earlier. Let me expound. The Eurail is a ticket that you can buy online or at major train stations in Europe that is available to people from outside the European Union. There are so many options with this . You have to start with where you’re going. If you are planning on hitting multiple countries, then you need to figure out which ones and pick the that will hit them all. For the big 2012 trip, I didn’t know where I was going to end up, so I bought the Global which is good for the whole continent. Once you have chosen your countries, then you pick your time frame. There are two options from here. You can choose a certain number of travel days within a certain time from or you can choose a continuous . I had a two-week continuous for my backpacking trip so that I could get wherever I wanted during the month I was there. I spent some time on the front end in Ireland as well as some time on the back end. I did not pick up my rail until I was in Paris. Eurail es can only be picked up at certain train stations in mainland Europe if you do not choose to order them ahead of time. The travel days start on your first day of travel. Let’s break it down. If you want to travel for a week and a half and you don’t plan on traveling every day, then you could buy the five travel days in ten days . This means that during the week and a half you will be there, you will have five days where you can take as many trains as you would like in that day. So, you can start your trip in Paris and spend two days, then use a travel day to get to Berlin, stay there for a day, and then use a travel day to get to Rome, etc. I used this version of the once and I found it to be temperamental. I had complications with what was meant by a travel day and which trains required a reservation. It was odd to me that some trains required a reservation despite me having a rail . What this means is that on some trains, you may hop on and hop off, however, when you purchase a rail ticket without a rail , you are assigned a seat. This means, that if you do not purchase a reservation and someone else purchases your seat, you must move. Some trains require the

reservation. These are typically high-speed trains or trains during peak hours of travel. I have not had a train reservation yet that costed me more than €15, about $17. If you purchase the reservation, then the seat is yours for the duration of your journey and you will not be asked to move. This can add to your trip expenses. It is important to understand how this works before leaving for a vacation on a shoestring budget. When you buy a Eurail , you will get a book that has all of the train schedules and timetables in it. You read that right. All the trains from one city to another run on the same schedule and those schedules are conveniently printed for you in a little book that you can carry with you! The book also comes with a big map, so you can plan out your routes more easily. There is also a rail planner app that comes in handy. It is a digital version of the rail schedules. I still use it to plan future visits. You should know that that timetable that you get will be in a 24-hour format. The majority of the world uses the 24-hour clock, or “military time”, as it’s sometimes called in the US. This can be an adjustment for some people. If you know you’ll be abroad for an extended time, you may want to prepare yourself by switching your phone, car, and/or computer to a 24-hour format. My car is still on 24-hour time and so is my phone. It confuses people when they ride with me or check the time on my phone, but I prefer it to AM and PM. My trip in 2012, I had a continuous and I loved it. I was able to travel anywhere, anytime, on any train! The even gets you a discount on ferries and some city es. If you plan to travel during the off season, es are a little cheaper. The prices vary from one type of to another and from region to region. I believe this the way to travel! When I got home, I pulled out the map and darkened in the routes that I traveled along. It made for a cool souvenir for me. I have it taped in my scrapbook now for the 2012 trip. I have two other maps from trips taken later.

TAXIS

One thing I noticed in was that almost all the taxis were BMWs and Mercedes. The cars were so beautiful. I never rode in one, but I feel like I should have just so I could say that I did. There was that couple of awesome strangers in the VW who gave me a ride from San Candido to Bolzano, but they were not a taxi. You can order a taxi from your hotel, your hostel, even your phone in some places. If you walk up to a taxi stand in a city, it is customary to walk to the front of the line of cars. I have been yelled at. Check the roof of the taxis when you visit a new place and see if there is a light on top that indicates if they have picked up a fare or not. I have walked up to a taxi line and been yelled at to go to the front, only to be yelled at by the front driver because he already had a fare. It can get messy, but you have to roll with it. Communicating to a taxi driver where your language is not the one spoken can be difficult. This comes back to knowing a bit of the local language and having maps. You can point to where you want to go, write down the address on a piece of paper or your phone screen, or ask someone nearby for help.

RIDE SHARING

Uber, Lyft, and other ride sharing services have become very popular in recent years. It is important to check that the services are available in the country you will be visiting prior to your vacation. I have had good results with Uber in the United States, but I have limited experience with using it outside of the US.

Pack the apps you need for ride sharing.

FERRIES

Ferries range broadly from fishing boats to luxurious cruise liners. It is important to understand the difference. When you are booking a ferry, there are a few ways that you can figure out which kind you are booking. Start with photos of the boat, move on to reviews of the specific boat name that you are interested in and then make your selection. I have been on a few different ferries and had a few different experiences.

DECK SPACE

When they say “Deck Space”, they are not kidding. This can mean literal seating on the deck of the boat in many cases. On many of the ferries that I have been on, I see people who have purchased deck space get quite comfortable in the restaurants and common areas of the bigger boats. There are often small pillow forts built to house groups of people who are in a hurry to claim soft surfaces to sleep on. The public space is usually louder and more difficult to sleep in, but the fare is cheaper, so you have to weigh your priorities. Between Italy and Greece, I was on a ferry that was little more than a barge. I slept on the deck, covered in a scarf to keep warm. It was liberating, but then again I was nineteen years old. Sleeping on the floor hurts a little more than that now, but the sunrise was amazing and I certainly wasn’t complaining. There was no food on that ferry, but I had a bag with things that I purchased from the docks to nibble on. You should always be prepared with wine and bread.

RESERVED SEAT

When you reserve a seat, it is similar to an airline seat. There are rooms on the ship and they are numbered. Your ticket will say which room you belong in and which seat is yours. These tickets are a little more expensive than deck space tickets, but I think they aren’t too terrible. Your seat will likely recline but lounging on the floor in these rooms isn’t as bad as sleeping on the deck above. My favorite ferry so far has been the age from Rosslare Harbour, Ireland to Cherbourg, . I think I like this one the best because I met such cool people and had an amazing time. The boat was enormous and looked like a full-on cruise ship that you would vacation on. This boat, in particular, warrants a story. Here I am, on that cruise ship, walking past the piano bar to get to the night club so that I can hear Irish performers singing covers of popular American music. When I get there, I walk up to the bar and what do I see on tap? Coors Light. My beer of choice, I was twenty-three, come on. I had no idea what good beer was at twenty-three. Turns out that Coors Light is a very popular imported American beer in Ireland. While at the nightclub on the ferry, drinking Coors Light on tap, in Ireland, I meet a couple of other travelers. A small group of women from Canada and my Chinese friend who was studying abroad in Ireland were sitting together. They invited me to sit with them. We ended up getting along and my Chinese friend ended up mentioning that she had a berth with an extra bed. While this sounds like a come on, it wasn’t. She was a very down to earth chick and my first single serving friend of the trip. Yes, this is the same girl from Cherbourg in Chapter 3: Awesome Strangers. I did not end up in her room that night. Instead, I ended up trying to teach a French girl how to play rummy through a language barrier. My French is terrible, and her English was very limited. That made for an interesting evening. I ended up sleeping on the floor in the room with rows of seats in it with my backpack acting as a pillow.

PRIVATE ROOM

Many ferries offer berths, similar to a cruise liner. If you will be underway for longer than a few hours, there are often many choices for bedding. There are female only options, male only options, single berth, two-person berth, interior, exterior, the options are fairly wide spread. The key is understanding your needs before you go and what kind of space you may require. Between Croatia and Italy, my mother and I were in a room with a window. The quarters were cramped, but that was to be expected. The bar was delightful, and the service was amazing. I’ve always been a fan of the way a boat rocks you to sleep. Our windows didn’t open, so it was a little warmer than I would have wanted, but we weren’t complaining.

VEHICLES ON A FERRY

You should probably know that ferries don’t just carry people. When you are booking a ferry, you want to take special note of the boarding location and what time you need to be there. The rule of thumb for Europe that I use is two hours. There is a lengthy process that happens with people walking onto a ferry and those driving onto a ferry. It is a strange thing to walk onto a boat in this way, next to a line of vehicles. At least, it was for me. Where I am from, we only have one ferry, really, and it boards pedestrians from a gangway and vehicles from a ramp. There isn’t much mixing of the two. Boarding from the rear of the boat was new for me as well. If you choose to rent a car during your vacation, ferries can be a good way to get from place to place for the more difficult crossings. Be sure to check your rental agreement before you plan on this, though. Not all rental companies will allow you to take their vehicles on ferries in this way. If you find this out at the port, there is a chance that you will not get your money back for your ferry tickets.

FLIGHTS

Flights are a standard affair in many places. In most of Europe, China, and parts of the Middle East, booking flights is similar to in the US. Find a carrier, choose a flight, book the ticket. You should get to the airport at least two hours early in most cases and there will likely be some level of airport security. Each country has their own standards of what constitutes airport security, but a little research can reveal the differences before you go.

SECURITY

In China, in 2018, you had to remove umbrellas from your luggage and empty water bottles were thrown away. You also had to remove laptop chargers, laptops, liquids, powders, and aerosols. You were not allowed to use a Lithium battery pack while the plane was in the air and the flight attendants were adamant about that. In the US in the same year, umbrellas were not a big deal. In the US, there are scanners that you are typically required to stand in, whereas in many other countries it is a simple metal detector. Some of those countries feel that a pat down is required in addition to that metal detector. I’m not sure what it is about my face that says I’m trouble, but every time I fly to, from, or around China, I get selected for the extra pat down. It also seems that when I fly back to the States from Europe, I tend to get selected for the extra security screening. This has only been in recent years and I believe it to be because of the countries that I have visited. I haven’t been anywhere off the charts yet, but I can see where my age and frequency of travel might mean I warrant a second look. I’m not sure how they choose. There isn’t much to say on flights in Europe, as compared to the United States. Airport security looks similar, the insides of the airports look similar; in fact, every airport that I have been to has looked fairly standardized. I think if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen the majority.

BUDGET AIRLINES

I enjoy using budget airlines in general due to the cost, obviously. In the US, I opt for Spirit Airlines. In Europe, it’s Ryan Air. You must be very careful when booking flights on budget airlines because they have a pay-for-what-you-use philosophy. It is very easy to run up a tab on a flight that was d at $17 once you take into carry-on luggage, inflight snacks, and even boarding early. There are many flights that you can book along specific routes for low rates like this, but you should know that those rates are typically for you and your purse. Anything over and above that is an additional charge.

Pack a snack.

Using budget airlines to get from one place to another is fantastic. Especially if you can find an inexpensive way to get to mainland Europe. I often will book the cheapest flight I can find to anywhere in Europe and then use a budget airline to take me the rest of the way. When getting around Europe, I prefer the train as a method of travel, but flights can save you a great deal of time and money. When getting around China or the US, I tend to use trains for trips less than three hours and flights for anything over. Only you know you the best. So, you must determine what is best for you when it comes to transit.

TRANSFER FLIGHTS

When on international flights, you must take customs and immigration into when planning your timing. Depending on where you go, you may want to plan for at least three hours between touchdown and your next flight’s departure. Once you land, you make your way to the border control area and work your way through. You will need all travel documents ready to go while you are in line and you want to pay attention to the employees in the area when you get closer to the window. Don’t be that guy who takes forever and doesn’t pay attention when it is their turn to approach the window. Different countries have different rules regarding rules of conduct in the customs area.

WINDOW OR AISLE?

For the first time flyers, here’s a quick questionnaire to help you identify what kind of flyer you are. Look at the questions below and choose A, B, or Doesn’t Matter.

Question

A

B

Doesn’t Matter

How long can you sit still normally?

6 hours

30 minutes

I can go either way

How often do you use the restroom?

Twice a day Every hour

Depends on what I

What do you drink?

Liquor

Can you sleep sitting up?

If I prop up Absolutely

Sometimes

Do you like people?

Not really

All the time

If I have to

Are you bothered by strangers touching you? Yes

Not always

Sometimes

Do you need to look out the window?

No

It’s not necessary

TOTAL

Yes

Beer or Wine Either/I don’t drink

If your answers were predominantly “A”, you are a window person. If your answers were predominantly “B”, you are an aisle person. If you had a great deal of “Doesn’t Matter”, you can probably go either way and your first ticket should probably be booked where you think you will fit better. A Window Person should sit for long times, be very conscious of those around them, not open the window blind too often when people are sleeping and prefer to keep to themselves. An Aisle Person tends to prefer the control, but that means that you will have to get up often for others. A Doesn’t Matter Person will be a flexible traveler who can pay attention to others or keep to themselves. Choose which category you think you will fit in and try booking your flight in that seat. If it doesn’t work out for you, try flying in the other type of seat on your next flight. I was a Window Person for years! I always loved the window seat so that I could look outside and not be bothered. When I fly short hops, I still aim for a window unless I want to get out faster catching a quick connecting flight. During one of my trips, I did not have access to a window seat and was forced to fly an aisle seat in the center set of seats for a twelve-hour flight. That flight changed my life. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to a young man and his mother. The young man (fortunately small) was in the middle seat next to me and his mother was on the other side. In an effort to not disturb me (the stranger with a language barrier), he always ed over his mother to access the aisle. He did not bother me the entire flight. I have found that this technique works consistently. Ever since, I fly aisle in the middle seats when I travel alone. When I travel with someone, I tend to fly in the middle out of courtesy. Though, some larger planes have rows of seats that are only two wide at the back of the plane. These are the seats I choose when flying with someone. I take the window and give my travel companion the aisle. Check the airplane’s layout when you book your seats and see what you think might work for you.

Five

SOUVENIRS

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” Bill Bryson

S ouvenirs are one of those things that I differ from most people on. Philosophically, I enjoy a souvenir. I think that having an item to commemorate a location, an occasion, or a memory is a wonderful thing. Having said that, I don’t feel that cheap plastic tokens with the city name painted on them reflect that. While these items do, in fact, remind you of the location they were acquired, I feel that they do not capture the true spirit of a souvenir. A souvenir is personal. It is connected directly to a memory. It is between you and your vacation. I do not buy souvenirs for people when I travel. I understand, however, that most people do. Depending on what kind of souvenir person you are will dictate what kind of souvenirs you buy and how much room to leave in your luggage for them.

SOUVENIRS FOR EVERYONE

If you are the kind of person who buys souvenirs for everyone in your family and everyone that you work with, then you might want to use the nesting doll method. Pack your carry-on bag in your checked bag and check the nested set on the way over. Be sure to hold a clean outfit, your documents, and any medications you may have in your personal item if you use this method. Once at your destination, the carry-on bag is removed from the checked bag and the checked bag is filled with souvenirs. Once you head to your return flight, the checked bag is checked, and the carry-on bag is brought on the plane with you. To me, this is excessive, but I understand that there are sometimes when this is necessary. Another approach is to pack a collapsible duffel bag into your carry-on bag. Once you are where you are going, pull out the duffel bag and fill it with your souvenirs. Check the duffel bag for your return flight. This also saves you checked luggage fees for one direction of your trip. These methods also work if you are flying home for Christmas with a checked bag full of presents. Simply nest the bags on the return flight.

ONLY FOR THE IMPORTANT ONES

If you are the giver that wants to buy your children a stuffed animal or your wife a present while you are away, then perhaps the expandable method is for you. Whether you are traveling for business, alone, or with your family, make sure that your carry-on luggage has an expansion feature. When you pack your bag initially, do not expand the bag. This will allow you to pack your bag comfortably while leaving room for additional items during your journey.

ONLY FOR THE MEMORIES

Selfish though it may sound, I do not buy people souvenirs, as a rule. I have been known to acquire things for people on occasion, but it not the norm for me. I am not saying that you should never buy anyone anything, just that you should consider heavily why you are buying something for someone before you spend your hard-earned money on it. I feel the same way about gift-giving holidays, in general. The best souvenirs are little trinkets from along the way. Ticket stubs from travel, coins from different countries, tourist maps, pictures of cool stuff, and even a Eurail itself. I have mine in my scrapbook. I picked up a small smooth stone at Rosslare Harbor in Ireland before I left for Cherbourg and I used a permanent marker to write on it where I got it from. I picked up a guitar pick in a music store in Ireland and brought one home for my brother in law. Things don’t have to be fancy or expensive to be meaningful. I learned this especially on my early trips. I didn’t have a lot of money to throw around and couldn’t afford to get anyone anything. There was the inevitable stress of getting something the wrong thing or not getting someone something that you probably should have gotten. It is too stressful, so I just don’t get anyone anything.

Pack a token that is meaningful like a stuffed animal or a figurine to take pictures with along the way.

FUNCTIONAL SOUVENIRS

As I said before, all I had were flip flops for the first half of one of my trips. They were really comfortable and it was May/June, so it was mostly warm everywhere I went. It started to cool off a little bit the further north I ventured, so I remedied my flip flop situation with a pair of crossword puzzle knock off Chuck Taylors from a corner shop in Munich. They were lime green and five euros. My niece was so jealous and she ogled after them time and time again and always said she wanted a pair just like them. I ended up giving them to her and they turned out to be a birthday present she wore until they fell apart. When I was in Amsterdam, I bought myself a purple and white checkerboard scarf to keep a little warmer. I still have it and I still wear it. In Dublin, I bought myself a one-size-fits-all maxi dress that is still in my closet. The same in China. These are the kinds of souvenirs that I love to have and love to buy. Useful gifts, not useless bobble-heads. This isn’t to bouth people who like buying people things. My only point is that if you are short on money and packing space, then you should consider useful souvenirs like shoes and scarves and little rocks with a place written on them. Since my bank wouldn’t exchange coins, only paper bills, I had some coinage left over and it makes a nice little trinket. My grandmother used to have international coins mounted in little frames on a necklace. Cool coins remind me of her. The Christmas after my family trip with my mom and my sister, I cut up all of the maps and ticket stubs from our vacation and put the cuttings into clear glass ornaments. I wrote Ireland 2016 on the outside in paint pen. It was a great gift that will be around for a long time that doesn’t take up much space and doesn’t cost a lot of money.

CHEAP JUNK

You should probably be warned about all the souvenirs that you will see on your travels. Just about every corner store will have cheesy souvenirs with the city name all over them. Scarves, bags, hats, beanies, shirts, hoodies, shorts, glasses, shot glasses, plates, snow globes, wall art, notebooks, the list goes on and on and on. There are also street vendors, both legal and otherwise, that sell all manner of things. You can get knock-offs of almost any popular brand on the street in a lot of places. They have other stuff, too. The choices are endless of what you can spend your money on. Some are legal, some are not. Some will last a long time, some won’t even survive your return journey. It is important to not get sucked up into the souvenir game and squander precious money and time on cheap things.

SMALL TOKENS

Postcards are a good choice in a lot of places. You send them from the city that you are in, they are only the cost of the paper and postage, and your family and friends might think they’re cool. I know that my grandfather sent some mail back home from while he was stationed over there just so he could have the stamp from the postal service. I didn’t mail anything home, so I can’t vouch for that process first hand, but I would imagine that it can’t be that hard. I know the timing isn’t there, but I know that you can set up your own pictures from your trip to be postcards for your friends and family after you get home. I made a collage as a gift from pictures from my trip recently. That turned out pretty cool and the recipient of that gift hung it up in her room. I’ve mentioned tourist maps a couple times, now. Tourist maps make great souvenirs and they’re fun to look at even after you get home. I tend to mark up my tourist map with all of the places that I went and sometimes notes about what I did. I also keep a travel journal with more detailed stories about the trip and things that happened along the way. I tend to grab two copies of a tourist map; one that I can use and get all messed up while I’m there and one that I can mark up as I’m going through the trip. I still like to read the travel journal from time to time to see what I’ve forgotten about my trip. I would write in my travel journal whenever I was on a long train ride, whenever I was laying down at the hostel for the night, and sometimes when something cool just happened. Even now, so many years later, I can pick up one of my travel journals, flip to a page, and fall back into wherever I was when I was writing.

HELPING OTHERS

When you are traveling alone, it can be a little difficult to get good pictures of yourself without a selfie stick. Call me whatever name you would like on this one, but I do not like selfie sticks. Here’s a hint: Other people travel alone, too! Find them and trade picture for picture. There are so many people who want a good picture of themselves on their vacation, also not from a selfie stick. Traveling couples, solo backpackers, and groups of friends are all looking for something more than a selfie from their trip. The way it typically went down for me was standing somewhere looking at a beautiful background when I realized that I wanted a picture. I would look around and see another person with the same look on their face. Fighting with the selfie. Good pictures with all the big backgrounds when traveling can be difficult to encom with the mere selfie. Find another lost picture taker, offer to take their picture, when you’re done, ask them to take yours. Boom! Excellent photo. I will it that the first time I handed my phone to a total stranger in another country and asked him to take my picture, I fully expected him to run off, but he totally didn’t. He took my picture, smiled, I thanked him, he handed my camera back to me, and we parted ways. No matter where I go, I still do this. I was in Chicago just a few weeks ago and I pulled this same trick with a family that I ran into on the Navy Pier. Expect some people to say no. It’s a difficult thing to do, trust a stranger with your phone, but I feel like using this travel tip has made me a more considerate solo traveler. Somehow since I started doing this, I am more considerate of other people taking photographs and try to stay out of their shot. Not to mention, whether I am traveling alone or not, I still offer for those who are in the same situation I was once.

EXPERIENCES – A LOW BUDGET ALTERNATIVE

A souvenir can be just about anything. Pictures, postcards, rocks, anything! I recommend buying/using/giving functional gifts that will help you along your trip. I think that my favorite souvenir trick is to give experiences. This started on my first big backpacking journey, but I have used it elsewhere since. Traveling alone makes people who care about you worry for you. As a way to both include them on your trip and inform them that you are safe, try giving an experience. The easiest way I could figure out how to swing this was to set up a private group on Facebook and invited my family and friends to it. I asked the people in the group what experiences they wanted to have while I was there. I had one friend who wanted me to drink hot chocolate on a train in Switzerland while traveling through the Alps. I had another who wanted me to eat at a specific restaurant in Paris. I would do these things and take pictures of them for the person who asked me to do it. That was his or her souvenir. In that moment, I would do the thing they asked and think of them. The best part about the Facebook group was that I could post pictures from the trip and post a story about the picture in the caption of the photo. It was like taking my family on the trip with me. I it it did hit a point where it felt like a chore to , so I stopped for a couple of days. I loved being able to tell the stories on this scale. I didn’t have to tell the same stories eighty times after I got home. My family tells me that they loved having the group to see the pictures from along the way and the stories collected from my travels. If you are traveling alone and want to keep a group of people in the loop, this could be a good way to do it. Social media is very useful for living vicariously and for checking in.

Six

LUGGAGE

“He who must travel happily must travel light.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

C hoosing your luggage is an important step in the preparation process. Once you have decided on a location, you can take steps towards which method you wish to employ. Once you have done this, you can choose your luggage, packing style, and ultimately, packing list.

PACKING METHOD

There are several things that go into choosing your Packing Method. It is important to isolate certain variables to determine which method is best suited for your trip. Quick point of experience here. If you hear someone say that they use the same luggage for every trip ever, they likely do not take many trips or have very little variance in the trip locations and styles that they take. There is no one size fits all solution. Finding your packing method is as intimate as finding your wardrobe. You must be choosy, and it takes time and practice to find what works. With any luck, I can get you started in the right direction. Once you have a trip in mind, answer the following questions, keeping score as you answer. The result will tell you which method you should likely employ for the journey. Write down the letter of your answers to the questions below and tally the scores at the bottom of the table to see which Packing Method you should use to best suit your packing style.

Question

A

Minimum # of nights in one place?

1 – 2

What is your primary transportation method?

Public transit, buses, trains

What is your packing density?

Capsule wardrobe

What is the farthest distance to walk, with luggage? Everywhere! Long distances through citi Do you prefer function or fashion?

Function all the way

What are your organization habits?

Everything in its place, every time

Total

“A” PACKER

If you are an “A” packer, then you are a Mobility Warrior. You value being able to get up and go quickly and things must be organized for you to feel comfortable. You often like to explore, but not necessarily settle into one place for too long. This means that you don’t always know every detail of a place, but it doesn’t take you long to get the vibe to know if you could spend more time there.

“B” PACKER

If you are a “B” packer, then that means that you are a blend of the two. You don’t necessarily need to take everything with you, but there’s no need to spend a week somewhere and pack in a shoebox. It is important to be able to move for the convenience, but there’s no rush to leave a city for you. You prefer to take your time, but you’re ready to leave when you’re ready.

“C” PACKER

If you are a “C” packer, then you prefer to travel with your closet in tow. You like to be comfortable. You’re on vacation, after all. There is no reason that you should have to go without certain luxuries regardless of how long you will be gone. You prefer to spend your vacations in one city and get to know if the way you would make a new friend. Depending on your scores, there are certain luggage types that you would like to seek out. The next chart will help you as a starting point. Based on your scores from the previous set of questions, find which packing type you most identify with and reference this chart for your starting point in research.

Highest Scoring Category Bag Type

A

A/B B B/C C C/A ABC

Backpack

X

X

Hybrid Backpack

X

X X

Wheeled Bag, Carry-on

X

X X

Wheeled Bag, Checked Secondary Bag

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X X

X

The items listed above are simply a starting point. There are several resources that you can use to research good luggage. My personal favorite in 2019 is eBags.com for all my luggage and organization tools for travel. You will want all of your bag materials to be durable and of high quality. You want to have the ability to install locks through your zippers and have good zippers that will not break on you during your trip. The way that you stack luggage also matters. It is recommended that you plan your bags around each other.

LUGGAGE TYPES

Backpack – A bag with straps that can be worn on the back. These bags can be as small as six liters and run all the way up to a hundred liters. For a frame of reference, a standard carry-on roller bag is around forty-five liters. What to look for:

• Comfortable straps for long wear • Variety of pockets for storage • Overall dimensions acceptable to carry-on restrictions for your airline (where needed) • If paired with a wheeled bag, a -through strap is recommended

Hybrid Backpack – A bag both with straps and with wheels. This bag is beneficial to maintain mobility while still having the option to spare muscles when you are traveling long distances in airports. What to look for:

• Sturdy wheels • Durable extendable handle • Ensure that the wheels do not dig into your back when you wear it as a backpack

Wheeled Bag, Carry-on – This is typically what you think of when you think of a carry-on bag. There is a broad variety of sizes, colors, and patterns available for

this type of bag. Be sure to check that your carry-on will meet your airline’s dimensional limitations. What to look for:

• Sturdy wheels • Durable extendable handle • Multiple height positions in the handle • If you want a bag with a backup battery, ensure the battery pack is removeable • If paired with a check bag, a -through strap is recommended

Wheeled Bag, Checked – This is the largest of the typical set of luggage. These bags must be checked and cannot be carried onto a plane. What to look for:

• Sturdy wheels • Durable extendable handle • Reinforcements in the corners to protect during loading and unloading

Secondary Bag – This is commonly known as a “personal item” when flying. A secondary bag is crucial to a savvy traveler. For me, I rarely fly with only my purse as a secondary bag. My purse usually goes in my secondary bag when I fly. What to look for:

• Pockets to allow organization • Quality zippers to allow easy and quick access

• Completely sealable bag so that it can be closed fully in flight • If paired with backpack, crossbody strap recommended • If paired with a wheeled bag, a -through strap is recommended to place on top of wheeled bag

There are a lot of options in the luggage arena. Almost any combination can be built, it is just a matter of finding the combination that works for you. Obviously, the list above is not exhaustive. It is a starting point. There is another piece of luggage that I enjoy and that is an under-seat spinner. This is a bag that has wheels like a carry-on but also fits under the seat in front of you. This is a good solution for budget airlines that limit your number of bags. Please do your research and don’t be afraid to experiment with different luggage combinations to find your perfect fit. The first thing to consider is how you are going to get to your destination. If you are flying, then there are certain restrictions that you must accommodate, and you should be aware of those rules PRIOR to your trip. The easiest example I can come up with is the dimensional restrictions for carry-on bags. Be mindful of what is considered a carry-on and what the airline will make you check. I strongly encourage everyone to pack everything carry-on only. Imagine arriving at your destination, ready for your vacation and the airport lost your stuff. That is not a good situation for anyone to be in, so spare yourself and pack in a carry-on only. As a rule, I discourage roller bags, but I recognize that they are useful in a multitude of ways. I fully understand and appreciate their convenience running through the airport, however when wandering through the streets of a new town that is full of potholes, cobblestones, and other tourists aggravated by having to walk behind you, you will find yourself wanting a more mobile alternative; or at least a roller bag with straps to put it on your back. Taxis are a solid alternative to walking if you have less mobile luggage. Another thing I would like to point out about luggage is that it should, at its very core, be functional. I like stylish things as much as the next guy and I have taken luggage on trips because I liked the way it looked. It was not functional. I learned my lesson. You should be able to use your luggage without a great deal

of hassle to get to any of the items that you may need access to along the way. Having things like ports and money readily accessible is important to keep your trip going smoothly, but you have to find the balance between convenience and security. When I travel alone, I keep my bag locked at all times. Even when I had my bag sitting under the seat on the train with the arm strap wrapped around my legs, I kept the bag locked. It became a habit and I’m convinced that it was a smart habit. Functionality should include security.

Pack luggage locks.

Security of your luggage is very important. I mentioned in the hostels section about locking your things up in the lockers provided while you are out and about. I would recommend locking your things up even when you are there. If you are not actively handling your belongings, keep them under lock and key. It sounds a little crazy, but by building that habit of security and that conscientiousness about your belongings, you will make yourself less susceptible to would-be criminals. In the Army, they call it being a “hard target”. I’ll go more into depth about this in the Security chapter of this book.

MY LUGGAGE CRISES

I chose my luggage for my most recent trips based on style and function. I didn’t want to have the big traditional “backpacker” look. There was something about a fifty-gallon nylon backpack with a sleeping roll hanging off the bottom that was a little too much for me. I was going more for the wandering hobo kind of look. So, I went to an Army surplus store and found an old military style backpack that was roughly thirty gallons. That means it was about two feet tall, a foot and a half deep, and a foot or so wide. It was comfortable on the back of a five-foot four woman. The backpack was black, not camouflage, which is something else I will hit on the security section. Try not to buy military surplus things that look decidedly American. I was a rookie traveler and I wanted to look cool. I was a victim of my fashion sense. I don’t want that for you. I want you to prepare appropriately for your travels. Another thing I would like to say about luggage is to get comfortable luggage. My Army surplus bag had pockets set up in such a way that I could sit on it and not break anything inside. I strongly advise this, because having a chair wherever you are is a wonderful thing. Sometimes you don’t get a seat on a train and you’re stuck standing for three hours. Let me tell you a numb rear is not fun. It’s also good in train stations or on the train taking a nap or something. I was on a plane one day and it was a very full flight. I saw a worried man handing a bag off to a stewardess before he took his seat. Turns out the flight was so full that there was no room for his stuff near him or his family and she had to place his things further at the rear of the plane. This meant that not only did he not have control over his belongings for the duration of the flight, but he had to wait until everyone else was off the plane before he could retrieve his stuff. This is bad for a lot of reasons but known that if you’re flying with only carry-on luggage and you do not plan appropriately, or get on the plane soon enough, you might get held up waiting when you really don’t want to. If you end up flying through a busier airport, like Atlanta where they like to cut your layovers really close, these extra minutes could prove to be critical. The moral of the story is to keep control of your stuff. I usually try to travel with

bags that are small enough to fit under the seat in front of me. That is really the only space that is guaranteed for you. The overhead compartments are for larger bags.

Seven

SECURITY

“Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” Peter Hoeg

R egardless of where you travel, there is a need to protect yourself. Not only is putting yourself in danger not smart, but it can ruin a vacation in a hurry. There are many risks out there and it is important that you do your research about safety ahead of time. I use travel.state.gov as a starting point when checking up on new destinations. There is a rating system that the Department of State uses to communicate risk. These are called Travel Advisories and are a scale from one to four. As of 2019, these are the rankings:

1. Exercise normal precautions 2. Exercise increased caution 3. Reconsider travel 4. Do not travel

For reference, some of the countries on the Do not travel list as of now are Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Venezuela, Somalia, Iran, Syria, and others. According to the website, the rankings are based on crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health risks, natural disasters, elections, kidnappings, and more. This not to scare you out of travel; this is to remind you that despite the beauty the world holds, there is ugly as well. You must protect yourself. As I mentioned before, the US Army calls it making yourself a “hard target”. What this means is that you make yourself appear to be someone that no one wants to mess with. That doesn’t mean that you have to be unpleasant to people or walk around looking like you are going to pick a fight, but here are some habits you can employ:

• Stand up straight • Walk with confidence

• Keep to touristy spots • Wander with the flow of attractions and people • Don’t wander down dark alleys • Don’t imbibe too much • Pay attention to where you are • Pay attention to who is around you • Don’t dress in a way that makes you stand out • Don’t carry a day bag that is easy to snatch or pickpocket • Don’t set your things down and walk away • Don’t engage with street hustlers • Don’t be afraid to say no and walk away • Don’t be afraid to speak to police (depending on which country you are visiting) • Don’t travel alone with strangers in vehicles (with the exception of taxis and ride share)

Employ similar safety habits when you travel in Europe that you would employ in most major American cities. Some areas require a higher mindfulness of pickpockets and petty crime. Do your research and check the dates of the articles that you are reading. If there are no articles on safety that are recent, perhaps you should consider a different location. Men with a military-style haircut are targeted for petty crime more often. Tennis shoes with jeans, screen tees, and hoodies are all fashion choices that will peg you as an American. If you are a young woman who likes to travel alone, then do your research. Blonde women tend to be at a higher risk of human trafficking. Young American women and teenage girls are at higher risk of kidnapping.

AT THE MARKET

A friend of mine from college told me a story about her trip to Egypt. When she was younger, her family traveled to Egypt. At the time, she was in her early teens and was with her sister walking through an open-air market. A man walked up to my friend, said something in Arabic, grabbed her by the arm, and started to walk away with her in tow. She shouted for her father and he rushed over. An argument ensued that degraded into a negotiation. My friend didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but her father told her later that the man tried to trade a goat for his daughter. Obviously, she was not purchased, as she made it home with her family and later attended university with me. This kind of thing happens in some parts of the world from time to time. You should be aware of it. Don’t let it hold you back from traveling, but don’t think that you can be free and clear and do whatever you want just because you’ve decided to.

MILITARY SURPLUS

One of the things that I touched on in Chapter 6 was about not buying American military surplus gear to take on your backpacking trip. Part of your security is understanding where you are and the mindset of locals where you are traveling. There are many places in the world that don’t care for our military. There is no point to incurring more attention than is necessary.

MOVING WITH LUGGAGE

When you’re on the move, you should wrap yourself up in the straps of your backpack if you sleep in a public place. Doing this will help you notice if someone is trying to get into your bag. Napping on a train isn’t always a terrible idea. Again, keep your head on a swivel and pay attention to who is around you before you opt for a nap. I like wearing reflective sunglasses and earbuds that way it’s more difficult to tell if I’m asleep or not. You don’t want to have your backpack snatched out from under you while you are ed out and you not notice. Especially if you are only traveling with one bag and everything you have or need is in it. I also always lock my bags with little padlocks.

SCAMMERS

This is common all over the world. Regardless of where you travel, there will be people who try to take advantage of you.

BEGGARS

These are people who sit, stand, or bow on a street corner, next to a building on a busy walkway, or near a highly trafficked location. I’ve seen a man holding a sign labeled “Disabled Veteran” with a leg brace and a cup in his hand. On the other end of the spectrum, when I was in Prague, I saw a man on his knees with his forehead on the ground and his hands cupped on the ground over his head. Beggars are everywhere and it is up to you whether you want to contribute. Sometimes they can be insistent, sometimes they are silent.

A TOKEN FROM A STRANGER

This is a situation where a stranger will stop you when you are walking somewhere and tell you a story. They claim to give you a free item and pair that with a story, then ask for money. In Rome, every time I have been there, this has happened to me. In 2015, there was a young woman near the Colosseum who told me a long story about how the elephant is a symbol of health and long life then placed a small elephant figurine in my hand. She told me it was a gift from Africa to keep me healthy in my travels. I was completely suckered in and I smiled ear to ear and thanked her. When I started to walk away, she would not let my hand go and asked for money to feed her babies. Realizing I was duped, I immediately put the elephant back in her hand and walked away. She yelled at me the whole time I walked away. In Rome again, a different time, a young man placed a bracelet on my travel companion’s wrist. I warned him not to let it happen. He didn’t listen, so I just stood near the road and laughed. The young man pulled out a picture of his daughter and then asked for money. In the Vatican, there was a middle eastern woman begging at the exit of St. Peter’s Basilica. She was hunched over, I assumed in pain, and wearing a full cover. This meant that her face was hidden from us. My mother was determined to give her money and I would not let her. I know it feels heartless, but it doesn’t pay to be taken in. As we walked away, my mother turned back just in time to see the wind catch the woman’s scarf. My mother saw that this man and she immediately understood why I prevented her from donating. One of the times I was in Paris, there was a homeless looking man who offered me a gold band that looked like a wedding band. He said that it was real gold and I could have it. I accepted it, thinking it was one of those strange lucky breaks again. When I started to walk away, he insisted on $10 or more for a sandwich to eat. I gave him back his ring, thanked him for the offer, and apologized for not being willing to pay him and walked away.

THE DEMAND

Sometimes a beggar can transform into a slightly more aggressive form of scammer. When a demand happens, there can be a bit of fear that happens in you. While in Manhattan in 2015, I was on a subway. From the back of the car, a seemingly homeless man opens the door and announces in a very loud voice that he is hungry and that he wants money. If anyone had anything to spare, he would appreciate it. He then walked through the car with his hat out. He didn’t seem to wish any physical ill on anyone unwilling to give him money, but it was an unnerving moment. Having flown there, I had no way to defend myself.

THE TRAIN BEGGAR

This one happens all the time and I still find it entertaining. When on trains in Europe, I have seen this. A person walks through the cars and drops small leaflets with a story on them. The story almost always starts with, “I don’t speak English,” and they are usually multilingual pamphlets. There is a story about a hungry family or hard times and the expectation that you give them some money. These people typically don’t have a ticket and will run from the conductor on the train. They work one car at a time. Once they hand out the pamphlets, they will walk back through, gather their papers and hold out their hands for money. On one of my journeys, the beggar grew quite indignant when I wasn’t handing back his pamphlet quickly enough.

THE PEDDLER

Illegal handbags and clothing are another popular scam. Know that in many countries, you can get in trouble for purchasing fake merchandise. This is an illegal practice and if you pay them, you are liable. There are people selling trinkets everywhere, spotting the scammers is the hard part. I seeing people selling these items on blankets in Berlin. When the police showed up, the blanket was picked up very quickly and the peddler ran the opposite direction. Sometimes, they just leave the blanket behind.

JUST WALK AWAY

When it comes to scammers, the important thing is to be firm, but polite, and walk away. The longer they can keep you, the harder they will try to swindle you. that this is how these people make money. Once you have “wasted” too much of their time, they are invested in getting money out of you. Believe it or not, sticking to hostels and heavily populated areas will be safer for you in a lot of situations. There are many other solo travelers in hostels and there is a degree of strength in numbers that comes from that. Meeting people and making friends in hostels can help keep you out of hot water.

ABILITY

This last tip is kind of a security/easing-the-minds-of-people-back-home sort of thing. that Facebook group I told you about in Chapter 5? This can double as a security measure. Before you travel, set up a Facebook group an invite your immediate family and close friends who want to be in on your trip. Each day post a picture with a story. It can double as a safety feature and a souvenir. There are dangers to posting to social media while traveling, hence the private group. If you post to your social media that you are traveling or when you will be traveling, then would-be robbers will know when you won’t be home. Potential bad guys will know that you are a solo traveler, and that can be an equation for bad things to happen. It’s a bit of a long shot, but it’s still a reality, so keep it in mind.

Eight

BIG DUMB AMERICAN

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” James Michener

T his chapter’s advice is simple. Don’t. Don’t be a big dumb American. Now, before you get too indignant, let me explain what I mean when I say this. In my experiences, there are a handful of behaviors that will peg you as an American and I’m begging you to not do them. They will damage your experience on your trip because the locals will look at you with that judgment that we catch when we travel to other places not knowing what’s going on. There is nothing wrong with being an American. I am very proud to be American. When we travel abroad, we are not in America anymore. There are certain geographical and cultural advantages that we have as Americans. Thanks to our distance from many other countries, the number of Englishspeakers in the world, and American culture being a major export, we have blinders when we travel sometimes. This chapter is intended to help you avoid these traps and so far, it’s worked. In Rome in 2015, I had a local think that I was a local until he reached the limit of my Italian. Some aspects of a big dumb American: (1) only speaking English everywhere you go, (2) not observing local manners, (3) thinking that everyone around you is there to make YOUR trip better, (4) taking selfies constantly, and (5) judging local food before you try it.

ENGLISH ONLY

Let’s start at the beginning: Only speaking English. Obviously, it is difficult to become fluent in a language before you go somewhere. It’s difficult to become conversational in a hurry. There are many places where multiple languages are spoken. If you learn a little bit of at least one of those languages, you are in much better shape. It is not a rumor that some people look down on you for greeting them in English. If you have worked in the service industry, you can probably relate. Have you ever had a customer come in speaking something other than English? How does it make you feel? English is spoken in a great deal of the world, this is true. In most tourist towns, like Paris, Rome, and Berlin, almost every waiter speaks at least some English. This doesn’t mean that you should take advantage and rely on them to tell you everything. Do your research and find out what languages are spoken in the areas where you wish to travel. As I pointed out in Chapter 1, I travel with a phrase book for the region. Do a quick internet search to see what languages are spoken where you plan to visit. Being fluent is not necessary, though it would be great if you could get there that quickly. Basic phrases like, ”Hello”, “Goodbye”, “Please”, “Thank you”, “Where’s the bathroom?” can be very helpful along the way. This will not only give you more independence on your trip, but locals will appreciate the gesture. (Except in Paris, where many people can be snobbish about their language and your nationality, but still try.)

LOCAL CUSTOMS

Next, not observing local manners. There are many customs in many countries that are punishable by law. These are the things that you need to know, so make sure that you do your research before going. For example, in Italy, the local police will enforce the no crotch scratching rule. It is illegal to adjust yourself or touch your crotch in a public place. They will fine you for this. Again, a strong recommendation here to research local laws for anywhere that you’re planning on visiting. That goes for the US, too. There are some weird laws that differ from state to state that don’t always line up and you don’t want to end up in trouble in your travels.

BEING SELFISH

If you take a vacation thinking that everyone around you is there for you, then you will be sorely mistaken. There are a lot of things that go into this. One that jumps to mind is thinking that everyone should get out of your way or that you are above waiting in lines. This is considered an American trait in parts of the world, because Americans are typically the land of I paid for it, I want to get the most out of it. While this is true in the US, there are certain things that are expected elsewhere. Yes, you should expect good service, but waiters in other parts of the world are not paid like waiters in America. They are not working as hard for the tip, because they are paid more as an hourly wage. Tips are not seen as highly in some places as they are in the U.S. and are even considered insulting in other places. This comes back to the local customs part. Research local customs and try to follow them as much as you can. This will help you. Don’t think that because you carry the eagle on your port in your pocket that everything in the States is traveling with you.

SELFIES

I have a deep hatred of selfies. This phenomenon is not contained to the US. There are many other cultures who go nuts with the selfies, too. China leaps to mind. This is not to say that you shouldn’t take any pictures of yourself when you travel. The selfie has become such a staple in our culture that we are just accustomed to taking pictures of ourselves or ourselves with others by ourselves. Some places are more social. I have taken many photos for a fellow tourist. More often than not, they reciprocate. This also doesn’t mean hand your phone to anybody. You still need to be careful. Hustlers and pickpockets sometimes will offer to take a picture for you and then either try to charge you money, guilt you into paying them, or run off with your camera. When traveling alone, I often offer to other travelers to take photos for them. I offer with a smile on my face and I don’t get insistent if they say no. I am refused a great deal. They are smart people. Those who do not refuse tend to thank me for the help and then offer to take one of me wherever I am. There is something much nicer about interacting with a stranger to take a picture of you than just clicking a selfie and moving on.

Pack a camera.

JUDGING LOCAL FOOD

Food is one of those features of a culture that is pervasive. Anyone who grew up in a food-based community knows that grandma would never let you leave the house without at least one meal in your stomach. Understand the culture where you are going and make sure you know if it is a food-centric culture. Many people can be easily offended by not treating their food correctly. This could mean everything from not burping loudly at the end of a meal to salting your food being taken as offensive. Be sure to research the local fare prior to your trip. You may not want to get too adventurous or perhaps you have a food allergy. If you simply point at something on the menu, it may not end well. Sniffing, making faces, or otherwise at your food may deeply offend the person who made it or the one serving it to you. Don’t think that just because it’s different means you will hate it.

STEREOTYPES

I realize that it’s a stereotype to call it being a “Big Dumb American” but understand that we are a walking stereotype in many places and I’m asking for you not to be the worse parts of those stereotypes. Blending in isn’t about losing who you are, it’s about blending into an environment where you are a guest and you are the foreigner. It’s like walking into someone else’s house and them requesting you take your shoes off. You acknowledge that because it’s their house! This is the same situation, but on an international level. Basic greetings, key phrases, common customs, and local clothing style are all important details to enhance your travel. With just a little bit of work on your part, your trip will be more enjoyable, less offensive, less likely to get you in trouble, and open you up to opportunities that you may have had otherwise. I do wish you the best of luck.

Nine

WARDROBE

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” Susan Heller

F ellas, if I’m lucky enough to have any reading, I don’t have much advice for you, I’m afraid. I can only speak to the ladies about what I have experienced. Maybe you can pick up a tip or two, but this chapter is mostly aimed at the travelette.

FOOTWEAR

Two pairs of shoes are my typical recommendation. The type of trip you are taking will dictate what kind of and how many pairs of shoes you should pack. Regardless of what kind of trip you are taking, I recommend a pair of waterproof sandals or flats that are comfortable. Use the chart to determine what kind of shoes you should pack and how many pairs to take.

Question

A

What is you approximate walking distance at one time? Less than 3 miles What is the terrain type where you are visiting?

Indoor, Flat, Smooth

What water levels might you run into?

Mostly indoors, light rain

Do you work out on vacation?

No

Do you have a formal event to attend?

No

Total

Tally up your score and see where you need to be for your footwear choices.

“A” FEET

If you are an “A” scorer, then you are not a big walker. Your vacation will likely be somewhere indoors with museum visits or conventions. For this, you need comfortable shoes, but fashion can outweigh function for you. I still recommend only two pairs of shoes, but if you have the room, you can pack an extra pair of fashionable shoes.

“B” FEET

If you are a “B” packer, then that means that you are a blend of the two. You don’t necessarily need to take the high fashion shoes, but you are conscious of how your feet look. You are equally concerned about how your feet feel at the end of the day. With this category, I recommend comfortable walking shoes and a pair of slip on shoes for nicer evenings.

“C” FEET

If you are a “C” packer, then you are either adventurous or you have an event to attend. In either case, you can pack three pairs of shoes. If you are aiming for the adventure, then you will want comfortable hiking shoes that are broken in before your trip. If you have an even to attend, you will want the shoes that are prescribed for the event that you will be attending. In addition to the previous two shoe types, you will also want a comfortable walking shoe and a slip on of some kind.

STRIKE A BALANCE

If you are trying to balance fashion and function, you must find shoes that are multipurpose. Gentlemen have better luck in this arena. For the men, I recommend two pairs of shoes, three if you will be hiking. A nice pair of mules that can be dressed up or down, a pair of hikers if you are outside, and a pair of flip flops or slides for the hotel room. For the ladies, I recommend finding a pair of ballerina flats that are comfortable to walk in for long distances. This can be difficult, but finding the right pair is imperative. You want shoes that have good arch , won’t slip off your feet, and breathe. Ideally, those shoes would go with a sundress, a pair of shorts, or dress slacks. Basic shape, solid colors, and comfortable insoles. These are the key features to look at.

SHOES IN PRAGUE

Sitting in a train station in Prague, I saw a father and son standing on the platform, waiting on someone. I heard English. I listened more closely. I heard an American accent. It was then I decided to be the one to kick up a conversation. Turned out they were from Texas. Being from Louisiana, we were practically family. The man looked at me, sitting on my bag, and asked if that was the only luggage I had. I laughed and said yes, of course, I am backpacking after all. The look on his face was priceless. His son obviously knew what he was going to say, because he was laughing before his father got the words out. He gestured down at the very large bag that he was standing over and told me that it was full of shoes. I almost couldn’t believe it. I had heard that some women pack a lot of shoes, but I couldn’t believe that one. Thinking maybe they were here for the summer, I asked how long their trip was. His response: one week. We both laughed at this. I explained to him that I was in Europe for the month and he politely asked me to teach his wife how to pack.

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT

My favorite piece of luggage is a smaller black bag. It looks like a large purse, but has so many pockets, I can easily pack for a week in it. I was boarding a plane one day with that bag and a flight attendant stopped me and complimented the bag. I thanked her and made my comment about the pockets and being able to pack for longer trips. She asked about the duration of my trip and I answer, “a week.” She told me that I should teach flight attendents how to pack. I found that very surprising. I would have thought that they have that down to a science. Either way, I took the compliment and found my seat. It is a trusty bag.

WHY TWO PAIRS?

One, it cuts down on volume of luggage required and two, because if you wear the same shoes every day and walk farther each day than you normally would back home, your feet will wear out in places that you are ill prepared for. Hence, the second pair. My usual recommendation is to have a pair of good walking shoes and a pair of slip on shoes. The walking shoes can be everything from flats to hiking boots. Slip on shoes are important, too. Some kind of moccasin or sandal is good. The slip on’s are good for a variety of applications. If you are flying at any point in your trip, it’s nice to have shoes that will slip on and off so that you don’t have to deal with lacing and unlacing in the airports at any point. They are also handy for sliding your shoes on to run downstairs to the bar or vending machine in your hotel for a snack. If you are staying in a hostel, it’s nice to have waterproof sandals for the showers and for running out for your breakfast in the morning.

CLOTHING

This is a touchy subject. Depending on where you are going, what time of year, the landscape of your trip, and your personal style, one packing list could vary wildly from the next. There are some general rules of thumb you can use, but they will not work in every situation.

• Dress in layers • Pack pieces that go with multiple outfits • Pack outfits that go with your shoe choices • Bring a light jacket or sweater (even to Hawaii) • Pack a scarf • If you are taking a longer trip, consider doing laundry at some point along the way to save yourself room

When choosing your wardrobe, you must consider the variables. Take some time to learn about capsule wardrobes before packing.

WEATHER

The first variable to consider is weather. What will the weather be like where you are going when you will be visiting? Pack accordingly. Rain jackets, light jackets, snow gear, boots, bathing suits, wedding dress, tuxedo, scuba gear, and hiking socks are all articles of clothing with very different purposes. Look at the weather and pack accordingly.

TIME OF YEAR

The time of year that you are visiting somewhere doesn’t only affect the weather, but what might be happening. For example, you may want to pack a more modest wardrobe if you are visiting Rome around Easter time. The Holy See is a bit more conservative during this time with parishioners from all over the world in attendance.

LANDSCAPE OF YOUR TRIP

If you intend to hike Mount Everest, you will need a particular set of gear. That is a list I cannot give you without a great deal of research, as I have never done that. Scuba diving in the Bahamas could have a similar affect on your packing list. Attending a destination wedding could require you to pack more things into your luggage than you might ordinarily. If you are planning to visit museums, eat local fare, and walk through monuments, then you are more likely to prefer a standard capsule wardrobe.

YOUR PERSONAL STYLE

This will likely have the heaviest affect on what you choose to pack. How you like to dress, what you think goes together and how you feel comfortable will dictate much of your wardrobe. I suggest laying out all possible outfits for an journey. If any one dress, skirt, shirt, pants, shorts, or jacket cannot be matched with at least three outfits, then leave it behind. If you must have a personal flash of something, consider putting that personal flash in a scarf, coat, umbrella, or hat.

STAYING ORGANIZED ON THE ROAD

Regardless of gender, style, or wardrobe, there is one tip that will help you during your travels: use packing cubes. Packing cubes are these wonderful little storage compartments that can be used in your travels to organize your luggage further. When you travel, your bag is your room that you carry on your back. Keeping your room clean makes it easier to find something that you are looking for, quickly. They are available at a variety of vendors and come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I use mine to set up everything from toiletries to electronics. You can organize your bag by individual outfits or arrange your pieces by category to make selection more open ended. While visiting China on a business trip, I was put in a hotel for two weeks. This meant that I was not moving much and could get comfortable. I do not like putting my things in hotel drawers; I am always afraid I will leave something behind. Instead, I pack my clothes in my packing cubes and when I get to the hotel, I lay those cubes out on a table or shelf next to each other like open face drawers. This way I don’t forget anything, everything is still organized, and when the time comes, I just zip everything right back up and put it back in my luggage. Simple. Packing cubes are useful and affordable. Once you choose your luggage, choose your packing cubes, and practice packing in them to see what you are most comfortable with.

Pack a spare packing cube to arrange things on the plane.

Ten

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS

“With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.” Sandra Lake

N ot all of the advice that I have fits into a clean-cut category. This chapter specially designed to contain all of those little tidbits that couldn’t find a home somewhere else.

LEARNING A LANGUAGE

There are many ways to learn another language. Apps, books, internet videos, the list is endless. My favorite app to use is Mango. Check your local library, university library, or company sponsored program to see if you can get Mango for free. I also enjoy looking up popular music and movies from my nation of choice. Surrounding yourself with the language that you are trying to learn will help you get more comfortable with the words and cadence. This is a form of the “immersion method” of language learning.

TOILETRIES

If you are planning on taking a trip longer than, say a week, then you are going to need more shampoo than the little 4 oz. bottle affords. That being said, here is what I did when I went on my month-long trip in 2012. I flew over with just me and purchased the items that I knew that I would need once I got there. When I landed in Dublin, I immediately hopped a train to Rosslare Harbor where I boarded a ship to Cherbourg, . Lots of travel very early on in the trip. But, when I got to Cherbourg, I went to a grocery store to purchase some of the essentials that I knew that I would need during my trip. I bought shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. all at the grocery store to keep it cheap and to experience some slightly different.

FEELING CLEAN

When you travel for long periods of time without a shower, there is something fairly simple, but extremely refreshing you can do to combat the grunginess. Get in a bathroom and clean your feet. I know, I know. But, yes, take off your shoes and socks and wash your feet. You will feel remarkably better. After that, clean your hands and arms up to your elbows and then wash your face. Or better yet, go the other way. Face, then hands and arms, THEN feet. You’ll feel a lot better and be more satisfied with your trip, I promise.

FOOD TRUCKS

I recommend food trucks almost everywhere you go in Europe. Some of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life came from food trucks in Rome. The best darn croissant I’ve ever had was a food truck in Paris, and the crepes were to die for! Eat everything! Try as much as you can afford, experience new things, and make more than pictures, make memories.

POTTY TALK

Oh yeah, I’m going there. Wherever in the world you are planning to travel, you should know the details of… evacuation. I have lived in places that have required me to use just about anything you could imagine. Port-o-potties, trailer potties, train potties, nice potties, hotel potties, outside potties (you know, the woods), there are so many options out there for this purpose and you need to know how to make them all work for the sake of your own sanity. From a gender perspective there are different needs all around, but let’s focus on the need to be seated for a time and then clean after. Train Potties & Commercial Airline – These are similar to one another. These are typically single person bathrooms placed throughout the plane or train. There is usually an indicator light somewhere near the bathroom that shows when the door is locked. If there is no light, check for a little sign that says Occupied that rotates with the lock. There is a small sink in the room and a toilet. Toilet paper is typically included on airlines in the US, Europe, China, and the Middle East, I can say with confidence. Toilet paper is usually there on trains in the US and Europe. It can be hit or miss and it is still smart to take baby wipes and tissues with you when you travel. Here are the key steps:

1. Check for vacancy 2. Check for the door lock 3. the door locks correctly 4. Check for toilet paper 5. Identify how to flush (If it looks really sketchy, test the flush) 6. Handle business

Pack tissues.

BRING YOUR OWN PEN

I cannot stress this enough. It’s one of those things that takes up virtually no space that you will use in many places. If you journal along your trip, if you want to fill out your Customs forms, completing information at hotels or hostels, filling out visitor logs in places that you visit, writing down your email address for a travel buddy that you want to stay in touch with, etc. There are so many uses for such a simple tool that there is no reason for you to not have one.

Pack an ink pen.

DINING OUT

Ask about specials and specialties when you are trying new foods. When I was in Iceland, I asked what the specials were. I found out the Icelandic Pony was the lunch special and not only did I spend half as much as everybody else at the table, but it was delicious! It is not something that I would have even known that they served as it was not on the menu. To be clear: I did eat horse and it was delicious.

SMOKING IN CHINA

Though the number is going down some, there are still a very large number of smokers in China. Smoking with someone is a social thing there. While in Chongqing, I was offered local cigarettes at an alarming rate. It is rude to say no, but try to do so as politely as possible. If you are a smoker, pack an extra carton to share. This can be taken as a sign of trust and openness. Lighters are not allowed on airplanes in checked luggage in China. Be aware that you will have to throw your lighters away before ing through security. Don’t take your lucky Zippo® unless you want to lose it.

Pack American cigarettes if you’re going to China.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Follow the wind, sometimes. This may sound like strange advice, but there are things that happen sometimes that you have to react to and they can end up being for the best in the long run. when I mentioned my mother’s allergic reaction back in Chapter 1? Her allergies ended up being for the best long term. Wandering the streets of Rome between the Castel d’Angelo and the Vatican in the Spring of 2017, my mother and I were following the river. It is a large river and it is lined with walkways on either side. With sun rays shining down and sidewalk ing underfoot, my mother and I were generally enjoying the day. Until a moment came when my mom started sneezing, often. Her eyes were watering, and she couldn’t stop sneezing the whole way along the river. I asked if she was ok repeatedly and she was baffled to what was coming over her. We kept walking, making our way to the St. Peter’s Square. At one point, our path took us away from the bridge and across a street that would eventually mate up to a side street near Vatican City. About a block down this street, her sneezing stopped. Assuming it was a strange fit, we thought it was over. We laughed about it and kept walking, marveling at the vigor of her sneezes. After our Vatican tour, we began the trek back to the hotel room and found ourselves, yet again, along the river. Mom started sneezing again. Her eyes began to water and we were trying so hard to figure out what it was. Assuming it to be something in the river, we turned away from the water and headed down a new road. The sneezing stopped and we continued. Turning down another street far away from the river, she started sneezing again, eyes watering, and in general discomfort. We put together the fact that it wasn’t the river making her sneeze, but she looked up and realized that there was a particular type of tree that was along both the river walk and this road we were now on. We abandoned that road for another that was bare. Her sneezing went away. These trees were all over Rome and led to some interesting routes for us to go places. Had my mother had allergy medicine with her, this could have been a different story, but she did not. We could have gone into a pharmacy for the equivalent of Benadryl, but in many European countries, it is controlled, and you need a doctor to prescribe it.

This may sound strange, but with her newfound condition, we opted to leave Rome and head back to Switzerland a day earlier than previously planned. We ended up spending the night in Zurich instead of on an overnight train back to Paris. When we got to Paris, we found out that the train station that we would have pulled in to, were we on the overnight train from Rome, had been the site of a shooting where many people were hurt. Since we came in from Zurich, we were at the other station. Sometimes, “bad luck” is really fate stepping in.

Pack Benadryl®.

PACKING CUBE SELECTION

Don’t buy packing cubes that are the same color as the inside of your bag. They come brightly colored for a reason. that the inside of your luggage doesn’t have to match. I made the mistake of having all black organizers in my luggage and they were impossible to find in a hurry.

GROCERY STORES IN EUROPE

Eating from the grocery store can be a great option to both save money and eat healthy on the road. I enjoy going to local grocery stores and buying things like local wine, fresh fruits, bread, and snacks. Especially in Iceland, this is a great money saver. Note that some grocery stores charge you for disposable bags.

Pack a collapsible tote.

Eleven

THE ROOKIE

“ that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” Roy M. Goodman

E verybody is new at one point. Do not feel bad about being a rookie. Do not fear travel because you don’t want to be the rookie. Everybody is the rookie at some point or another. We all make mistakes. That being said, an open letter:

Dear Rookie,

You, the rookie, the newb, the virgin. I’m here for you. I have been consulted many times prior to a vacation. Between the blog, the videos, the advice, and the planning, I have been there for many people before you. You, newb, are the one that I am here for now. I want to break things down for you. I want you to enjoy your first travel experience. I want you to catch the same bug that I caught in my younger years. I want you to branch out; reach out into a world that will bite you and excite you so much that all you can think of is your next taste! I want you to become a travel junkie desperate for your next hit. The world is a beautiful place full of beautiful people doing beautiful things. In this section, I will answer the top questions that I get prior to different vacations. The year is 2019 and I am in the United States. This advice comes from over a decade of traveling parts of the world and experiencing life elsewhere. I hope you enjoy.

The World Awaits, Sarah

WHICH AIRLINE DO YOU FLY?

It depends on where I am going, how long the flight is, the price, and the perks. For example: If I am flying long distances, I tend to choose Delta, Lufthansa, or SwissAir. If I am flying somewhere alone, I tend to prefer budget airlines, though I don’t always care for traveling to the city from which they fly. My go to is Spirit, though I also use Allegiant from time to time. I have had good experience with Frontier, though I don’t fly with them often. When I travel with friends or family, I tend to fly Delta or American. With the luggage restrictions, I prefer to not fly budget when traveling with others unless they can pack as light as I do. that budget airlines are pay to play.

DO YOU CHECK A BAG?

No. The short answer here is no. Checking luggage is not only expensive, it is an inconvenience. You must drop the bag off before you through secvurity. You must wait until the plane is unloaded after your flight to retrieve it. Bags are tossed around, potentially damaged, or even lost. I have only traveled to one place where I needed that much stuff, but that was for a job placement for a year. That flight, I took two checked bags and a carry-on.

Pack less.

HOW DO YOU GET OFF THE PLANE SO FAST?

This is a question of strategy. It is customary in the US to allow the people in the row in front of you to deplane before you. That being said, some people prefer to wait until the end. I look at a person seated five rows in front of me. When that person is moving, I get in position. I stand in my seat area and make eye with my luggage in the overhead. If it is directly over my head, I reach my hand around and touch it. Once the row three in front of you is moving, the person next to you should be ready to go. Your bag should be in your hands or ready to draw out of the overhead when the row in front of you is moving. Grab your bag quickly, while moving, and deplane like a pro.

HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH SECURITY SO QUICKLY?

Getting through the security line in the airport is easy. Pay attention. Keep your documents in your hand when you are in line and maintain control of your bags at all times. Untie your shoelaces while you are in line. Prepare to remove your liquids, electronics, shoes, and coat before you reach the table with the bins. Grab enough bins. Don’t be the guy that has to double back for the spare. If you are carrying a laptop, it must be in its own bin. Be safe and grab two. Your belt must be removed if it has a metal belt buckle and when you get to the machine, stand still. Do not argue with TSA and keep the line moving. People who play on their phones in the security line infuriate seasoned travelers. Don’t be a rookie. Pro-tip: If you are wearing a longer necklace, flip the pendant to your back. When you go through the machine, it may identify your necklace as a risk area that the TSA agent has to pat down. Flipping the pendant to your back saves discomfort for both of you.

HOW DO YOU AFFORD TO TRAVEL SO MUCH?

Travel is my hobby and it is what I make time for. I will cover some surprisingly affordable options in Chapter 15 when I cover Planning a Trip. The short version is: if you’re interested in going somewhere, look into it. It rarely hurts to look and this way, you know what you are aiming for, long term.

WHY EVEN BOTHER TRAVELING, THE US HAS SO MUCH!

This is one that I get a lot. There is a great deal to do in the US and perhaps my next book will be about the places that I see domestically. By global standards, the United States is a very young country. We were only founded 243 years ago. There are apartments in cities all over the world that are older than that. Seeing other places in other countries puts the US’s youth in perspective. It shows us our place in the world. It reminds us that we are not the center of the universe and encourages us to appreciate all of the wealth, prosperity, equality, and freedom that we appreciate in this, the greatest of countries in the world. You don’t know yourself until you know someone else; likewise, you don’t understand your nation until you see it through someone else’s eyes.

WHAT BOTHERS YOU MOST ABOUT FLYING?

Inconsiderate fellow engers. This is an easy answer. I don’t care for people who forget that the plane is not in service simply to take that person to his or her destination. It is not the sole function of the flight attendant to wait on this person hand and foot every step of the way. I have seen engers be rude to flight attendants, fellow engers, and downright gross because they forget that they are in a shared space. There is an entire chapter dedicated to this coming up.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT MONEY TO TAKE?

Internet search. If you research a country a little bit online, you can learn what currency is used, how much an average meal is, how much cash to take, what language is spoken, and nearly anything else you can think of.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A DESTINATION?

Sometimes, I throw a dart at a map, sometimes I pick the cheapest flight, and sometimes there is something specific I want to see. Typically, I start with what I want to do (i.e. visit museums or monuments) and then I go from there. I take into budget, location, weather, and timing. It’s a bit of a mystery, even to me, sometimes, when I travel. I like the wandering aspect of vacationing. Staying in one place too long makes me uneasy.

WHERE DO YOU LOOK TO FIND COOL THINGS TO DO?

Pinterest.

AREN’T YOU EVER SCARED TRAVELING ALONE?

Of course I get scared sometimes. I recall vividly being frightened about my prospects of pulling into a train station in the middle of the night. If only I could replay that moment of myself losing my mind in a train car. By practicing the safety habits outlined in Chapter 7 and learning to be comfortable with yourself, much of the fear can be mitigated.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COUNTRY TO VISIT?

I could not choose only one. Every person has a puzzle piece match for a country that suits him or her best. That puzzle piece can be found through travel. Some people are suited for Switzerland with their delightful mac and cheese, some for Italy with its cappuccinos and wine, some people fit well in Ireland with its rainy seasons and hearty fare. Finding your country is a personal journey and I haven’t found mine yet.

FOR THE SEASONED TRAVELER

Please keep these things in mind when you traveling.

• TSA keeps changing their rules, be nice. One more angry customer will not make anyone’s life easier. • TSA Pre-check doesn’t make you better than everyone else in line, it just means you get through it faster. • Sighing audibly for everyone around you to hear doesn’t tell everyone that you are the seasoned traveler angry with the Rookie, it tells everyone that you are a jerk with limited patience. • Just because you are a miles rewards member doesn’t mean that you get all of the best stuff all the time. • Flight attendants are not your waitresses. • Nor are flight attendants your bell hops. • Upgrades are not available on every flight. • You are stuck waiting on delayed flights the same as the rest of us. • We all arrive at the same time.

For that matter, I have an open letter for you as well:

Dear Seasoned Traveler,

Be patient with the Rookie. We were all new travelers once and we all sucked once. The newb has a long way to go to learn their way around. Be patient and be kind. Be helpful where you can and when someone looks lost in an airport, try to help them out. You must a time when you couldn’t find your terminal and someone helped you. We are all in this crazy world together and if we do not have kindness towards each other, we have nothing.

Thank you, Sarah

Twelve

UNPLUGGING

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” Jawaharial Nehru

U nplugging is a popular topic right now and it is a simple concept. Turning off devices and not watching the world through a lens. In making my travel blog, I have learned that I hate viewing the world through a lens even more than I originally thought. Taking pictures to the blog became tiresome and like a heavy obligation that I could not escape. There is so much in a moment when you share it with the environment that you are in, the person/people that you are with. I felt like in order to be a successful blogger, I had to share those experiences with a camera to relay the experiences to readers. I did not enjoy this part, but I did it anyway to try and increase reader engagement and inspire others to travel the world. In an effort to reduce the frustration this gave me, I made a rule. I was permitted to take a photo initially in a location or experience and then the camera goes away. The rest of the moment is for myself. There is a film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, that has a beautiful moment in it that captures this concept. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do. A photographer is high in the mountains trying to capture a photo of an animal and what he says to the Walter Mitty character when the animal shows up is delightful.

UNPLUGGED HOTELS

There are hotels and resorts all over the world that are offering “unplug” based vacation packages. Wi-Fi was once a staple for every hotel; however, these days that seems to be taking a turn in the opposite direction. One place I’ve read about has made a challenge out of it: leave your phone locked up in the hotel safe for 24 hours and you will win a prize. Now, ittedly the prize isn’t much, but let’s face it, we are a win-it-all society (Americans) and we like having a token to represent a challenge being met. The hotel will lock away your mobile devices and give you a list of non-electronically based entertainment to partake of in lieu of surfing the web.

SCREENS AND YOUR HEALTH

Research has been conducted that shows that staring at digital screens all day long is not healthy for our anatomy. Ailments that range from cricks in your neck from looking down to eye strain from bright screens, reading small font, straining to make out that detail in an internet video. These are real concerns will real consequences that have developed due to our rapid advance of technology. When you stare at screens all day, your sleep is affected, your posture is compromised, and even your brain chemistry can be affected. It is important to that when you are somewhere new to experience that new place for all it is worth. Traveling is probably not the time for playing silly games on your phone or watching movies. I will say that there are exceptions. When I am on long haul flights, I almost exclusively watch movies to the time and help me sleep. Try to keep a balance.

SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE & SILENCE

Personally, it troubles me when I look around the room and everyone is on their phones. Don’t get me wrong, I play on my phone just like everyone else, but I find it to be such a waste when I see a traveler on a train in Europe consumed in a phone. Getting involved in the local culture is a huge aspect of what I preach whenever I give travel tips. This the main reason I prefer to travel alone. There is no better way to force yourself into immersion than by being in a foreign culture, forced to make your own way everywhere. This is the most liberating form of education. Often times, in your travels, there will be moments that are yours. The most recent I can think of was with my mother on a train going through Switzerland. Riding along through the mountains, next to lakes and streams, gently rocking back and forth as we made turns to carve our path, we took in the scenery. The mountains are so grand and so vast that snapping a picture is just lacking. In every way. Many times, my mother attempted to capture the grandeur that we were witnessing so that we may include our third family member in our trip (who was unable to us on this one) and she was always left disappointed with the results. The photos never do it justice. Some moments, when filtered through the digital lens of a machine lose so much. My recommendation is to take the photo as a token of the moment for your memories, put the camera down, and just breathe in what’s around you.

ARE YOU REALLY ON YOUR SCREEN FOR YOU?

What you do on your vacation is your business. It’s your vacation and if you want to spend it taking pictures, that is your prerogative. That being said, I challenge you to ponder this: Are those pictures you’re taking for you or are they for everyone who didn’t come with you? I know that having memories to share with others can be fun, but I find it somewhat irritating when people expect me to regale everyone with the tales of my travels. I realize that this is exactly what being a travel blogger entails, but I find it much nicer to point people in the direction of a hyperlink rather than tell the stories. Done. I prefer it that way. I tell the story one time, include the relevant imagery and I don’t have to repeat myself. I enjoy telling stories, but something about the expectation is annoying. If you want to know what hot chocolate in the Alps tastes like, then book your flight to the Alps.

THE FACEBOOK GROUP TURNED BAD

I’ve mentioned a few times now that I set up a Facebook Group for my family and close friends to travel along with me. I would post photos with captions of what I was doing when the photo was taken and the of the group felt like they were along for the journey with me. This found a way to turn sour. I agreed before I left that I would post something in the group every day so that everyone knew that I was alive and well. It took a few days to change the method from simple status updates declaring I was alive to posting a photo with a caption. My family loved the photo-stories and asked for more. I changed to posting a couple photos each day with longer stories. After about a week of doing this, my family began making recommendations of where I should go next, almost insisting. If you’ve learned anything about me in the last few chapters, it’s that I don’t care for being told what to do. Once the recommendations bordered on orders, I simply stopped posting for a couple days. That was enough to get the message across and the instructions stopped. The remainder of the trip was spent posting the occasional photo with a story. I guess that’s when the blogger in me was born.

KEEPING THE BALANCE

On that same long trip, I had a lovely balance between digital and unplugged. Posting each day to include my family had enough digital in it to keep me informed, but not so much that I missed what was in front of me. If you are in a position at work that requires your attention to be shared in a digital medium, I recommend telling your boss that you won’t be able to check emails or receive phone calls. I tend to not purchase international calling plans when I travel. It is important to take time for yourself while balancing how much of that time you share with others.

THE SHORT VERSION

If you skipped the chapter to this section, it is simple. Turn off the electronics. I have been a little troubled seeing young adults playing a video game in the food court of an airport rather than enjoying the live classical piano music being played nearby. I understand that we are always plugged in and we must have access to everything all the time. I think this is not a great approach and I urge you to put down the devices and breathe in your surroundings.

Pack a travel journal.

Thirteen

SOMETIMES TRAVEL SUCKS

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you.” Anthony Bourdain

I n convincing you to travel in the pages of this book, I want you to understand that sometimes things don’t work out. Sometimes travel sucks. Though this is an unpopular topic, it must be discussed. Here are a few times when travel was less than ideal for me. There have been a few cases in my history where I have had some unfortunate delays in my travel that lead to frustration, irritation, lack of sleep, and an overall bad start (or end) to a vacation. Everything from mechanical delays to missed flights, no flight crew at the gate to medical issues, I have seen a broad spectrum of traveling troubles. There is a wide variety of reasons that vacations can be delayed or even out right cancelled due to the unforeseen. The big part of this is understanding that these things are out of your control and that you must make the most of it while you can.

VISA TROUBLE

When I first visited Europe, things in the EU were very different. There were a handful of circumstances that meant that a US port was not required to travel freely between countries. In 2008, I did not have a port and I planned a two-week vacation to Italy, Croatia, and Greece. I was permitted entrance to Italy and enjoyed five days there. When I attempted to board a ferry to Croatia, I was stopped at the counter. Not having a US port meant that Croatia was not going to let me enter. After a long discussion about the details of this, I ended up traveling on to Greece early and spent more time on one of the islands than originally planned. After this experience, I learned to check for visa requirement prior to planning any trip outside of the country.

Pack your visa.

MECHANICAL FAILURES

Airplanes are machines and sometimes machines have troubles. I argue that it is better for these specific machines to have issues while safely parked on the ground. I am rarely mad about a mechanical issue, as it did not happen in the sky. That being said, here are some of my favorites.

BUSTED APU

As far as mechanical situations go, I think my favorite one was a failed APU. The Auxiliary Power Unit is important to get the plane started, that’s really all that matters for this story. Being at a small airport with a blown APU, this meant that we were not likely to get a replacement aircraft for a long while. Lucky for the world of aviation, there is an alternative. There is a process, affectionately called a “buddy start” in some circles, where a cart that has a lot of power rolls up to the aircraft and forces air through the engines to turn it over. Think of it like roll starting a stick shift (if any readers here are old enough to doing that). Delta called in to the maintenance group and had the cart brought over to where we were sitting. After several attempts to turn over the plane we learned that it did not have enough power. Our pilot was a sharer and came over the intercom several times to keep us informed. Despite knowing we were going to miss our connecting flight, I was amused. I had a dinner planned with an old friend that evening that was completely shot, but sometimes travel sucks. This could have been an opportunity for outrage, but I can honestly tell you, it’s not worth it. The best thing to do in these situations is laugh at what is happening. With no replacement aircraft available and a ground cart that wasn’t strong enough to get us moving, Delta called American Airlines. Something about that was exceptionally funny, but I’m grateful that these airlines cooperate on this level. American’s maintenance team was kind enough to wheel their much larger cart over and give us a push, as it were. In no time at all, we were sailing through the air, but the damage was done. We had officially missed our connecting flight. After we landed, we used the long layover as an opportunity to get to know the Detroit airport. There are a surprising number of things to do in airports if you seek them out. This knowledge came in handy a week later when I returned to the Detroit airport and spent even more time than before.

RE-ROUTED

On a flight from Charlotte to New York, there was a mechanical situation that the pilot was less forthcoming about. This one was in the middle of a three-city tour: New York, Paris, & Rome for nine days total. Day one the trip is off to a great start. This mechanical issue that the engers were not made aware of occurred about half-way between Charlotte and JFK airport. We were somewhere over Virginia, I believe when the call came across that we would not make it all the way to New York that evening. A little perturbed, the engers broke out into a murmur about how this change will affect travel plans. We were assured that the airline was already working on alternate flights for us. When we returned to Charlotte airport, we were directed to an alternate counter to try and get on another flight. It took about two hours, but we were able to hop a flight into LaGuardia instead of JFK on a different airline. With about five minutes to spare, we ran to the gate and boarded the plane. (This is another reason I do not check luggage, it limits your flexibility) I called the hotel I was staying at and arranged for a late check-in so that they would not give away my room and it all ended up working out in the end. So, I lost a few hours in Manhattan, it wasn’t the end of the world. Sometimes travel sucks.

STUCK ON THE TARMAC

At the beginning of the trip to Ireland with my mother and sister in 2016, we were faced with a mechanical issue. Again, the pilot was less than descriptive. We were only told that the mechanics were looking at it and that we would stay on the plane for the time being. I was concerned about my sister’s level of patience on this one, as she had not been on a long flight across the Atlantic Ocean at this point. We ended up stuck on the tarmac for two hours waiting for the diligent mechanics to give us the thumbs up to take off. Considering it was my sister’s first long flight and my mother’s first in a very long time, they took it much better than I anticipated. It was warm on the plane, but they listened to my travel advice from earlier and they dressed in layers. You never know what situation you are going to find yourself in, no matter what the weather looks like outside.

NO FLIGHT CREW, NO PLANE

ittedly, this only happened to me once. I can’t recall where I was traveling from, to, or why, but there was a time when the plane coming in that I was supposed to be on was delayed significantly. The entire flight crew that was scheduled to be on the flight that day was not there. Neither was the plane. We were told that the plane we were supposed to be on was delayed heavily for a different issue. Delta arranged an alternate crew and a fresh plane, but there was another complication. The replacement pilots arrived at the gate, but the replacement flight attendant was stuck in stand still traffic. At this point, we were delayed at least an hour and a half, but it became slightly amusing. Sometimes travel sucks, but you have to make the most of it. Delta continued down the call list and found another flight attendant who was able to make it to the airport. On our replacement plane with our replacement crew, we were finally underway.

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS

This is very common and has happened to me a number of times. Sometimes flights are cancelled because of lack of equipment, sometimes because of a lack of ticket sales. Different airlines have different policies when it comes to flight cancellations, but typically, they will rebook you on the next flight that has available seats. Many airlines even try to keep traveling groups together. In trying to get back to the US from China on one occasion, we had a flight cancelled. Our flight to Shanghai was flashing red and we were going to miss our flight to return home. In this instance, I called the Delta SkyMiles phone number for assistance. The airport I was at did not have a great deal of English speakers. The Delta employee, Sean, was an amazing help. He was on the phone with me for forty minutes while I sorted this out. He was unable to see flights inside China, but if we could get to Beijing, Sean could get us home. We found a counter with an English speaker, booked the next flight to Beijing and made our way through security.

Pack your airline’s customer service number.

MEDICAL DELAYS

The longest delay I ever had, though, was a four-legged long haul across the world. It was also the longest journey from place to place I have had. Fifty-six hours from my front door to my hotel bed. I feel compelled to tell you that this story is not fabricated. This is truth. I arrived at the airport remarkably early for my flight. I got through security in a flash and was so excited that I decided to try to fly standby on the next flight out. I ran to the desk and spoke to the nice man behind the counter. He had no space for me on that flight, but I did get lucky with the next one. Though it wouldn’t help with the third leg of my trip, I preferred to be ready when that flight was. You never know when you might have a mechanical delay. After about six hours in the terminal, the time arrived to board. The gate worker came over the intercom and announced that we were slightly delayed for boarding due to a late arriving flight, but only by about thirty minutes. There was no need to worry. He went on tell us that we would expedite the boarding process and get on quickly. He said that he needed everyone’s help getting everything sorted to be able to get the aircraft turned around quickly. This, of course, was no problem for me; I am all in favor of a safe trip. The new boarding time arrived, and we managed to board the plane in nearly record time. Even the plane crew commented on how great we were. I was proud of myself and my fellow engers. At that point, we were about an hour behind schedule, but we took off. Somewhere in the first hour, dinner was served, and I settled in with my movie. You have to love Delta and their in-flight entertainment, not to mention free alcohol on long haul flights. A couple of hours into the flight, a flight attendant came over the loudspeaker and asked for a doctor. This was a first for me. Several medical professionals answered the call and the enger who required the attention received it. The gentleman across the aisle from me and I became fast single-serving friends and we were discussing the urgent call. This is the part of the story where things get somewhat delicate. I am remaining

vague on purpose in some cases and I hope you understand why. The enger was moved from his seat and was being treated in the space of the exit row, about thirty feet from where I was sitting. My neighbor enger and I felt compelled to remain vigilant and we prayed for this person trapped in a metal tube thousands of miles high with only fellow engers around. We could do nothing but feel helpless for that enger and his family. We (my neighbor and I) both felt that it would be inappropriate to return to our respective movies, so we sat there, talked quietly between ourselves and wished the ill enger all the luck we had. The pilot came over the intercom and informed us that we would land at the nearest airport. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality, was roughly half an hour, the medical professionals ceased their work. Another eternity ed and the pilot came on the loudspeaker again. He informed us that we were not landing at the nearest airport, but instead returning to the US to our departure airport. I thought it very kind of Delta not to drop off the enger and his travel companion on foreign soil. I would imagine that it would have very complicated ramifications for re-entering the US considering this enger ed away in the air. Despite the tenor of this story in places, please understand that my heart goes out to the family of the man on my flight. I cannot imagine dealing with what she dealt with. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the circumstance she went through. This is in no way intended to demean or belittle that experience. After being in the air for six hours, we landed. While we taxied in, the pilot came on again to inform us to remain on the plane until medical staff could board and handle the situation. The airline would attempt to turn the plane around as quickly as it could and resume our original flight. It would not be more than an hour, they assured us. The aircraft got to the gate and we waited for the paramedics. The pilot came on again. The plan changed, we will disembark now and paramedics will come on after we are gone. The other engers will wait in the terminal and it should only be two hours or so. We were informed to take our luggage with us.

Off the plane and in the terminal, hundreds of curious engers were waiting to hear the next piece of news. After several hours, the gate personnel came over the loudspeaker and informed us all that the plane would be departing at 8am the next morning. We were told not to worry, that all engers would receive a hotel voucher for the night. It is already 11pm. engers flooded the counter looking for their vouchers. Thinking myself smart, I walked to the next nearest gate and asked for help there. The lady who helped me was kind enough to reschedule my flight and acquired a voucher for a hotel for the night. I waived my travel neighbor to the desk where I got my voucher. We must be back at the airport at 6am and even if I can get to the hotel in an hour, that only leaves me with a nap before returning. Flights rescheduled, voucher in hand, my travel neighbor and I set out for the hotel shuttles. It was roughly midnight at this point. We found the shuttles and waited for the one with our hotel name on it. An hour went by. Several other travelers with vouchers to the same hotel gathered together and waited for the shuttle. Someone decided it was a good idea to call the hotel and ask where the shuttle was. They sent one promptly. Another half hour wait until the shuttle arrived and a twenty-minute drive to the hotel ensued. At 12:40am, we arrived at our hotel to be met with waving arms of rejection. Apparently, the hotel staff already told Delta not to send them any more people as they had no rooms available. Back onto the shuttle we went. In the van, the group that I am now traveling with decided to just stay at the airport. We would go back through security, give a piece of our minds to the gate people, and then camp out in the terminal. It turned out, this particular airport’s security entrance is closed until 4am. It was then 1am, we had little choice. Find a hotel or camp out in baggage claim. We opted to find the nearest Delta employee and see if she could help us get new vouchers. After another hour, each of us had a new voucher in hand and we made our way back to the shuttle pick up. Our new hotel has rooms for us and I finally swiped my keycard at 2:30am. The shuttle was scheduled to return for us at 5:30am. A quick shower and I was enjoying a nap. 6am marked 24 hours in for me. Back at the airport, bright and early, we tried again. While we waited for

boarding to begin, I read through my updated itinerary. According to the new boarding , I was to fly into the city I was meant to, but then my connecting flight was flying out of a city that was 2,600 km away from the one that I was landing in. This struck me as not good. I went to the counter and inquired. The confused gate agent helped me reschedule my flight for a second time. Upon my arrival to China and after I ed through Customs and port Control, I looked at the clock. I missed my connecting flight by five minutes. I ended up finding someone who spoke English and could help me. She rescheduled my last leg on the next flight out; seven hours from that moment. It is important to note that my journey began thirty-nine hours prior and I had slept for about five. At this point, I was a little delirious and kind of punch drunk. I wandered through every inch of the airport that I could access. I must have walked by the same shops six times. After my longest layover in a single airport, I finally boarded my last flight. I thought I was in the clear. I made my way to my hotel and only to find out that they gave my room away. After many minutes of struggled conversation, I was booked a new room similar to my original and my journey finally ended.

TO SUM UP

Anything can happen when you are traveling, and it is difficult to spin a silver lining in such a tragic story. The purpose of this chapter is certainly not to make light of the unfortunate circumstances of some, but to instead tell you, the reader, the reality that happens sometimes. The world is a beautiful place and there are so many wonderful things to do and see in it, but, as with everything, there is a risk. I think it is important for people to understand that sometimes, things don’t go as planned. It is important to that sometimes, when things go south for you, they’ve gone further south for others. We are travelers in this together and it pays to have a little empathy for one another. From the mechanics turning over the engines to the flight attendant stuck in traffic to the family of the enger lost in flight: we are all in this together.

Fourteen

BAD TRAVELERS

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert

H ashtags have been invented to describe some of the people that you will deal with on flights. The internet is riddled with amusing and annoying photos of people misbehaving on public transportation. When taking a flight, one must realize and accept that one is sharing a limited space with a large group of strangers. This means that there are certain considerations that should be made of those strangers you are sharing your confined space with. This chapter will offend some and incite smiles of understanding from others. I realize that some of the points in this section will make some people feel that they are bending over backwards for others but hear me out. There are a handful of cardinal sins that can be committed by the airline enger.

THE CROTCH-ETY ENGER

Don’t lean too far over the enger in the seat when you load your luggage into the overhead compartment. No one wants your crotch in their face and if you have the unfortunate luck of having a shirt that raises up when you raise your arms, you will be forcing your belly button in their face as well. Try, instead, to reach from the aisle to load your things. At a minimum, say “excuse me,” to the person whose space you are invading.

THE YOGI

Stretching is normal and healthy. In fact, stretching during a flight is very important. It is good to keep your blood flowing and keep from getting stiff, especially on longer than six-hour flights. That being said: don’t stretch in the aisle. No one wants your butt in their face. If you are going to stretch, do it in the emergency row, at least three feet from any other enger. If you bend at the waist, put your butt against the wall! I realize that personal space boundaries vary with every country and culture, but Americans have just about the biggest bubble out there, so use three feet and you should be covered in most places.

THE BUBBLE BREAKER

Speaking of personal bubbles, everyone has a finite amount of space that is afforded to them through the purchase of a ticket. Some people travel together and have each other to lean on, many travel solo. Don’t lean on them. It is very annoying when a stranger tries to use your shoulder as a pillow or gets a little too friendly in the leg room. I have had my fair share of knees cross into my leg room from strangers. When I first board a long-haul flight, I do not get immediately comfortable if the guy next to me has not yet sat down. I will just have to get up to let him in anyway, but I do occupy space. I lay claim to my seat and my armrest in a hurry. I will not be infringed upon. And neither should you be. If you are the offender, you deserve your elbow pushed gently from the armrest, if you are the offendee, you have every right to send a message.

THE FOOT MONSTER

Putting your feet, socks, shoes, or otherwise on someone else’s seat, arm rest, or walls is not only gross, it is very rude. I understand that being in a tin can for this long can get uncomfortable, but you are not in your own living room. You are in a shared space with a bunch of strangers. Again, everyone has a finite amount of space. Using other people’s space is not ok. I have seen people stretch and reveal midriff, butt cracks, less than desirable body hair, and even sexual organs. It is very important to be cognizant of those around you. Keep your feet to yourself.

Pack slip on shoes or thick socks for transit.

THE FREQUENT RISER

We all have to get up at some point. It has been very rare for me to not need to get out of my seat at some point in a flight. I recall a trip where I was on a twelve-hour flight only one week after a surgical procedure. My doctor told me that I needed to get up and walk around at least once per hour. Knowing this, I planned accordingly. I chose an aisle seat. If you know that you like to walk, book an aisle seat. If you plan to sleep the whole way, book a window. Likewise, if you book a window, don’t get up every hour. Be aware what kind of traveler you are ahead of time. If you are a first-time long-distance flyer, play it safe and aim for an aisle seat the back of the plane, so that you have a few more freedoms than in the middle. There are even some aircraft designs that have a back row that has enough space between the seat and the window to get up without disturbing the aisle sitter. If you are a window sitter, try to time your standing frequency with that of your seatmates; this may seem like a bend-over-backwards moment, but I call it courtesy. Obviously, if you have to go, you have to go; but, if you just walk to walk around for the sake of walking around, stretch a little in your seat, settle in with another movie, and bide your time.

THE SPACE CLAIMER

Please don’t place your luggage in the seat next to you to prevent strangers from sitting there. When you are in an airport terminal, on a train, on a bus, or on the metro, you might be inclined to claim an extra space to prevent strangers from getting too close. This is ok when there are limited people in the space. Once the area begins to fill with people, you look like the jerk. Learn to stage your luggage under your legs or right in front of you.

THE FRAGRANT EATER

If you plan to purchase food prior to boarding a flight, please refrain from the aromatic selections. Any food that has a strong smell will likely not do well in a confined space. Fish, some spices, pungent cheeses, some cured meats, and some fruits have stronger smells. If you plan to eat something on the plane, aim for something dry or more on the plain side. Sandwiches are usually a safe option.

THE ARROGANT JERK

Some people think they deserve everything and they deserve it on a silver platter. I touched on this in Chapter 11 a little, but it is worth revisiting. I have seen so many people expect so much from flight attendants. Help with luggage, finding a seat, communicating with people, extra beverages or snacks, even moving other people’s things to make room for their own. The arrogance of these people makes them bad travelers. I cannot say it enough. Be kind.

THE NO-HEADPHONES GUY

If you are the guy who watches movies or listens to music on your device with no headphones on, you are a bad traveler. There are not words for how much this irks me. In restaurants, on planes, in terminals, on trains, on buses, in public spaces, anywhere that is outside your house, you should not play noises on your phone out loud.

THE GUY WHO GETS MAD AT BABIES ON A PLANE

Dear guy who gets mad at babies on a plane:

It’s a baby. They don’t know what’s happening. Put in your headphones and take a deep breath. Let it go.

Thank you, Every traveler ever

THE PARENT WHO CHANGES DIAPERS IN THE SEAT

I understand that on long flights there are limited options. Don’t change soiled diapers in the seat, please. Wet diapers can be done quickly and very few people will notice, but beyond that, you will likely offend people. First, research the airline. Some airlines have changing tables in the bathrooms. Second, try using an overnight diaper to buy you extra time. Third, plan your child’s wardrobe accordingly when you take them flying. Pack clothes with quick access to expedite the changing process. to bring a changing pad or nursing blanket to lay your child on for changes in the lavatory. They don’t always disinfect airplanes between flights.

Pack disinfectant wipes.

THE PARENT WHO IGNORES THEIR SCREAMING CHILD

Yes, we know children do not like their ears popping and that they will end up screaming at some point. That doesn’t mean you don’t try. You will garner more sympathy from fellow engers if you at least appear to be trying to console your wailing child.

THE SLOW AISLE WALKER

In an airport, if you are in the middle of the aisle, you should be moving. If you are on a slow meandering path, then move to the side. There are thousands of people around you trying to catch flights to different places. If you are in their way, they will likely not be happy with you.

THE TRAY LEANER

If you are seated behind someone and you use the tray on an airplane. Try to that the tray is connected to another person’s seat. Every time your lean on it, it tugs their seat slightly. Every time you lean aggressively, the motion transfers even more.

THE SCREEN POKER

Your in-flight entertainment screen (if you are fortunate to have them on your flight) is not likely to respond better by you striking the screen with your finger. You do not need to poke through the screen to navigate it. Every time you hit the screen, you hit the seat. Try to press gently.

THE IN-SEAT EATER

On trains, if you eat crumbly food in your seat, it will likely leave a mess for the next enger. When I purchase a seat reservation on a train, I do not expect that seat to be filled with half a loaf of bread from the previous occupant’s breakfast.

THE TABLE CAMPER

When on an overnight ferry and you rent deck space only, try not to occupy every table in the lounge or restaurant. Other customers like to eat or drink in those spaces, as well. Occupying the entire area is inconsiderate.

THE PERSONAL GROOMER

Handling a hangnail is one thing but giving yourself a manicure is completely unacceptable on aircraft. So is trimming body hair of any kind. People eat on planes; at least they would if you weren’t clipping your nails next to them. Personal hygiene and cleanliness are important. Do it in the airport terminal bathroom.

Fifteen

PLANNING A TRIP

“Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” Irving Wallace

H opefully, I have managed to convey how to travel well. Now, I want to shift into finding your adventure. There are many things to consider before taking a trip somewhere, but we have to start with a little reality. There is a rule of thumb that you should keep in mind. There are three options available when traveling:

• You can go where you want • You can go when you want • You can pay what you want

You can have two out of the three. Every vacation is an optimization of dates, locations, and budgets and in this chapter, we will try to find not only the most satisfying vacation, but also one that will work into your life. You have to choose one of the options above to hold fixed as a starting point.

WHERE DO I START?

No matter where you want to go in the world and regardless of what you want to do, deciding on a vacation usually boils down to those three options from before. In more detail, they look like this:

• What you want to achieve during the trip? • When do you want to go & for how long? • How much you want to spend?

You may think it odd that the first question is not Where do you want to go? That part comes later. These three questions are the foundation of planning any vacation. In this chapter, I will break down how to answer these questions and what impact they will have.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN THIS TRIP?

The purpose of a trip is as important, if not more, than the destination. You must understand what you want to achieve on your vacation. What experiences are you looking for? If you are a fan of museums, then you must plan a destination that has a great deal of them. If you are a foodie, then choose a destination that has a broad variety of or very specific specialties to the area. If you don’t like walking a lot, then you probably shouldn’t take your first big trip to Machu Picchu. If you hate the cold, don’t go to Mount Everest. There are so many examples that I can give about people being miserable during a vacation because they chose the wrong experiences. Tailor your trip to you. Here’s how.

Steps:

1. Write down what you want to experience a. Ex: Excitement, Architecture, Nature, New flavors

2. Find activities that satisfy those requirements a. Ex: Visiting the ruins of an ancient city, eat local food, ruins preferred to be overrun by nature in some places

3. Use that to find what places in the world have those activities a. Ex: Visit the Ruins of Pompeii and enjoy Tagliatelle al Ragu

It’s very methodical and you are more likely to enjoy your trip if you are doing something that brings you pleasure. That being said: don’t choose to overlook a place because of something that you think you may hate. If you know you hate it, that is a different story. If you think you might hate it, then make it a small aspect of your trip and plan other things that are closer to your wheelhouse for other parts of your trip. I can give you an example. While traveling in Italy with someone who had never been before, I was not sure how he would respond to some of the longer train rides. He does not like riding in cars, he prefers driving them. Likewise, he does not care for longer flights, as he struggles to sit still that long. Not knowing how he would handle being on the train, I planned the longest train ride for the first day. This was to ensure that the worst part was over early, if he was miserable. Our train rides got subsequently shorter throughout the trip. He ended up loving the trains. I was deeply surprised. You don’t always know what you don’t like until you give it a try.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE?

Maybe you’re not sure what you will like or not. Let’s look at a few traveler archetypes and maybe you can get an idea from there. We have three people, one who likes hiking and outdoors, one who prefers museums and historical sites, and a foodie. These three people could go on a trip together and all have a great time if you planned it right. Independently, each of these traveler’s trips may look very different.

PERSON 1: THE OUTDOORSMAN

This person prefers long stretches of physical challenge and enjoys being in nature. People are not necessarily a priority and he doesn’t mind eating trail mix during the day. This person would be very happy in Machu Picchu, Australia, or Iceland.

PERSON 2: THE HISTORY BUFF

This person can spend all day in a single wing of a museum and never tires of a tour guide explaining things. Brisk walking is not always a must and seeing things that had an impact on human history or were simply made last millennium are his favorite. This person would be very happy in Taiwan, , the Netherlands, Italy, or .

PERSON 3: THE FOODIE

This person can eat 5 meals a day, as long as they are all different. There is no fear to taste the local fare, regardless of obscurity. Spices and cooking methods are known as a second nature. Wine and liquor pairings are likely a sixth sense, as well. This person would be very happy in Barcelona, Rome, Ho Chi Minh City, Chongqing, Marrakech, or Dubai. The landscape of choosing your activities is not to confine you to a particular city or part of the world. The point is to understand what you enjoy and choose places on your trip that have a little of everything. Now, all three people take the same vacation. I recommend Iceland. Iceland has delicious food that is unique. You can eat whale, horse, and types of fish I have never heard of. The museums in Reykjavik and Keflavik are fascinating and learning about the Vikings can take a while. Outside of the city, you can drive the Golden Circle and hike to your heart’s content over mountains, under glaciers, and up to waterfalls. Find the right experiences and you’ll find the right places.

WHEN DO YOU WANT TO GO & FOR HOW LONG?

The date range of your trip is often a major constraint to where you go. If you only have a week of vacation, you may want to head to Europe, but it may not be long enough to spend any real time in Asia or Australia. The way that the flights are structured between the US and that side of the world, it often takes two days to get there. This complicates your timetable. If you only have a long weekend, you may want to aim closer than that. If you are in New England, for example, you may to aim for Bermuda or Iceland for a trip this short. If you are in the Southeast US, you may want to head to the Caribbean. Southwest US folks can aim for Hawaii and people in the Pacific Northwest might have their eyes on Canada or Alaska. Geography is not the only limiting factor. You must look at what flights run between your city and desired destinations. For example, out of Chicago, it is surprisingly difficult to get to Jamaica. I’m not sure why, you can get to nearby islands, but it is something to consider and review in your city. Trip duration also impacts how dense your activities need to be. Meaning that if you want to spend a week visiting six museums in and it takes you two days to get there, you now only have five days to visit your museums. Travel time is a reality that needs to be ed for. It is important to look at all of your options. Thursday night departures, Friday night departures, and red eye flights can help you navigate the schedule crunch that comes up when planning these things.

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND?

Budget is another huge constraint for travel. I’m sad to say that many people believe that travel is so cost-prohibitive that they never even research a trip. Apart from helping people pack, this is the next biggest topic I must broach. If you are interested in a vacation, but think it’s too expensive, then do yourself a favor and research it. See if it is truly out of reach. I advise strongly against this. Don’t think that every trip to everywhere cool is too expensive to afford. That’s not to say that you should shirk your financial responsibilities to take a month-long vacation somewhere. Be smart and save. Budget accordingly and plan for what you can afford. It is never smart to go into debt for the sake of a vacation. Trust me, I’ve done it. Determine what you can afford to spend based on your monthly budget. Identify how much you can save by cutting expensive corners (like expensive coffees and cable tv). Once you know what you can save, you can get a better idea of what you can spend on this. Once you have a number, then you can branch out from there. One of the biggest expenditures is a flight. There are ways to save money on those, too, but they can still get salty. If you are spending a great deal on your flight, aim for a longer trip.

BUDGETING: THE RULE OF THIRDS

As a rough guideline, use the rule of thirds. Plan a third of your budget for flights, a third for lodging, and the last third for entertainment and meals. Let’s Math: Saving $100 per month for a year will give you $1,200 to spend on a vacation for yourself. Once you have your savings, then you want your numbers to look something like this:

• $400 for your flight • $400 for your lodging • $400 for your entertainment

While this may not seem like a large enough budget, there is a lot you can do. Start with online flight searches to see where you can get from major airports near you. Don’t be afraid to travel to a larger airport for a cheaper flight if it makes financial sense. Taking the budget above, let’s use Chicago as an example. We want to travel internationally for eleven days. For a $400 flight, you can get to Iceland, England, Spain, , Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Canada, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, Aruba, Honduras, Ireland, the Caymans, Peru, and on and on and on… Let’s take London for easy travel. If you go to London and stay in hostels, you can pay less than $25 per night. We’re up to $390 for the flight, including taxes and fees, and $270 for your lodging, including the city taxes of five percent or so due upon check out. That is only $660 so far. That leaves $540 for spending money during your trip. That’s $54 per day! This

is an extensive budget, even in a place like London. Things are expensive there, but I assure you on that kind of spending money, you would come home with some amazing stories and experiences. Pub crawls, fish and chips, the London Eye, Big Ben, the London Tower, Buckingham Palace, Baker Street, and more are all places that could be visited in this time frame. This is not an isolated example. Chicago is a main hub to use, but there are many opportunities in the US. Looking at seven major US cities in May of 2019, here is a count of the number of countries accessible that are available for less than $400, round trip:

Departure City

# of Countries Accessible

Washington DC

30

Dallas, TX

15

Atlanta, GA

23

New Orleans, LA

22

Los Angeles, CA

26

Seattle, WA

7

Denver, CO

19

It is easier than you might think. All you have to do is look. Search for nearby airports to reduce the price, find alternate routes and even strange flight times. Groupon Getaways has inexpensive deals that run regularly if you are not picky about when you travel. One of the ways that you can search on your own is Google Flights. It is a great resource for testing routes to determine the cheapest way to get around. Skyscanner is another good resource for finding the best time range to fly. Don’t let the fear of cost keep you from traveling the world. That’s all I ask of you. There are so many things out there in the world to go and see and do. The trick is finding the right stuff so that you aren’t afraid to try again. The more you try, the more you see, the more you experience, the more you will fall in love with travel. Do a little work on the front end to plan your trip and you will have an immensely better time.

Final Thoughts

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” Anonymous

T raveling can be tiring, costly, time consuming, and stressful. Likewise, it can be thrilling, educational, inspirational, and addictive. There are so many places to go and so many things to see. I want to see them all. Traveling is not for everyone. Some people have personal aversions, some people have disabilities, some people have time constraints and cannot get away long enough to see what they wish. There are many reasons to travel and many reasons not to. I contend that finding a reason to rather than a reason to not to can help you identify where in the lineup you fall on the travel spectrum. So far, I have been to twenty-six countries on three continents. I have swam in the Mediterranean, sailed the Gulf of Mexico, visited ancient towns in China, driven around Ireland, eaten whale in Iceland, breathed in the air of the Sistine Chapel, listened to the wind-produced music of the Sea Organ in Croatia, and had so many other experiences. I want these things for you, as well. My life is a fortunate one. I am grateful for what I have experienced so far. I am ready to experience more. Using this book, you can start to plan out how to gain some of these experiences for yourself. Or better yet, make new ones. If you bought this book because you know me, thank you. If you bought this book to explore travel options, thank you. If you bought this book because you thought it would be funny, I hope it was and I thank you. Traveling is not for everyone. Traveling can be difficult sometimes. The adventure and unpredictability can be uncomfortable for many, but I hold that being outside our comfort zone is where we grow. You read about the gang in , the unfortunate incidents onboard a flight to China, and the delights that were held in between. There are many marvels to behold when traveling and many risks that are undertaken in doing so. If you think that travel might be something that you would enjoy, give it a whirl! If you already travel and love it, then hopefully you’ve learned something in these pages. If you still have no desire to travel, then I encourage you to learn about other places and enjoy the images that people capture while they are there. There are many ways to enjoy the world and one of them is from your living room. Thank you again, for reading my book and I appreciate you taking the time.

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Thanks, y’all!

About the Author

SARAH MAY manages her travel blog at LuluAvano.com along with her travel agency. She is a veteran and an engineer. In an attempt to bring the beauty of the world to others, she decided to write down some of her stories. A long-time lover of helping and teaching, she decided to jot down the process by which a person chooses a vacation and she hopes it helps you. The World Awaits.