For the past year we have been students
of the world. That sounds so cheesy, but it’s true. The difference between us
and younger backpackers on their gap year was that they watched movies and hit
the bars every night. We were reading and planning our next move.
We were very aware that we would never
get another chance like this again, so we “studied” for lack of a better word.
We had a great trip because we planned a great trip.
We have learned so much about the way we
like to travel. We avoid large tourist groups and tour buses at all cost. Our
experience is that large groups get in the way of having authentic experiences
with the local people and culture. Independent travel is harder and scarier,
but all the more rewarding.
If there's one thing I'm most proud of
it’s how quickly we were able to learn new terrain. Most people have months to
plan vacations. We would roll into major European cities without a map or
guidebook, and within 30 minutes, we’d have a complete plan for the next few
days. What’s the secret? Talking to locals.
We also noticed that more than most
tourists, we could really spend a lot of time in the smallest of villages. It
was rare that we left a town or city feeling that we got to see all that we
wanted.
By the time we hit Australia, we had
become snobby about waterfalls, blue water, and pristine beaches. It goes
against logic that we became so picky while backpacking on a shoestring budget.
We may not have been living the best of the best, but we saw the best of the
best...and that's all that mattered.
So for all of you fellow students of the
world, we have tried to capture a lot of the practical information that we
picked up along the way…
GUIDEBOOKS
The phrase, “pictures just don't do it
justice” has taken on new meaning for us. It's exclusively used to imply that
the picture is not as good as what someone is experiencing in person. But what
about the other way around? There are places like Croatia and Thailand where
pictures are sometimes better than reality. Take this picture, for
example:
Or this one…looks dreamy. But you are
not feeling the pain of having to arch your bare-skinned back across a jagged
boulder as you sunbathe in nearly 100-degree heat.
Or would you believe that just 45
minutes earlier, there were hundreds of tourists swamping this sandbar? We
descended for a scuba dive, and when we popped back up, their ferries had swept
them all away.
Most travel photos don't show the
tourists, trash, power lines, construction workers, shanties, and scaffolding cluttering the
scene.
Throughout this blog, I have never once
tried to make something sound better than it really is. I believe that's the
worst crime a travel writer can commit. I would never want someone to go
somewhere on my behalf and then have them be disappointed. I respect people's
vacation time and money too much for that. I wish all travel writers agreed…
We have looked through every kind of guidebook out there, and we now know exactly what we like and don’t like
about each one of them. It would be so easy to take the best features of our
favorites and combine them into one awesome travel guide. (Hint: if you know
anything about getting a publisher, please send me a note!)
The one thing I do know is that we
should all begin boycotting Lonely Planet guidebooks immediately. I feel
strongly about this for two reasons. First, we are very lucky in America to
have a choice when it comes to guidebooks…Rough Guides, Frommor’s, Eyewitness Travel, Fodor’s, and so on. I’m not saying these are all good, but
do you know what every single person throughout the rest of the world uses?
They use Lonely Planet. They seriously have no other option. Do you want to
line up at the same hotel, restaurant, and “hidden gem” as every one else in
the world? Of course not!
Secondly, Lonely Planet has absolutely
no point of view…they’re basically just encyclopedias. There were many times
when we visited a country and then popped into a bookstore after the fact to
browse through the Lonely Planet (because that’s all that was available). We’ve
been shocked at how useless and misinformed their information is.
Lonely Planet = bad information +
everyone else in the world is using it = stay away.
We much prefer niche writers who know their territory inside and out and make educated recommendations…recommendations being the key word. You don’t need a meaningless list of hundreds of cities that you’re never going to go to. You need a concise list of the country’s top 10 cities and how to make the most of them with your precious time.
We much prefer niche writers who know their territory inside and out and make educated recommendations…recommendations being the key word. You don’t need a meaningless list of hundreds of cities that you’re never going to go to. You need a concise list of the country’s top 10 cities and how to make the most of them with your precious time.
If you think PBS is only for
grandmothers, then you might initially balk at what I’m about to say. Rick Steves’ guidebooks are, hands-down, the best in the world. If you are planning a trip
to anywhere in Europe, consider yourself lucky that you have a resource like
his at your fingertips. If you’re not planning a trip to Europe,
then we think the second best option is Rough Guides.
We would also recommend avoiding
conglomerate guidebooks that try to cover all of South America or Southeast
Asia. They do a bad job of covering everything well. It’s better off to just
buy the individual countries and be more informed. The cost of a guidebook is
nothing compared to the time and hassle you’ll save yourself.
Do you know what screams TOURIST more
than anything? Walking down a busy road with your head buried in a guidebook.
Locals will run in the other direction, and after all, we travel to see the
locals, right? We rarely used guidebooks on our trip, but when we did, we
bought them as an e-book. That way we could walk around with our non-descript
Kindle and not look so embarrassingly out of place. Using a guidebook on the Kindle takes a little bit of
getting used to – and you won’t have the physical book to hang on your
bookshelf like a trophy – but we thought it was worth it.
For the many countries where we didn’t
use a guidebook, we supplemented with online user-generated sources of
information like Wikitravel, Trip Advisor, and Lonely Planet’s Thorn TreeTravel Forum (which is only acceptable because it’s content written by users and not Lonely Planet's useless staff).
FLIGHTS
For simple country-to-country flights, we used
Kayak for price comparisons and then also checked individual local low-cost
carrier websites.
For more complicated, multi-destination
flights, we went with a company called AirTreks out of San Francisco. They were
great to work with, and as an added bonus, our travel and medical
insurance was included in the cost of our tickets. Yay!
LODGING
The Internet has changed backpacking
forever. Gone are the days of showing up in a city without a reservation and
shopping for hostels on foot. Sure it’s still possible, but you’ll only have
the horrible ones to choose from. Now that backpackers are becoming
flashpackers, they are making advance reservations online and snatching up all
of the gems.
For hostels, the best resources are
Hostel Bookers and Hostel World. Their guest rankings allowed us to make quick
decisions based on the trifecta of priorities: location, safety, and
cleanliness. If you wait too long to make a reservation, then you can also find
home stays on Airbnb, although it’s much more time consuming.
For hotels, our preferred search engine was
Kayak. While traveling with my parents through Europe, we had a process for
finding awesome hotels that worked every time…
From there it’s a judgment call to find
the best overall value among (1) price (2) location and (3) Trip Advisor
ratings. People are very dramatic and opinionated and this site, and you’ll be
able to tell pretty quickly from their comments whether it’s a good hotel or
not.
1. On Kayak's Hotels page, enter in your
city and date range. Un-click the boxes for Expedia, Travelocity, etc.
2. Once the results have returned, look for
the filter settings on the left-hand side of the page and adjust these:
a) Select a distance of 1 mile or less from
the city center (or another landmark)
b) Narrow down your star ratings
c) Hone in your price range
d) Click the box for Trip Advisor
ratings/reviews
GEAR
For having absolutely no clue what we
were doing, we were really happy with how and what we packed. People like to ask us
if we threw stuff away as we went. Honestly, we didn’t. We researched everything we
brought with us…because if it was weight we were putting on our backs, it needed to be worth it.
There were a handful of small things that we
carried around with us for a year which we hardly ever used: drain plug,
clothesline, water purifier, laundry soap, purse, first aid kit, garbage bags,
whistle, febreze, travel speakers, compression bags, and pad locks.
Then there were the items that we
couldn’t live without. Any brand in parenthesis denotes a product that we tested and highly recommend:
Backpack w/ Rainfly (REI) – awesome,
top-quality backpack. The rainfly will protect the bag from dirt and grease in cargo
holds, and you can lock it up to deter thieves.
Slash-Proof Day Bag (Pac Safe) – hands-down our
best investment. This shoulder bag has metal meshing hidden underneath the fabric to
prevent thieves from slashing and running off with it.
Reusable Nylon Tote Bag – packs up small, washable, and super versatile.
Small Luggage Locks – great for locking up
valuables in a hotel room and locking up your luggage on a bus or train ride. Huge pad locks are just a waste of weight and space.
Hidden Wallet (Le Travel Store) – small wallet that clips
to the inside of a waistband. It’s not bulky, so it’s not too intrusive.
Packing Cubes (Eagle Creek) – a revolution in
packing. You can fit so much more in a bag by rolling up your clothes and put
them in these cubes. Plus, it allows you to quickly find a pair of socks without
tearing your entire bag apart.
Mud Box (Eagle Creek) – keeps dirty and smelly shoes from infiltrating the rest of your bag.
Sleeping Bag Liner (Cocoon) – keeps bed bugs and
generally heebie-jeebie feelings at bay.
Sarong – folds up small and doubles as a beach blanket or picnic blanket.
Pillowcase – doses out little peace of mind in
any sketchy hotel room.
Sarong – folds up small and doubles as a beach blanket or picnic blanket.
Toiletry Bag (Eagle Creek) – perfectly organized compartments.
Travel Towel (REI) – quick-drying.
Travel Washcloth (Trekr) – super quick-drying
and self-cleaning.
Travel Hair Dryer (Brookstone) – powerful, folds down small, and comes with a travel bag.
Travel Brush – folds down small.
Refillable Bottles (GoToob) – great for shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and sunscreen.
30% DEET Bug Spray (Ben's) – this stuff never let us down. We only let ourselves down when we didn't use it.
Refillable Bottles (GoToob) – great for shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and sunscreen.
30% DEET Bug Spray (Ben's) – this stuff never let us down. We only let ourselves down when we didn't use it.
Lightweight Earplugs & Eyemask – life savers on overnight buses, trains, and planes or in street-facing or dorm-style hotel rooms.
Motion Sickness Bracelets – I can’t
confirm these are full-proof, but I do think they are better than nothing.
Trail Running Shoes – versatile shoes
that can go on hikes, runs, or just walks around town.
Hiking Sandals (Chaco) – solid enough for hiking and pounding the streets when you don’t want to wear bulky shoes.
Hiking Sandals (Chaco) – solid enough for hiking and pounding the streets when you don’t want to wear bulky shoes.
Quick Dry T-Shirts (Lululemon) – lightweight and
anti-odor.
Quick Dry Pants (Lululemon) – lightweight and
good for sightseeing, running, or hiking. They sit below the knee, so you can
also wear them to fussy churches in Europe (although they’re deemed “too tight”
for temples in Asia).
Comfy Pants (Lululemon) – warm, and in dire situations, can
pass for “fancy black pants”.
Synthetic Down Coats (Patagonia) – warm, super
lightweight, and insulated even when wet. They stuff into a small, self-contained pouch to easily pack
away. When stuffed in their pouches, they can also double as pillows!
Raincoat (Marmot) – something with a hood,
pit-zips, and preferably Gortex.
Umbrella – something small but durable.
Netbook – a small, lightweight laptop to
research and communicate on the road. You don't want to waste your time finding an Internet cafe.
Travel Mouse (Kensington) – super small but
completely necessary for productivity.
Kindle – be a tourist but don’t look like
one (see Guidebooks section above).
iPhone – a handheld computer that we
could not have lived without (see Apps section below).
Headphone Splitter – allows two people
to listen from the same device. Great for watching movies on an airplane or
listening to Rick Steves’ free audio tours in Europe.
Global Adapter & USB Charging Port (Monster Power) –
a completely necessary, all-in-one space-saver.
SLR Camera – we get asked a lot about our
camera. It’s an entry-level SLR, and good for beginning SLR users.
Slash-Proof Camera Strap (Pac Safe) – a strap with metal inside that gives you more confidence when slinging your fancy SLR camera across your
body.
Polarizing Filter – our #1 trick
for making outdoor pictures look better. Through reducing glare, it makes
the colors in your photos richer.
APPS
Maps: Cartographer, Google Maps, Nav
Free
Info: Google Reader, Read It Later,
Kindle, Dropbox
Budgeting: Cash Trails, Mint, XE
Currency
Travel: I Travel Free (Wikitravel App), Hostel World, Hobo Maps (Asia)
Travel: I Travel Free (Wikitravel App), Hostel World, Hobo Maps (Asia)
Photos: Apple Panoramic, Photosynth
Communication: Skype, Google Voice
Communication: Skype, Google Voice
Movies: Goodplayer
TOP
5 TRAVEL TIPS
- Go independent – unless you’re going somewhere really unusual like Africa or the Middle East, try going without an organized tour group or hop-on / hop-off bus. Instead, look for free walking tours lead by locals in major cities throughout Europe, Australia, and South America. Use public transportation…the cheaper the better because that’s where the locals hang out. Cut out the security blanket and see how you like it!
-
Go for a run – I think you experience a city differently on a run, and as a bonus, you get to cover a lot more ground and see areas you wouldn’t normally have time for. From our trip, I have fond memories of running in places like Rio de Janiero, Buenos Aires, London, St. Andrews, Nice, Lake Bled, Sydney, and Saigon.
- Go away from the landmark. I don’t mean skip the landmark...I just mean that you should also consider seeing it from afar. I bet the best views of Paris are not those from atop the Eiffel Tower. The best views of Paris are probably from some rooftop bar where you can see Paris AND the Eiffel Tower. Ask locals about a counterpoint in the city where you can catch classic views.
- Go between big cities and nature. On longer trips, alternating them gives you a nice balance and you’ll appreciate each of them more.
- Just GO! This applies to any kind of trip – from a year off to a weekend getaway. Sometimes it’s so difficult to pull the trigger. So the next time you have even the slightest inkling to go somewhere, act on it in some way that commits you to it – submitting for a vacation day at work, purchasing a flight, or putting a deposit on a hotel room. You can figure out the details of your trip later, but once you make some form of tangible commitment, you can’t turn back. What are you waiting for? The perfect time? It may never come. Follow that urge. Dream, commit, explore!
At the Witch Market in La Paz, Bolivia we purchased a condor stone that is supposed to bring the owner “travel, luck, and good travel”. We’re starting a new tradition with our friends. If you’re planning a traveling adventure any time soon, you just might see the condor arrive at your doorstep. Calling all students of the world!
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ReplyDeleteOops, I tried to edit for spelling. I really like your blog! I found you through Nomadic Matt. I hope you keep posting, even though you must have a full life with your young family. I enjoy reading your perspective. Vicki
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