But I firmly believe that everybody should travel solo — sometimes. There’s a lot you can get out of a solo trip that just doesn’t happen when you’re not on your own. Let me give you some reasons why traveling solo can be so worthwhile.

Fit In and Immerse Yourself

If your goal is to really interact with the culture you’re visiting, then solo trips will give you a much greater chance of doing this. A single person slips into the background; you often won’t look like a tourist, and you’ll be able to stand and observe the locals without drawing much attention.

Shopkeepers and bus drivers naturally offer more to the solo traveler. I’ve even had free restaurant meals simply because I turned up alone, squeezed into a table in the corner and chatted with a friendly waiter.

Meet Other Travelers More Easily

This almost goes without saying, but it’s also very true. Just imagine that you’re in a cafe or a pub, or staying at a hostel, and you see a couple in one corner and a girl sitting by herself in the other. Who are you going to talk to? Solo travelers simply invite company by being there alone.

And once you start meeting other travelers, you get a lot of options that you probably wouldn’t have had with your traveling companion by your side. A bunch of other single travelers decide to go sightseeing together and invite you, for example, and another group are going on a canoe trip. You make your choice and have fun with new friends. Doesn’t that sound great?

Do Exactly What You Want, When You Want

And that segues neatly into my next reason: if you’re traveling solo, you are the boss and decision maker. You can get up every morning — or afternoon, if you’re so inclined — and plan your day according to your own whims and fancies. Want to take in a museum or two? Go for it. Feel more like a shopping spree at the local markets? No problem.

Sometimes I forget how many compromises you make when traveling with a friend or group. I probably wouldn’t have visited that military museum in Ho Chi Minh City if I’d been alone; I definitely would have skipped the aeronautical display in Seattle. When I travel alone, I adore the prospect of choosing exactly the cafe or restaurant I’m going to splurge in for a great lunch, where I can sit with my book and enjoy my favorite food, uninterrupted.

Avoiding the conflict that often comes with traveling with others is another bonus of the solo trip. It’s inevitable that spending virtually all your time with another person, even your beloved partner, will produce a few sparks of conflict, especially in the sometimes stressful negotiations of budget travel. But most people won’t argue with themselves.

Reigniting Your “I Can Do Anything” Spirit

Something about making all my own choices in a foreign place seemed to be giving me that “I can do anything” attitude that I sometimes forget in daily life.

I’ve had a few real moments of clarity while traveling alone that never seem to occur when I’m traveling with someone else. Standing in an art gallery in Hamburg, I vividly remember staring at an exhibition about designer apartments in New York. “I could go and live in a place like that,” I remember thinking to myself, somewhat insanely. “In fact, I can go anywhere I want.” Something about making all my own choices in a foreign place seemed to be giving me that “I can do anything” attitude that I sometimes forget in daily life.

Traveling alone and independently also does wonders for your power of self-reliance and even your self-esteem. Taking responsibility for all the tasks involved in traveling, without having someone else to talk over the possibilities with or to make the decisions for you, is a really empowering thing. It’s especially powerful if you’re navigating through a foreign country, perhaps using some knowledge of a foreign language, and managing to find your way from place to place all alone.

But Don’t Travel Alone All the Time

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend being a 100% solo traveler. There are some experiences you might really want to share with someone special, be it a partner or a friend; and being able to reminisce about a trip is one of the long-lasting benefits. There are also some destinations where, as a woman, I’d feel more comfortable traveling with someone else. And finally, if you’re always on the road alone you do run the risk of developing some slightly selfish, hermit-like tendencies.

So where possible, mix up your travel mode. Travel with friends, family, partners, groups of strangers, whatever takes your fancy: but always remember to savor the trips you have the privilege of taking alone.

The post Why Everyone Should Travel Solo … Sometimes appeared first on Vagabondish.

We combed CDC Travel and other health resources to gather a list of diseases and the most common travel illnesses, and all the reasons why you want to avoid them.

The Most Common Travel Illnesses

#1: Cholera

Forgive me for feeling that this disease sounded romantic when Gabriel Garcia Marquez included it in the title of his novel Love in the Time of Cholera — it is actually pretty nasty. You might pick it up in many parts of Africa and Asia, but it can occur anywhere with poor sanitation. You don’t want cholera because you’ll end up with diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, and it has the potential to be fatal, too.

Jabs are all well and good but the usefulness of the cholera vaccine is disputed — some experts say its effectiveness is only 50%. Since you pick up the cholera bacteria from contaminated food and water, you should avoid uncooked food and unbottled water.

© Ross_Angus

#2: Tetanus

While tetanus is the kind of disease that could happen to you anywhere, the highest number of reported incidences are in places like India and countries in central Africa. Tetanus is also called lockjaw for a good reason — it affects your nervous system and makes your muscles spasm and seize up.

But the good news about tetanus is that the vaccine is perfect. As long as you have your booster every ten years. Even in the United States, five people still die every year from tetanus, so it’s worth getting the jab even if you’re not planning to travel soon.

#3: Typhoid

Don’t ask me why, but typhoid has always sounded really dark and tragic to me. What I hadn’t realized is that it’s actually caused by the salmonella bacteria, and is transmitted if you consume food or water that’s been contaminated by the feces of an infected person. Nasty. It’s most commonly contracted in India and parts of Asia, Africa, and South America.

Typhoid is a disease that might hit you suddenly, but then develops slowly — you’ll get a fever, and after a week or so you might become delirious. In the vast majority of cases, it isn’t fatal, and the vaccine is also reasonably effective.

© jurvetson

#4: Dengue Fever

Once you know that dengue fever has been nicknamed break-bone fever or bonecrusher disease, you know it’s something you want to avoid. The initial fever is made worse by a headache, muscle and joint pains along with a really unattractive rash.

Dengue fever is most commonly found in tropical areas and parts of Africa. It’s a bit scarier because it also occurs in more developed parts of the tropics, like Singapore or Taiwan. Mosquitoes spread this disease and there’s no commercial vaccine yet, so use a repellent and nets to avoid getting bitten.

#5: Hepatitis

The various incarnations of hepatitis are running there way through the alphabet, but travelers need to worry most about types A and B.

Hepatitis A is found in developing countries including India, Mexico, Latin America and parts of Africa and is a nasty infection of the liver. Symptoms include fever, nausea and jaundice for a week or up to several months, but it’s rarely fatal, and it is usually picked up from contaminated food and water or close contact with infected people.

Hep A’s big, bad brother Hepatitis B is found in similar regions, plus the Middle East and some Pacific Islands, and can lead to a whole heap of liver damage, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Fortunately, it’s also harder to catch, as it’s usually transmitted only via blood, shared needles and body fluids. You have to plan ahead if you’re traveling to a Hepatitis B risk area because vaccinations must start over six months before you travel. And this one can kill you.

#6: Malaria

This is one of the trickiest diseases (and one of the most common travel illnesses) to deal with while traveling abroad. Most of the medication needs to be taken before, during, and after your trip, and some of it can have unpleasant side effects. These days, malaria is found in at least a hundred countries — the Center for Disease Control has quite a handy risk map to check your destination.

Malaria Control Sign © otisarchives2

You can catch malaria from a mosquito bite, so covering up against these nasties is a must along with taking medication. Symptoms including a fever and something similar to the flu; it’s not usually fatal, but it can be. Scientists are still working on a vaccine against malaria, and that’s something that would be a big benefit to travels if they figured it out successfully.

#7: Yellow Fever

Another mosquito-borne nasty is yellow fever. It’s among the most common travel illnesses, mostly found in the tropical parts of South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Victims usually end up with jaundice, hence “yellow” fever. But while yellow fever can also kill you, it’s easier to prevent because the vaccination is nearly always effective, and only needs to be administered a couple of weeks before you travel.

#8: HIV / AIDS

While definitely not only a travelers’ disease, HIV is becoming a serious issue for travelers in Africa and South East Asia where it’s become scarily prevalent. Yet a lot of carriers don’t realize they have the virus. As a result, many of these people will remain untreated and consequently, die of AIDS.

Fortunately, reducing your risk of contracting HIV as a traveler is mostly a matter of common sense and taking care. Avoid casual sex, use your own, high-quality condoms if you have sex with someone you meet, don’t share needles or syringes or get a tattoo or piercing. Common sense, right?

#9: Japanese Encephalitis

Those mosquitoes are responsible for all manner of unfriendly diseases and Japanese encephalitis is definitely one to avoid. It affects the central nervous system, causing severe flu-like symptoms, and it can be fatal. The vaccine is quite effective, especially if you get the recommended two doses.

And contrary to the suggestion in its name, Japanese encephalitis isn’t limited to Japan at all — it’s most common in agricultural regions of countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Nepal and Malaysia. Again, cover up against mosquitoes if you’re traveling in these areas.

#10: Meningitis

Meningitis is another common travel illness/disease that’s not exclusively the province of travelers or the third world — it can occur, rarely, in Western countries too. However, the “Meningitis Belt” is an area stretching across Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia where it’s relatively common for large outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis to occur.

Meningitis usually comes from contact with, ahem, nose or throat discharges from someone who’s infected. This time you’ll also start with a fever, but usually progress to vomiting, a stiff neck and a bad purple rash. There are vaccinations available (but not against all kinds), or antibiotics can treat it. If you have suspicion of having meningitis, it’s the sort of thing you want to check out immediately — untreated cases are often fatal.

So, there you have it: the most common travel illnesses. If you get your shots before you travel, and you’re relatively careful on the road, the worst case scenario is usually just a minor version of these nasty diseases. But remember, I’m not a doctor, so check with yours before you head off into the danger zone.

For more info on the most common travel illnesses and foreign diseases, check out:

• CDC Yellow Book 2018: Health Information for International Travel
• CDC’s Travelers’ Health Resource
• The Travel Doctor
• World Health Organization’s International Travel and Health Report

The post These Are the 10 Nastiest Travel Diseases appeared first on Vagabondish.

Given that a decade has since passed and my life is going pretty well, I think I’m qualified to say that those people who told me not to travel were dead wrong!

So in case you’re contemplating the same thing, here’s why you should ignore the advice of those who tell you that you shouldn’t go traveling now.

“But, You’ve Got a Good Job Here!”

Yes, I had a great job. That was part of the problem — I’d had the luck of “right place, right time” to work my way up to a dream job much faster than I’d imagined. There didn’t seem to be much of a “what’s next?”, other than doing the same or similar job for the next twenty or so years. But that wasn’t enough for me and guess what — ten years later, with a whole lot of amazing experiences under my belt that makes me do any job better, I’ve got another good job! Better, in fact!

Having a good job doesn’t mean you are satisfied with what’s going on in your life, although it certainly helps. But if you’ve been able to get a good job once, then chances are you’ll find another good job again.

And flipped around, just having a good job doesn’t mean it will continue to be a job you love or even that the job will continue to exist. Especially in the current changing economy, you can’t guarantee what’s going to happen.

“It’s a Bad Career Move.”

Some suggested that leaving my good career and doing “odd jobs” would look extremely bad on my resume. “What about your career?” they asked. Well, there are lots of answers to this concern.

First, there are employers who welcome international experience on your resume even if it’s not in your original field. And do you really want to work for companies who are anti-travel?

Second, your experiences overseas may well change your career path. They certainly changed mine, in a way I couldn’t have done if I’d stayed home. I got into the world of travel blogging, which led me to launch my own blogging and social media business once I returned home and had a family. If I’d stayed here and never traveled there’s no way I would have found this path, and I love it.

“You’ll Lose Your Savings.”

Some people told me I’d be crazy to spend my savings on travel. On top of that, to be away from home and not contributing to my pension fund and all that stuff. True. But not the end of the world.

As it turns out, I managed to save a lot of money while I worked in Japan (despite traveling very regularly while I was there) and sent it home as savings. When I worked in Slovakia and Germany, I made sure to live within my means. This, of course, involved a lot of budget traveling. But, hey, it’s more fun that way!

Of course, I’m not recommending you go traveling and bill all of it to your credit card when you’ve no immediate way to repay it. You have to be at least a little sensible. If you don’t have enough savings to use then look into combining travel with working abroad. For me, working in other countries still felt like traveling because I had so many new experiences every day.

“You Won’t Like Japan.”

Several people told me that living abroad and traveling wasn’t such a bad idea, but they were sure I wouldn’t like Japan. This wasn’t because they’d been there or anything. I guess they’d heard of someone who’d had a bad experience. And I don’t think it would have mattered if I’d been moving to England or Brazil or wherever, they would have said the same thing. Guess what — I adored it!

In retrospect, if these people said the same thing to me today, I’d quickly tell them that I can enjoy virtually any place in the world. And, if I decide I don’t like it, I can just move on to somewhere else.

It took me a while to learn that, once you hit the road, the next move is up to you and you’re free to do whatever you want. Don’t let these nay-sayers make you nervous about not enjoying where you’re headed. It’s up to you to decide to enjoy it.

“You Can’t Speak the Language.”

Before I moved abroad, I admit that not being able to speak the local language worried me a bit. And, I also made as good an attempt as possible to learn the local languages while I lived there because I think that’s the respectful thing to do (plus it’s a lot of fun).

But I soon learned that there are ways to communicate without speaking another language fluently, and plenty of people to help out when you need it. Language barriers should never stop you from traveling.

The Bottom Line

There are always reasons not to do something. Absconding from your “normal” life to travel is no exception.

But I’m glad that I ignored everyone who suggested I stay home. Without my six years of living abroad, I’d have an entirely different life and I firmly believe it would be a poorer one. If you get the chance, ignore the advice-givers and the nay-sayers, and just go traveling, dammit!

The post I’m Going Traveling, Dammit! (When to Ignore the Bad Advice of Others) appeared first on Vagabondish.

That’s right — travel is not always exciting.

There will be dull downtimes, and you may not always be able to read a good book, play road trip bingo, do crossword puzzles, or doodle in your journal.

That’s when you need a good repertoire of travel games to spontaneously play with your fellow travelers. Some will be popular games that you can find online and long-forgotten games from your childhood, and you might be surprised just how necessary they’ll be — and how much fun you’ll have — when you want to fill some of those inevitably empty hours on the road.

The Best Travel Games

A quick confession: I’m a bit of a game geek anyway, and an English teacher to boot, so I’ve been known to start these games even at parties. But I promise that they have all been road-tested (on a real road!), somewhere in Tunisia, Finland, Canada, or Germany or any place where I was bored and without a book.

#1: I Spy

You’ve probably all played I Spy a long time ago. But, I recommend dredging it back up from your long-term memory as I think it’s still one of the best travel games. If you can’t, it starts off like this: “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with A,” and the other players have to guess what object you can see.

I’ve played this travel game in hostels (especially those hostel living rooms that have trinkets from all over the world gathering dust there), on train rides and in planes. Sadly, it didn’t work too well in the desert. “I spy … sand.”

How to play:

I like to limit each person to three or four guesses. Otherwise, they’ll exhaust every item in the room that starts with “B” and you’ll soon run out of objects to use. I also like the jet lag variation — play it in a dark room at night when you can’t sleep because your body’s on some other clock, and see if you can actually remember what’s in the room around you.

© Mariano Kamp

#2: Donna’s Alphabet Game

This is not the official name, but it’s the way I like to remember it after my old school friend Donna got a carload of us playing this on a stop-start motorway in southwest England. It’s simple, as long as you’re traveling on a road with signs (and even better, advertising) and these signs use our alphabet. Don’t try it in the western provinces of China, for example.

How to play:

Logically, Donna’s Alphabet Game starts with A. Be the first person to spot the letter “A” in a sign and yell out the word: “A is in motorwAy!” Continue with B and get right through to Z. It sounds easy, but there will be a few tricky letters, and if you’re playing in a non-English speaking country then pronouncing the words will be a lot of fun, too. The way we play, there’s no winner — anybody can scream out the next letter when they see it — but natural competitiveness spurs everybody on anyway.

#3: Stadt, Land, Fluss: City, Country, River

This is one of the only travel games I know with a German name because my German friends taught it to me — which is also perhaps why it strikes me as being a bit intellectual, but still a lot of fun. It’s also a highly appropriate game for travelers to play because their geographical knowledge should be a bit better than average.

How to play:

Choose three or four categories like the names of a city, country, river or lake. To be honest, I’m terrible with rivers so I always change the river category to something completely different — often food, because I like to talk about food. Take it in turns to challenge another player to think of a city, country, and river all starting with a particular letter. If your friend challenges you with “D”, for example, you can win by getting out Dubai, Denmark, and Danube in under sixty seconds — or whatever time limit you and your bored mates decide on.

Question Mark Art, Stuttgart Museum of Art © -bast-

#4: Twenty Questions

One of my favorite/best travel games, Twenty Questions, is an oldie but a goodie. You can make it topical by restricting the choice of “What am I?” to be something related to the region in which you’re traveling.

I did have a friend, though, who would choose objects like “pyramid” while traveling through Egypt or “chocolate” in Switzerland, and then we could have made it just two questions rather than twenty.

How to play:

Someone chooses an object, and everyone else asks them questions about it, but the only permitted answers are “Yes” or “No”. (Or in my rules, “irrelevant”, if I think saying yes or no will send the guessers along a completely wrong path … I like to play fair!). If you’re playing with a group, whoever guesses the item correctly can choose the next word.

#5: For RTW Trippers: Kalgoorlie, Balladonia …

I think it was my father who started this travel game when our family took a driving holiday across Australia. We were gone about two months and my sister and I — being about ten and twelve years old — needed a lot of entertainment.

How to play:

This game only works with your traveling companions, and only on long trips. It’s more of a challenge than a game, but it always works for me. Simply start with the name of the town you stayed in first. On our trans-Australia trip, it was the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. You then try to name every other town you’ve stayed in, in chronological order. My sister and I were experts at this all those years ago, but today I can only remember the first and second stops.

There are tons of other word and guessing games you can play in those bored moments of travel, and you can adapt these games with endless variations, too. And while it might seem like just a way to kill time, playing games like these is something I really love about traveling. It’s almost as if we don’t give ourselves permission to have that kind of fun if we’re at home in our “real lives”.

What Do You Think Are the Best Travel Games?

Anyway, I’m keen to learn some new best travel games, too. So feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

The post 5 Travel Games for the Road, the Flight, and Beyond appeared first on Vagabondish.

If you ask the right questions on your travels, you’ll not only learn much more about the local culture and customs, but maybe even make some good friends along the way.

When I’m traveling somewhere new — although it’s probably because I’m somewhat neurotic and obsessed about exploring new places — I write notes in my diary about what I expect to find and what questions I have. Inevitably, the questions and answers I end up with are far removed from what I contemplated on the train or plane ride in, but I can live with that. I have insatiable curiosity — it’s a “fault” I inherited from my grandmother, apparently — but I really think it’s a benefit when you travel.

Here are my tips on the best eight questions you can ask in every new place.

#1: Where’s a Good Place to Get a Drink Around Here?

And that’s not because we can’t survive a day or two without a beer. Finding a local bar or pub — emphasis on local, not the bar where all the foreigners hang out — is one of the best ways to get in contact with local people, find out more about where you are, and see how the locals wind down.

#2: What’s the Weirdest Food I Can Eat Here?

This is a question I love to ask, but I’m not so good at following through on actually eating what people suggest. I basically just love to hear people describe the unusual objects that have become part of a normal diet in their country.

It doesn’t even have to be exotic – for example, as an Australian, I still have a really hard time dealing with the American habit of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A Korean who’s already dealt with a few foreigners might give you some measured reasoning about the Korean liking for dog meat, and an Italian will get into mind-boggling detail about the cutest names for some niche pasta sorts.

#3: What’s That Big Building Over There?

Get an insider’s info on major landmarks and work out what’s worth visiting. But beware: the insider’s info is often historically inaccurate and filled with urban myths. Just think about what you really know about significant buildings or monuments in your own town. It’s usually distressingly little, because they’re just places you see every day without thinking about them. Nevertheless, the stories you’ll be told about them are a great starting point, and often more interesting than the truth, anyhow.

#4: What’s Your Favorite Time of Year Here?

This is a great question for finding out the seasonal ups and downs of your destination. Someone will answer according to the weather, another will tell you about their favorite festival, and somebody else might describe the time when most people are on holidays. The only problem with this question is you might discover that the time you’d most enjoy being in the country has just passed. That’s okay — there’s always next year.

#5: How Does the School System Work Here?

It sounds like a dull textbook question, but honestly, the answers can be pretty enlightening. From the north-east Asian systems where students might spend ten or more hours a day studying, through the kinds of schools that I consider “normal”, that is with school from around nine until three each day, and then to other countries like in South America or some parts of Europe where students are finished by lunchtime, the variety is endless. It’s a topic that everyone knows something about, having gone to school themselves, and some great debates can arise.

#6: So, What Did You Have for Breakfast Today?

Seriously, you’ll be amazed. I learned in Japan, for example, not to believe what the guide books say about the Japanese all eating rice and fish for breakfast. A bunch of my Japanese friends have already made the (regrettably unhealthy switch) to white bread and sugared cereal. Ironically, I was the one who ate rice for breakfast for the entire two years I lived in Japan. Breakfast traditions are weird habits, and worth knowing about.

#7: What Sports Do Kids Play Here?

Sports cross all kinds of cultural boundaries. They’re a great topic for discussion, and also to learn about how the local people spend their free time. The reason I like to ask about kids and sport is that it takes all the controversy out of it.

For example, if you ask a bunch of Australian men in a pub which is the best sport, you’ll be throwing yourself into the lion’s den. You’ll watch as each man tries to defend his own code of football, depending on where he grew up, and then an argument about the game of cricket will probably ensue. Which means you’d never hear that practically all Australian girls, and a lot of women too, play netball. And the list goes on. Play it safe and talk about the kids.

#8: Why Do You Live Here?

This might be a question for late night pondering, and best saved for philosophical locals, but I’ve had some interesting answers. Many people won’t have thought about it, really, until you ask. But, when they do, their reasons for being there can provide a lot of clues about why you might enjoy being there, too.

I believe there’s no point in traveling if you don’t ask questions. At the very least, be open to questions arising as you travel. If you have the courage to get chatting with some locals — perhaps with a bit of a language barrier — and find the answers to some of your questions, it’s a guarantee that this will enrich your enjoyment and understanding of the culture you’re visiting.

What questions do you ask the locals when you travel? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Curious Travel: 8 Essential Questions to Ask in Every New Place appeared first on Vagabondish.

Travel agencies have started to recognize people’s desire for themed trips. These days you can find tours based on books or movies, on historical journeys, or pretty much any theme you can imagine. But you might have guessed I’m not a big fan of tours: so when I’m talking themed trip, I’m definitely talking a make-your-own deal. It’s a lot more fun.

Great Themed Trips That Have Already Been Done

There’s something about making a trip with “a point” — even a fairly nonsensical point — that makes people want to do these kinds of journeys, and to read about them too. A lot of travel narrative books these days cover these sorts of trips, and I’ve read a couple of great ones recently. Where Underpants Come From by Joe Bennett is one such example — Bennett is a New Zealander who decided he wanted to follow the manufacturing process of his cheap pair of “Made in China” underpants, and the journey took him through Shanghai factories and out into the countryside, along with a side trip to Thailand where the rubber for the elastic in his underpants came from.

I also enjoyed Batting on the Bosphorus, Angus Bell’s odd juxtaposition of chasing people who play the English game of cricket across eastern European nations; then there’s Greasy Rider, Greg Melville’s story of stopping at key environmentally-friendly spots across the United States as he attempts to cross the country in a car powered by the waste oil and fat from fast food restaurants. Get the idea? I think there are as many ideas for themed trips out there as there are travelers — and probably more.

Tourist Ants at the Eiffel Tower, Paris © Adrian Boliston

What’s Good About Making a Themed Trip

I think there’s a lot to be said for planning such a trip. For one, it’s fun. Planning a trip like this is even more interesting than the usual planning, and I love that already. Having a focus for your trip makes planning in some ways easier, too, because you don’t feel obliged to see and do “everything” that crosses your path. The Eiffel Tower becomes a non-compulsory part of a trip to Paris. And while doing the research you need for this style of planning, you’re bound to discover all kinds of interesting information that the average traveler misses out on.

Even more important, this kind of trip is likely to connect you up with local people a lot more closely. You’ll probably need to contact locals in advance to arrange parts of your trip — like in the Underpants trip, where Bennett got into contact with Chinese people from all walks of life, including in shops and factories, before he even got on a plane. That can certainly help you to learn more about a country and is definitely likely to provide some more unique stories to reminisce about after the trip is over.

The Downsides to Themed Trips

One danger on this kind of themed trip is you could get so focused on your theme that you do miss out on other great things around you — yep, the opposite of the good point I just mentioned. So make sure you allow time to experience stuff that may not be on your themed trip’s agenda but might still really interest you.

Another potential downside is basically that the people around you might think you’re a little crazy! Whether it’s your family and friends who scoff at your unusual plans before you leave, or locals at your destination who think your mission is too odd to help out with, I’m sure every one of the authors I mentioned above came across some kind of problem like this along the way. Of course, life is too short to worry too much about what other people think — but be warned.

© pimpexposure

Your Own Themed Trip?

I guess that because I love traveling, quirky ideas for themed trips are popping into my head on a regular basis. For example, I’d love to do a road trip around the United States where the next destination always started with the next letter of the alphabet — my ABC drive, so to speak. I’ve also wondered if I could put together a round-the-world trip that stopped (only) in every country which matched the nationality of students I’ve taught in the past — that’s about a thirty-country trip at the moment. And the list goes on, but then they get too ridiculous to publish.

What about you? Let your imagination go wild — or perhaps you already have a fantasy themed trip — and tell us what kind of crazy travels you would like to do!

The post Why Themed Trips Are Cooler Than You Think appeared first on Vagabondish.

Rather than feel down about all the stuff you’re missing out on, here’s a list of the things I do to pass the time and make me feel like it’s still a fun part of my trip.

#1: Research, Read and Learn

Whether it’s a guidebook, brochures from the hotel or hostel lobby, or you’re online — spend your trapped time getting to know more about your destination. I’ve sometimes discovered a gem of a place to visit that I probably wouldn’t have discovered without that enforced room time!

Curiously enough some of that comes from those ubiquitous racks of tourist brochures often found in hostel and hotel lobbies — usually the brochures in hard-to-reach corners that most travelers ignore.

© bixentro

#2: Chat with the Staff

Assuming you’re not laid up with a contagious disease, take some time to get to know the staff at your accommodation. They’ll most likely be locals with lots of interesting tips for you and if you find you have some interests in common they might even help you get a taste of local life.

At the very least they’re likely to tell you the real truth about the best place to eat nearby or help you figure out something else to do if your plans have been totally disrupted.

#3: Play Games You’ve Forgotten

If you’re stuck with your traveling partner or it’s a weather-induced problem and you can find fellow travelers around, dig deep into the depths of your memory and play some games you probably haven’t played in years.

Even noughts and crosses will do if you’ve got nothing but pen and paper. I always travel with a pack of cards — you can even cross language barriers with a simple pack of cards!

Most ho(s)tels will have access to a supply of board games or packs of cards. Ask and you might even get the chance to learn a new game that’s popular in the country you’re traveling in.

© QueenNeveen

#4: Write a Letter

Remember how people used to write on actual paper with a pen and send it to each other? There’s something really special about getting a handwritten letter, but most people feel they never have time to write one or have nothing to write about.

Now’s the perfect time to write a beautiful letter to someone you care about. And since you’re on holidays or a big trip then you’ve probably also got plenty of news to tell them. (Just don’t dwell on the “stuck in the hotel room” bit for too long!)

#5: Get Creative

I’m no artist (in fact, I’m pretty much the opposite). But, in situations like this, I will actually grab a pencil and paper and try to improve my drawing skills. There are lots of other creative things you might try — origami, say, or something crafty that you have easy access to.

Something that always helps me relax and get creative in a situation like this is to remember that nobody’s going to race in, rip your drawing from your hands and publish it for the world to see. You’re just doing it for you, and it’s just meant to be for fun.

#6: Learn To Use Your Camera Properly

I’m sure that most of you, just like me, have numerous functions on your camera that you’ve never used. Even reasonably simple point-and-shoot cameras have heaps of extra functions.

While you’re stuck in your hotel room, take this captive time to experiment with all the functions and figure out when it might be useful to use them. Knowing a few simple ways to use the manual settings on your camera can make the end result so much better than defaulting to shooting in automatic mode.

Contemplating, New Jersey © Robby McKee

#7: Plan Your Future

From chats with others, I’ve learned it’s not just me who feels inspired and motivated about life in general when they’re on a trip. Use the time to make detailed plans about your future!

For example, plan out a bunch of monthly goals for the next year, write up something like a “bucket list” for the next decade or two, or simply figure out a good schedule for achieving a few important goals in the weeks after you arrive back home after your trip.

#8: Do … Nothing

If your life is remotely like mine, then your ability to take time for yourself and do nothing at all may not be very well-developed. Sometimes, though, it can be really productive and relaxing (yes, at the same time!) to simply sit and do nothing. Contemplate your navel!

There aren’t many times in life when there aren’t too many things requiring your attention but if you’re stuck in a hotel room during a trip then you don’t need to work, you don’t need to do housework, you probably don’t even need to talk to anyone (except perhaps your traveling companion!). So enjoy it and do nothing for once!

What helps you pass the time when you’re stuck in a hotel room?

The post 8 Things to Do When You’re Stuck in a Hotel Room appeared first on Vagabondish.

But no matter how wonderful the new priorities are, settling down is never easy for people who are used to traveling. I don’t have to look further than myself for a good example. I spent a few years taking trips from my home in Perth, then six years living in three different countries and traveling constantly from these new bases. I didn’t even want to return to Australia just yet but circumstances kind of worked out that way. And now, two years into the “settling down” process, I still have extraordinarily itchy feet and regular moments of stress where I wish I could book a flight somewhere and get far away from this settled-down life.

Australians in particular — or so I’ve heard — are renowned for wandering the world, working overseas, or backpacking for years, but very often coming home to settle down. Many of my Aussie friends have done something similar. From their experiences as well as my own, I’ve learned a few ways to deal with this inevitable phase and learn that a life led not constantly on the road is alright too.

Here are some of my tips if you find yourself in the same situation:

#1: Keep Learning About the World

Read, surf the net, chat on online forums, and Facebook your long-lost travel friends to keep learning about what’s happening out there in the big wide world. When you’re in a more settled-down phase it’s easy to get caught up with conversations about the latest local reality TV show and the gossip of small-town politics. Make an effort to keep learning about the rest of the world.

I have a lovely example of this from a good friend of mine who’s a more vehemently independent traveler than me. Now that she’s put down the backpack to marry a guy who’s not so interested in travel, and she’s had a baby, she’s found a unique way to deal with her itchy feet. While she’s feeding her baby — those long hours that others might spend watching mindless TV — she keeps an atlas open in front of her, memorizing the geography of the continents where she’s traveled least. She can already draw an accurate map of all the countries of South America, and now she’s moved on to figuring out how those many nations of Africa fit together.

Exploring Bucharest © Bogdan Suditu

#2: Do Some Micro-Traveling in Your Own Part of the World

Whether you’ve settled back in your hometown or somewhere new, it’s too easy to fall into the routine of driving to the same supermarket, meeting friends at the same pubs or restaurants, and spending weekends at home in front of the TV.

Remember that, to somebody else, visiting your hometown is traveling. Imagine their perspective and get out and really get to know your area.

Remember that, to somebody else, visiting your hometown is traveling. Try to imagine their perspective, get out, and really get to know your area.

I was lucky in this respect since I returned to Perth with a German husband who’d never been here before. So playing the tour guide was natural. I got to know all about my home city and discovered all kinds of places I never knew about before. I also try to keep in touch with the various local festivals and events that come our way, just like I’d do if I was still backpacking.

#3: Do the Pre-Trip Research You Always Wanted to Do

When I was traveling almost full-time, it was impossible to learn as much about my destinations as I wanted to before I arrived. I don’t mean planning a minute-by-minute itinerary, but rather reading and learning about the culture and people of a city or country. For a start, when I was on the road it wasn’t easy to source English language books that were related to the places I was hoping to visit. On top of that, I didn’t always have that much time between trips or location changes.

Now that I’ve settled down, I’m catching up on trip research from the past as well as researching more thoroughly for the future. I love to find novels set in the cities and places that I’ve visited, and I’m always on the lookout for interesting reads about the destinations I hope to visit someday.

#4: Stay in Contact With Foreigners

One of the saving graces of my settling down period has been my job as a teacher of English as a foreign language. That means that every day in my classroom I chat with people from at least three continents and get to continually learn about cultures and countries that interest me. But outside of work, I’ve made sure to keep in touch with a few foreign friends who also live in my city. That way I don’t feel totally absorbed back into my hometown culture. Plus, I can also do a bit of vicarious traveling through them as they visit their home countries and come back with gifts and stories.

I also keep in contact with the various people I’ve met along the way in my travels, whether they’re ex-colleagues or ex-students from my various teaching jobs, or friends, neighbors and traveling companions I’ve bumped into along the way. One nice side effect is that a number of my ex-colleagues are still traveling the world and teaching in far-flung corners of the globe and reading their emails about adventures in Cali, Colombia or Guangzhou, China is almost as good as being there myself.

Lost in Your Own World © notsogoodphotography

#5: Daydream About Future Trips

One of the best things I learned while traveling is that I have the skills and know-how to travel anywhere in the world, somehow. Knowing this, I can spend time on my commute to work or while cooking dinner to daydream about destinations I’ll get to sometime in the future.

Sure, sometimes it’s frustrating to know that my mortgage means I can’t take off to Bhutan tomorrow (that’s our latest interest — my husband wants to meet the happiest people in the world). But it’s all a matter of give-and-take.

I spent a decade traveling whenever and wherever I wanted, and now the trade-off is that I have a house I like and a family of my own. But that’s not the end of my traveling life, and opportunities can arise out of nowhere. I’ve always got ideas in my head about the places I’ll travel to when I have a chance in the future.

The post Life After Backpacking: 5 Tips for Settling Down But Still Daydreaming appeared first on Vagabondish.

I’ve also seen foreigners who spend all their time with ex-pats and wondered if maybe they should have just stayed home. Having said that, ignoring the ex-pats and hanging out with only the locals is probably also not the right balance.

So if you’re living abroad, or thinking of moving abroad, have a look at my tips on how to balance the friendships and time commitments with fellow ex-pats and locals. I hope it’ll make your experience an even more worthwhile one!

© Martina Lanotte

Ex-Pats Understand You

The main reason that we love to hang with other ex-pats is that they’re more likely to understand us in many ways, but let’s look at the obvious sense of sharing a common language. When you are struggling every day to communicate in a language other than your own — even if you’re proficient enough to work using the language, it can still be exhausting — then it’s a welcome relief to be able to slip back into your native tongue.

I remember this feeling all too well and it’s one of the reasons I make an effort to speak German here at home, so my (German) husband can spend some time speaking his language rather than always being the “foreigner”.

The less obvious way that other ex-pats understand you is that they tend to come from a similar cultural upbringing. That means they are ideal sounding boards for problems you’re having with fitting in to your new country, or for delicate cultural questions that may not be appropriate to ask of a local, or simply because you can refer to some famous pop cultural icon of your culture and not have to explain it in detail. (All Australians end up talking about the movie “The Castle”. It’s SO Australian — go look it up!)

When You Might Have Too Many Ex-Pat Friends

So, ex-pat friends are great, and I’d argue almost essential, but could you have too many? If you’ve lived somewhere for more than a few months and are spending all your free time with fellow ex-pats, it’s probably time to make an effort to connect with some locals.

Of course, it can be harder to make friends with locals if you have a language barrier or stark cultural differences, but these can be overcome and you can learn so much about the local people and yourself in the process. There are often organisations of locals who reach out to ex-pats to help them integrate.

For example, when I lived in Japan there was an amazing group of volunteer housewives who’d studied how to teach Japanese to foreigners, and getting in touch with them opened all kinds of cultural and friendship doors for me.

You can also try taking up a hobby or sport at a local club because you’ll then naturally find locals who have an interest in common with you.

Thai Elvis, Bangkok © mark roy

Locals Educate You

So, why did I particularly love making friends with locals when I lived abroad? There are so many reasons but as a whole I’d summarise by saying it’s what made me feel like I was really living in another country, rather than just passing through.

In Japan, it took a few months before I made local friends (it didn’t help that the adult language school I taught in had a strict-sounding rule about not fraternising with students — it took me a while to get the courage to break this rule!) but once I did it was incredibly rewarding. The Japanese I met were so generous in sharing their country and culture and I could write a book about the exciting outings we went on together — and the never-ending hours of karaoke I got to enjoy!

When I lived in Slovakia, I was fascinated by the fact that the local friends I made seemed so much like me but they had grown up and gone to school during communist times. We spent a lot of time discussing the differences but also embracing how they could now travel freely and that I could come and live in a country like theirs and meet them. The amazing changes just my generation has seen are pretty impressive!

In a country like Germany where the historical and cultural differences were not so extreme, I still loved the chance to make friends with locals rather than just hang out with other ex-pat teachers. I found I had more subtle things to discover there — for example, really trying to understand the difference between when to use “polite you” and “informal you” when you’re speaking German — a tricky concept which turned out to be much more fluid than my high school textbook had suggested.

Study Time, Zurich © Thomas Leuthard

When You Might Need To Look Up Some Ex-Pats

This problem is something I witnessed much less frequently than the foreigner who has too many ex-pat friends, but it does exist, particularly if you’re an ex-pat who has lived somewhere for many years, perhaps married a local and become competent in the language. But also amongst very conscientious short-term ex-pats who are focusing on meeting only the locals.

I found that everyone needs to reconnect with their own culture now and again, to have a break from the constant feeling of being somehow different to everyone around you. And that’s why having at least some regular contact with other ex-pats is still important. After all, they’re the only ones who will ever properly laugh at all your jokes, I think!

The post Living Abroad: How to Balance Your Ex-Pats and Your Locals appeared first on Vagabondish.

Not everybody agrees though. So for those of you who dread the thought of spending hours in a train or plane, this list of different ways to entertain yourself on a long trip might help.

Get to Know Somebody New

Yes, it’s true, getting to a fellow passenger is a risky business. If you discover you don’t really want to talk to them, it’s hard to get away — “Do you want to swap seats with me so I don’t have to sit next to this guy who won’t stop talking?” is unlikely to work. But more often than not you’ll have an interesting conversation, and sometimes you might even strike up a friendship.

I remember spotting what looked like a Japanese guy traveling on his own directly across the aisle from me on a train to El Jem in Tunisia. There were hardly any tourists to start with and to see someone who appeared to be Japanese was even more unusual — but intriguing for me since I’d just left Japan after living there for a couple of years. Turned out I was right, and this Japanese guy and I are still in touch via email quite a few years later.

Travel Journal © Bing Ramos

Read and Write

Plenty of people will pack a book for a trip like this (or an ebook reader, these days), but how many of you pack a notepad and pencil? Not enough, I say. “Trapped time” on a journey is a great opportunity to not only read but write — something I’d argue we do too little of these days. I really believe you think differently if you’re writing the “old fashioned way” rather than typing away at your laptop or tablet.

Write a letter to a friend or relative; write down a list of places you’d like to travel to in the future; write down the conversations you can hear around you. When traveling, I like to buy a beautiful notebook to carry with me for the trip. It might be a place to jot down timetable notes or currency conversions or whatever, but is also a spot for unwinding with some good old-fashioned writing.

Make Plans

I often find that when I’m traveling I get really inspired about something new I want to do in life – whether that’s a new idea for work, a hobby I want to start, or another place I’d like to visit. Grab your aforementioned notebook and start writing down some goals or fleshing out some ideas. The inspiration from traveling and seeing new things — added to being “trapped” on a bus or plane for a few hours — is the perfect combination to help make some amazing new plans for your future.

I practically always get this feeling while traveling. But if I don’t take the time to write something down then when I get home and am immediately hit again by the demands of work and domestic life, it’s easy to forget both the concrete ideas and the inspired feeling.

Listening, Scotland © D. Sinclair Terrasidius

Use Technology

I love modern technology and how it enables us to do so much more while we’re sitting still these days, and I recommend you use it to its full potential. But don’t stay hooked to your technology for the whole trip.

These days we can carry a bunch of movies or TV shows on a tiny phone and watch for hours on end. This is a great way to kill time while traveling but if you let it take over your entire trip you might come out the other end somewhat “fuzzy brained” and not ready to tackle your next destination. It also means you’re missing out on some of the other great things on this list.

Use Your Imagination

It’s rarely practical to get up and talk to each person around you, or you may have a language barrier that prevents it too, but don’t let that stop you inventing stories to match each of the passengers around you. I love to people watch and when you’re stuck in a bus or train and can observe them for some hours at a time, it’s amazing what you can learn about them without exchanging a single word.

If you’re lucky enough to be traveling with mostly local people in a different country then you’ll have a great chance to observe a snippet of real life for the locals.

Zen Traveler, Poland © Juan Antonio F. Segal

Do Nothing

I’m a highly motivated person who wants to “achieve” stuff all the time, but on long plane and bus trips I give myself permission to just do nothing sometimes. It’s actually not that easy (well, at least not for me), but it’s a great chance to practice.

Stare out the window without looking too hard at what’s passing by; close your eyes without trying to fall asleep; try to sink into a bit of a zen mood and do some meditation and just relax, properly. If you live a typical modern life like I do then you probably don’t get enough time to relax and just be in the moment, so grab this opportunity and make the most of it!

The post I’m Bored! How to Amuse Yourself on a Long Train, Plane or Bus Trip appeared first on Vagabondish.