Once in awhile, I leave the comforts of home to explore the great wide world out there. Having just returned from Australia and leaving for Paris tomorrow, I was thinking about this weird thing of traveling. I didn’t used to always travel. I’d always tell people how much I wanted to travel, but couldn’t because I either (a) didn’t have enough money or (b) didn’t have enough time, or (c) both a and b. At times, these things were partially true, but only because I hadn’t really made it a priority.
Several years ago, I looked at my cubicle life and I realized that I could probably sit quite easily at a desk for 8 hours when I’m 70, but that I probably won’t be able to do too many 14 hour flights or 15 mile day hikes at that age. That’s when I started to put away money each month into a different bank account that was marked just for traveling. My philosophy became: travel while the body is able, and then slowly degenerate into a computer sloth as I get older.
As for why I love to travel, there are tons and tons of layers. Getting away from everything for a short time is always great, especially when the beach is something like Ritidian Point. And then there are such amazing things to see and do. I have a fear of heights, but often times I will do things that scare the crap out of me. It’s a harrowing and beautiful miniscule miracle when I feel the fear pass, to then be allowed to witness something incredible (see: Tongariro Crossing). Experiencing culture through food and conversations with locals and other travelers has broadened ideas I had about myself, the environment, the connections between people and how it all fits together with the world. Traveling has also shown me that I am never in control and so I am learning to live my life with a little more improvisation and a little less resistance.
I am so grateful for the places I have been and the ways in which those experiences has added to my life.
———————
Quick Travel Thoughts
I do not count myself a travel expert at all, but here are some things I have learned that might be worth sharing.
Airline Alliances: There are a couple of major airline alliances. The best thing to do is to sign up for the frequent flier program of just one airline in each alliance. This way, you can accumulate miles faster and hence reach rewards (free flights/upgrades) faster by consolidating all the partner miles.
– One World
– Sky Team
– Star Alliance
Travel Deals: I peruse travel sites and sign up for travel deal emails (filtering them, of course, so that my inbox doesn’t junk up), and try to take advantage of the best deals to the most interesting places. A lot of hotels are partners with airlines, so you can actually get miles for your hotel stays, so always keep an eye out of those things too.
– Farecast
– Travel Zoo
– Kayak
Traveling With A Camera: Not much to say here except that I only take one lens with my dSLR when I travel – lately that’s been the 17-35mm f/2.8. I used to try to take more than that, but I always found myself just sticking to one because changing lenses was just too troublesome. Also, the lighter you travel, I imagine the less attention you bring to yourself. I keep my stuff in my small Tamrac Explorer 1, and just take it out when I want to use it.
Travel Guides: Use other travelers’ advice (including mine!) with discretion. Everybody travels differently and every person has a different standard of what is “clean”, “nice”, “posh”, “good food”, “great service”, etc. Most of the time, I use Lonely Planet guides to get oriented to a city and get a sense of what there is to see and do. Trip Advisor has really become my best friend for finding places to stay based on the concept of the “wisdom of crowds”. For US or UK cities, Yelp is a great resource for finding tasty foods. I also hear from Jeannie that Chow Hound is also a good place to connect with people who like to eat.
———————
I’d love to hear from you other travelers on this blog: what sites you use, any travel tips, horror stories, lessons learned, etc!
