As promised in my post about homesickness and long-term travel, I wanted to publish a follow-up about the more practical side of my time on the road. I started out having no idea if I had packed the right things in my bag, worried about losing my passport (I tend to be slightly scatterbrained on the best of days) and curious if I’d last the full year around the world. 4 years later, I’m still moving – though I’m doing so quite a bit differently than when I first started out. I’m travelling much more slowly, opting to spend more time learning and eating. Where possible, I rent an apartment for a few months to really get a feel for the place and to get work done. Over the years, I’ve found myself disagreeing with my initial packing strategy and also learning a bunch of tips that I keep using as I go. I wanted to share those tips for world travel here.
For those who are just starting out or reading from home or mulling over what they too have picked up along the way, some practical tips from years of travelling around the world.
My world travel tips: I made mistakes so you don’t have to!
I revisit this post every year to see if I ought to modify but even in 2016, many months after the original was written, I agree with everything I’ve posted here. The biggest lesson is to remember that travel doesn’t fix your problems, but it does expose you to new solutions, to interesting challenges, and to so much more.
1. Being a solo traveler does not mean that you are lonely.
One of the most frequent questions I receive is “are you lonely travelling alone?” This is a natural assumption; before they visited, even my parents envisioned my sitting alone and singing myself to sleep. But when they met me in Bangkok, they quickly realized there was a vibrant community of journalists and writers and photographers and almost instantly, I had a group of friends. The nature of travel is that it intensifies human experiences, transcending social rules that would apply at home. So when I meet a great group of people we end up spending days talking, sharing meals and exploring – despite the fact that if this was New York and I said “hey, let’s share lunch, dinner and drinks for the next seven days straight“ I’d be deemed a stalker. Those rules don’t apply. Most people are open to meeting others and learning from them as they travel. With the exception of #12, below, I don’t ever feel lonely.
2. Be a travel parasite.
No, this does not mean mooching off friends or family. What it means is learning how to use guidebooks to your advantage. While they are useful to have for the history of a place or the basics in itinerary planning, I rarely look to guidebooks for the name of a hostel or restaurant. Instead, I look at their recommendations as things to piggyback on. Lonely Planet recommends a place as “Our Pick”? Great, I go there, and walk two doors down to stay nearby. Rough Guides says “this is the best restaurant in town”? Perfect! Almost every one of those recommendations will spawn another restaurant within walking distance, especially in less developed countries. Industrious entrepreneurs quickly learn that when these books recommend a place, they quickly get overcrowded and prices go up. The solution: they open a place right next door or nearby to handle the spillover. Without fail, those are the places that are cheaper, more delicious and not jaded. Being a parasite isn’t always a bad thing. (Having parasites? Not so much.)
3. There are things you should not leave home without.
Regardless of what climate I pack for, I’ve always got these five things in my bag: safety whistle, doorstop, headlamp, sleep sheet and sarong. I’ve got many other mainstays as well, but these four are there, for shorter trips or longer trips or anything in between.
Additional notes (Apr 6):
- Someone submitted this to MeFi (I’m a longtime reader, so that was exciting to see – *waves back*) with the question “I guess I must be inexperienced at travel but I don’t think I’ve ever found myself wishing I had a doorstop. Can someone tell me what this is about?”. The answer is that I’ve found it a comfort to have if I’m in a hostel room alone because it means you’ll usually hear the door fidgeting if someone is trying to open it while you are asleep. It’s not a failsafe prevention, of course, but it has come in handy and it gives me extra peace of mind when I go to bed.
- Another note to the MeFi thread asked about items like antibacterial gel or earplugs. Yes, of course I have those with me. I wanted to list some items that were less conventional but take up very little room. And yes, I probably am an overpacker, but at 5ft with a 54L pack, that can only mean so much :)
- To those curious about why I recommend a safety whistle, it isn’t to draw attention in uncomfortable situations (I’ve yet to use it in that way), but because it has come in handy while being chased by a group of monkeys or stranded in a boat in Myanmar. I devoted a post to it because I do think it’s great to have for general safety reasons (especially if you are hiking) but I thought it would be best illustrated with some of the ridiculous times I’ve had to use it on my trip.
4. Everything else you can buy.*
I didn’t believe it at first – “what if I forget to pack something!” But I’ve learned that most things can be bought abroad, from t-shirts to bras to new flip flops when a monkey throws yours over a cliff. Toiletries are a learning experience in and of themselves (trying to find non-whitening deodorant in Thailand? Not as easy as you might think) and often teach you a lot about a country in the process. I’ve posted a few packing lists from other bloggers on my world travel resources page and they are great at outlining what you need. But if you forget something, you can usually finagle a suitable replacement on the road.
*If you have prescription meds from home, these are something you might want to plan for during your travels. Also, your passport. Please don’t forget to pack your passport.
5. Food makes the world go round.
You may not be a chef or foodie or spice-obsessed individual, but you cannot deny that in most of the world, the nexus of culture, tradition and family is food. If you don’t want to learn about the history of how spices got there or spend your days stuffing your face with everything you can like I do, take a cooking class. See if you can learn how to cook with a local family. Go to the markets and watch how people eat, how they handle their foods or when their primary mealtimes occur. These rhythms are relevant to your travels because most places are so much more than a list of sights to see; most places tie their food to their communities, to their history. You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you missed out on it.
If you want a shorter cheat sheet, check out my “How to Eat Street Food Without Getting Sick” post. [/alert]
6. Your taxi driver knows where to eat breakfast more than you do.
Swap this out for tuk-tuk driver, songthaew driver or rickshaw driver, where appropriate. When I go to a new place, I find the eldest cab driver possible and ask him where he ate breakfast. Once he gets over his shock that this is what I want to know, he tends to break into a huge grin and start talking about food. Eventually, he takes me there. And the food is almost always delicious, fresh and somewhere I’d have never found without his help. Taxi drivers: more than just getting from A to B.
Update: There has been some pushback here, noting that taxis will often take you to a place where they receive commission. I have found this to be extremely untrue, relying throughout my travels on these taxi-sourced recommendations for eats, usually delivered with a big smile. If this fails, consider taxi drivers, then, to be an excellent marker of quick and delicious food. Example: a trip to Mui Ne revealed one of the best soups I’ve had in Vietnam, populated almost exclusively by taxi drivers.
7. Stop listening to people who tell you not to pack jeans.
Do you love your jeans? Great, put them in your backpack. I don’t care whether people tell you they won’t dry fast enough (this is a non-starter in warm climates) or that they take up too much room (oh HAI Lycra, how wonderfully compact you make my jeans!) or that they’re not malleable enough. I made the mistake of not packing jeans when I left in 2008 and they were the first thing I bought in South America. I’ve had a pair with me ever since. While my quick-dry pants are terrific for hiking, I personally don’t feel fashionable in them, and when I join expats or others for dinner somewhere, I want to feel like I fit in. I also want to feel like myself, and I do wear jeans quite a lot when I am back in North America. If you’re someone who hates jeans to begin with, this isn’t for you. But if you do enjoy wearing them, bring them along. You’ll be happier for it.
8. Oranges are the perfect public transportation snack.
I started bringing a bag of oranges with me for long bus rides, primarily because they quench thirst and smell delicious. I quickly learned that many Thai and Burmese busgoers sniff the peels to stave off nausea, and that kids love oranges. Really: kids LOVE oranges. So for those who want to bring something for the bus ride but rightfully worry about giving sweets to kids, oranges are your friend. You will win over the parents, make the kids happy, occupy your hours and eventually get fed by everyone on the bus. Trust me. You should always have a bag of oranges on hand, the smaller the orange the better.
If oranges aren’t present where you are, substitute a similar peelable fruit. In China, this was longan or lychees, in the Philippines it was lanzones. You get the idea.
9. Cough drops are to cab drivers what oranges are to kids on buses.
I stock up on cough drops before I need to get a cab because cabbies love cough drops. I have no scientific backing for my theory, but I can attest to the fact that in every cab I’ve taken, the driver is thrilled to take one from me. After the initial grumpiness, a cough drop is offered, a smile follows and suddenly we’re singing Journey at the top of our voices and playing air guitar. My cough drop offerings have resulted not just in impromptu karaoke but also a detour tour of the Corniche (Casablanca, where cabs are fixed fair), food (Thailand, of course, where everyone wants to feed you) and attending a wedding (Myanmar and Bali). Even when you don’t receive anything as grandiose as a wedding invite, it lightens the mood considerably and often surprises the cab driver; you’ll be guaranteed interesting conversation if the cabbie speaks English, a great icebreaker to learn the story of his life. Cough drops: making your taxi experiences better, one cabbie at a time.
10. Opening your eyes and mind to connecting with others matters more than getting “off the beaten path.”
I devoted a whole post to this but I want to reiterate it here because I think it’s one of the most important lessons I learned. Remaining open to meeting new people and learning from them goes farther than you think. You can get off the beaten path and have little visceral connection to the land or the people because you’ve insulated yourself in your thoughts to fixating on being different. Conversely, you can remain in one of the busiest places in town and still forge relationships with others and walk away with incredible stories and experiences. This is not a black and white issue: for those who do keep their minds open, getting off the beaten path is usually meaningful and wonderful because they’re piling on additional experiences to an already-open spirit. However the bottom line remains: it isn’t enough to go somewhere secret or dangerous or exciting. It’s important also to look beyond that and focus on the beauty of what you can learn from others as you go.
11. People are more alike than you think.
My preferred way of connecting to people is via food but regardless of your passions or interests, travelling will also open your eyes to the fact that we are all more alike than we think. Yes, there are cultural differences and traditions that differ – vastly – but the basics of human emotions and the kindness in a smile are omnipresent, and a beautiful reminder of our shared humanity. Be it the Laotian woman on my bus to Vientiane who only wanted to talk about how men in Thailand thought they were better than men in Laos, to the soldiers in the Philippines who wanted to know how we in Canada survived without growing our own rice, to the family in Bolivia who asked why tourists didn’t swaddle their babies on their back, Bolivian-style. Threads of common human queries – love, food, parenting, and many more – resurface again and again. Ask questions, encourage people to ask them of you. In the end, these knots of human connection are what makes the world go round.
12. The times when you are sick are the loneliest.
While I said above that I’m almost never lonely, the times when I am sick are the times when I would do anything to click my heels and be at my parents’ place, in bed. I might be 32 but when I’m somewhere foreign and in a cloud of lethargy and illness, I still want my step-father’s famous chicken soup. It’s tough to be hurt and far away from everything that is familiar. But it has made me more able to handle things that go wrong, and technology has enabled me to stay in contact with people (and/or get the “HOLY CRAP help what is this on my arm?” diagnoses from my stepsister, who is a doctor) even when I’m down.
13. Technology helps you meet people and connect others as you go, and keeps parents happy.
When I was in the Kuwait Airport, I tweeted that I had the hiccups during my 7-hour layover, resulting in some strange looks from other passengers. I had seen one, perhaps two, tourists in the prior hours and I thus stood out already. A few minutes after the tweet, a guy from Oregon came up and said “Hi, are you legalnomads?” He had searched Twitter for the airport code to see whether other travellers were tweeting nearby, saw me hiccuping compulsively in the corner and came over to introduce himself. I spent the remaining hours of my layover drinking coffee with his family and talking about social media. (In later years, this same guy popped up once again)
Technology makes it easy to meet people ahead of time, get suggestions and generally forge a dialogue before crossing paths. I’ve gotten restaurant tips, weather warnings and more via Twitter, and made some great friends in the process. When I first arrived to Bangkok in 2010 after my time in Myanmar, there were tweetups galore on the heels of TEDxBKK. In just a few days, I had a wonderful group of newfound friends who could tell me where to eat and what they loved about the city. Of course, in the absence of technology, the tried and true “talking to someone else in your hostel at breakfast” works just as fine as it always did.
Technology also helps keep my family updated. I use a Google Voice number, Skype and email to keep them all in the loop. I’ll send photos of the smaller things, the tidbits of quotidian life they’re missing out on. “This soup was amazing!” or “here’s my new room!” They are mostly appreciative but sometimes less so – the time I sent a photo of the squat toilet in Mongolia was the first time my mother emailed to say “we want you to share, but please not the toilets.” SPOILSPORT.
14. The anxiety and nervousness of newness never goes away.
I want to stress this point because understandably people think that when you do something enough it becomes second nature, an instinctive machination. This might be true for general skills but for travel, I’ve found the rule does not apply. When I go somewhere new, I still get anxious. Before I left for Morocco, I was worried about whether I would enjoy it, and whether I’d find it daunting. Having gotten very used to Asia, North Africa was as foreign to me as it would be to anyone else. It’s a fallacy that longer term travellers breeze through the world, comfortable anywhere. Part of what makes something like travel special is that it does push your comfort levels every time you step outside the familiar. In my case, even after 4 years, this hasn’t dissipated at all.
15. Packing does not get easier.
I wrote a piece on long term travel and the things it doesn’t fix. In it, I talked about how, 2.5 years into my travels, I still hated packing. It’s now 4 years into my travels. Guess what? I still hate packing.
16. Not planning too far ahead leaves you the flexibility to need to take the wonderful opportunities that come your way.
I get quite a few emails asking if I opted for a round-the-world ticket or whether I plan as I go. I’ve addressed this in the resources page but I want to reiterate it here because I think it’s important: don’t plan too far ahead. Over and above the undeniable fact that I thought I’d be back in North America by now (and not still travelling), so many of the places I loved beyond belief are the ones that weren’t even on my initial, vague itinerary. There’s nothing wrong with planning, or doing research, or even booking longer-haul flights if you have a set schedule to follow. But leave as much as you can to as-you-go travel. You’ll meet people who wax poetic about a specific destination and want to go there; you’ll decide you need – NEED! – to go to the Philippines with your brother because you’ve become fascinated by a small primate that you need to see in person; you will find yourself and your mind expanded by the sheer impossibility of everything being available to you, if only you could choose where to go first.
It is a scary thing, to leave it open to the whims of your brain as you travel, but a worthwhile one.
17. Portable chopsticks are your friend.
A slim, metal-tipped pair with carrying case is all you need. These are great for camping, for eating on the go and for the times that you’re at a street stall and while the food is fresh and turnover great, the cutlery less so. A great fix is to carry your own portable utensils, clean and tiny enough to fit in your bag.
18. Never skimp on your underwear. You do not want them falling apart as you travel.
This is one of the more practical on this list, but really, people please – do not be skimping on the underwear. Let alone the trials of finding underwear that fits when sizing might differ from home (and/or materials might be less … comfortable), this is a basic you don’t want to regret – you’ll be wearing them every day, and they’d better be enjoyable. It’s worth spending a little more so that they don’t fall apart in a laundry machine 3 months down the road.
19. Cockroaches are, in fact, as universal as you feared.
I don’t mind them very much – as I said in my WDS speech, my friend Shannon was on spider-killing duty, whereas I had the cockroaches all to my own. But they’re not endearing either, and they are everywhere. You get used to the scuttling, scurrying, clickety sounds of cockroaches roaming around because you have no real choice. The good news is that they rarely, if ever, bite.*
*Ok, sometimes in the Philippines they bite but you can just pretend I didn’t say anything…
20. It doesn’t feel like work when you are doing what you love.
There is so much talk about finding your passion and doing what you love in life. It’s a tough discussion to have, in part because for many parents and grandparents, it seems an incredibly narcissistic thing to do. For prior generations, doing what made you ‘happy’ wasn’t as mainstream of an option because you were too busy doing what you had to do in life, and supporting families or communities. Those obligations still exist, but within the framework of how we live now, the ability to shift toward happiness has become a more accepted path. I’ve been fortunate enough to have quit my job to travel thinking I’d be returning to the practice of law, only to find that I loved the travel more than I thought possible. And so I’ve tried to build a business and a brand around doing what I love. My worst case scenario? Going back to being a lawyer. As ‘worst cases’ go, it’s not the end of the world.
Despite spending more time at a computer than I anticipated, it doesn’t feel like work the way that lawyering felt like work. It’s great to build something where the foundation remains what you love to do.
21. Reverse culture shock doesn’t hit you less, you just get used to the feeling.
In my post about homesickness and long-term travel, I noted that the first time I went back to North America during this round-the-world-trip, I really felt the weight of the changes in me and the correlative dissociation with the place I used to call home. On later visits, I was able to see the reverse culture shock from a more objective place, knowing I would feel this way but being able to digest it more easily. However the underlying feeling – the shock to your system – doesn’t go away. It’s been comforting for me to know that other travellers feel this way too.
* * *
I know April 1 is April Fool’s Day for man, but for me the day has become a time for me to reflect on my travels. Though my family initially thought it might be a joke when I said I was leaving 1 April, they quickly realized I was actually just doing what I said I would do all along: see as much of the world as I could by living it. While my initial inspiration was a PBS documentary on the Trans-Siberian trains, what followed was a mixture of learning, fascinating connections with far-flung places (and the people in them) and of course, food.
So many years of travel! I feel grateful, and I am excited to see what comes next. For other annual roundups, see here.
Hard to believe.
-Jodi
I must have missed this one – doorstop?
I’ve packed duct tape on the advice of many, which I will never need until the day after I divest myself of it.
I’ve written about it before but it’s definitely something I recommend often. Means that when it’s under your door at night from the inside, you can hear someone coming into your room at night because the door is hard to open. It’s come in handy.
Haha on #4, I don’t understand the obsession with skin whitening. When my arms and legs are a few shades darker than anywhere else, whitening stuff aren’t an issue for sure.
I like #11 the most. Good read.
It might not bother you, but most of your country feels a bit differently! The sheer volume of whitening creams is unreal. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Not so different from the huge obsession with tanning/ bronzing lotions. Fortunes made on these!
That’s definitely true, just the cultural opposite in terms of the standard.
Beautiful and so wise! I especially agree about the jeans and the extra underwear.
Thanks Steph! Jeans FTW!
Yes I got criticized for talking about taking a pair of jeans with you and if you love wearing jeans, you should take them! Plus, I don’t want to feel scrubby every day in my quick dry pants.
Jodi, these travel tips are spot-on, in addition to being well-written and entertaining. I especially relate to #20! Thanks for creating and maintaining such a wonderful blog. Safe travels!
Glad you liked it! #20 is one that I was going to leave out because it’s not really a travel tip but it is so relevant to what I do that I included it. I’m happy that keeping it in the post was the right choice! :)
Great point about the best restaurant being NEXT to the one in the guidebook!
Lanzones is my favorite fruit, ever!! haha. Great tips and congrats on an epic 4 years!
Ah, the trials of finding non-whitening ANYTHING in the cosmetics aisle in Thailand. My favorite is still trying to explain to Thai teenage girls that at home, I actually use something on my face to make me browner–on purpose! A good reminder that while we’re all alike in the big things–it’s the little things that make set us apart and make it interesting. Also, LOVE your taxi driver tip. Going to use that one soon!
That’s a very good point for the “we’re more alike than we think” section. Hope you’re well and that we manage to meet up again soon!
I loved this post. Thank you so much.
I agree with Tanapat on #11. And would add #20. And in the end there is the constant “everywhere”.. the cockroaches. Good post :)
Great read and fantastic tips. Thanks Jodi!
Hi there!
Great article.
I’m a fellow Montrealer who’s off to set out on the road by the end of the year so this article couldn’t have come at a better time! It’s refreshing to see that you were nervous when you began your travels because I have no idea what I’m getting myself into and it’s comforting to see that eventually you get the hang of it. Also, I love how you use food to connect to people!
Your blog is very inspirational and it’s nice see a Montreal girl my age traveling across the world. Thanks a lot for all your hard work and hopefully our paths will cross some day :)
Thank you Elena! Food is a great way to connect to people, even when you don’t share the language. Safe travels to you too!
Happy Travel-versary, Jodi! I’ve enjoyed living vicariously through your travels since Day One and can’t wait to see where your next adventures take you (and then pin all your photos on Pinterest)! HA ha! xoxo
Ha! I love that most are in the “places I won’t go” board. I’ll have to kidnap the two of you (after finding a dogsitter) and take you somewhere crazy.
You are truly an inspiration, Jodi. Thanks for posting this.
You go girl!!! :) I wish you many more funny, cheerful, and healthy four years of traveling..
You still can’t convince me on bringing jeans(!) but the thing I like most here is to ask the eldest taxi (or bus) driver for recommendations. Very true
To each his/her own, as I said. It just bothers me how it’s a rule – NO JEANS FOR YOU! Whereas I think it’s much more nuanced than that – if you like’em bring ’em. Safe travels!
the anti-jeans travel lobby made me laugh for sure – because i found myself fighting the same battle with the anti-dress travel lobby! i live 95% of my days in a dress and just find them the easiest thing in the world. as soon as we decided to travel everyone was onto the cargos and stuff that dries and the same speech that they use anti-jeans. we were travelling ultra light so just two days of clothing (wear one wash one) and not halfway through the trip i ditched the cargos and replaced them with a second dress and never looked back.
Hurrah to that moment when we realise we are the same people no matter where we find ourselves. :)
Loved this article – many more happy years of exploration to you. :)
Such a lovely post, my friend. And so much of this true. :)
Loved reading this post! I’ve learned so much from your blog. Today, the 2nd of April, marks the 3 month countdown until my husband and I embark on our own travel adventure. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!
Happy 4-year Jodi! As always, you have some incredibly useful advice for those of us who choose to incorporate long-term travel into our lives. Your insights are refreshing and educational, and humorous as well! Keep on showing us the beauty of this world, and how much we can see if we truly open our eyes.
What a great article! Thanks so much for this!
I have jeans in my backpack..and I’ve worn them once in the last 3 months. But i SUPPOSE they are good for the occasional outing :)
The Kuwait tweet made me laugh. Had a very similar encounter in Doha.
Congrats and happy anniversary!
What a great read. Great tips for travelers and wanna-be travelers like myself! You’ve got a new follower!
I’ll be shocked if you don’t have a book offer within days. Movie/TV rights too. U da BOM.
Great post. Jeans, packing, being sick…check, check, check. I would add that a good first aid kit is also key. And yet, the way we learn these lessons sometimes make the best stories…
YES! First aid kits are a must. People made fun of mine until one of the travelers I was with gashed her leg open and we had to tape it together until we made it to a hospital. Then no one was laughing. I’ve got a long list of what is in my first aid kit on the Resources Page; curious if yours matches up or if you have suggestions.
I know it sounds a bit weird, but I’m really glad that #14 is on the list…I’ve been gearing up for a new adventure, and I was wondering, “is this nervous feeling ever going to go away?”
Thanks for sharing :)
People tend to gloss over it or make it look shiny. Or, perhaps people DO get over the nervousness and I’m one of the outliers who doesn’t? In my conversations with other travelers, several agree that they get jittery still, despite years of ‘practice’. No shame in acknowledging the anxiety, especially when you still go out and explore despite the nervousness :) Safe travels!
Well a very happy anniversary to you. You know I love your blog, so I’m just about as happy as you are that you did this! Raising my glass to the year to come for you!
Thanks Linda! You were one of the first readers I had and I appreciate all your comments over the years :) Hope all is well with you!
Great Post about sustainable travel. I agree that it is more than just sticking to your schedule but sometimes when your run out of things to do you are forced out of your comfort zone into exploring the city in a way you never thought you could/would.
Even though I am not traveling continuously for 4 years I am moving to Argentina and find your story reassuring.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear it Zach. I don’t tend to make a schedule for my first few days in town – I try to get a feel for the place first, go to the markets and walk as much as I can, and only then do I start planning out what I want to see and do. It’s more fun, I think, when you’re already comfortable in the new city than it is when you just arrive!
Love the not planning ahead bit…I think it is our natural instinct to want to make plans to return home as a safety net, but I am trying to avoid that!
Great read Jodi. Unlike most of the “Tips” posts out there, this one is one is readable, perceptive and informative.
I love this post! I totally agree about the anxiety and nervousness, always there when I’m going somewhere new. As for the jeans, I brought mine and I was so glad I did. Technology is great too. In January I tweeted that I was a few days away from my next destination, Easter Island. Someone else was on her way there, saw my tweet, and we hung out one night. Turns out we’re both from Atlanta. Small world. Great advice and insights, I love your writing!
Thanks Ali. It’s always fun to cross paths with other travelers, especially when the meetup is so spontaneous. Safe travels to you!
Be so glad you have made this choice to travel and fulfill your dreams. Please don’t stop. I know things are considered tough all over. Doom and gloom, the economy, the price of gas, etc etc.
Things here in Canada are so so. The Harper government is evil in my opinion and do have a hidden agenda. The cost of living is going through the roof.
So the question is, Why NOT follow our dreams and do what makes you happy?
Thank you so much much for what you are doing and blogging about.
Mark in Nova Scotia, Canada
Thanks Mark. I think it’s a highly personal choice and I always tell people I’m writing because it’s what I love, but what I love might not be what they, or others, love too. There are many valid reasons not to depending on family situation (if someone was sick at home, I’d likely go home too), but to the extent people want to but make excuses (“I wish I could”), I agree – it can be a reality for many more than it currently is.
Great post! I recently found this blog and I love it :)
I definitely agree with number 12-no matter how old I get, I still want my mum when I’m sick. And ew those cockroaches look disgusting. I’d worry that they’d be crawling over my face when I was sleeping lol.
Thanks for the tips.
Welcome! Happily they don’t seem to crawl on my face, but thanks for putting that in my head (ahhhh!) Unfortunately, some species of them are attracted to body heat so it’s a possibility. Yuck.
Does legalnomads speak local languages? How do we have engaging conversations with locals if we don’t share a common language?
Hi Inggita, I answered on Twitter too but I think there’s a lot to be said for common smiles and gestures when you don’t speak the language. Of course, it is better when you do (part of what made Morocco wonderful was my ability to communicate thoroughly and find out people’s stories) but overall you can connect and engage through photos, gestures and – I’ve found – there is usually someone’s son’s daughter’s friend that is fetched from somewhere to translate :)
Hey Jodi,
Don’t forget technology. On a trip to Japan in 2005, I took the bullet train south and didn’t realize that it didn’t stop at the town I wanted to visit. I then had to take the slow train back north. The crazy thing is that around 2 pm these trains become school buses. Being the only gaijin on the train, I soon became the object of some curiosity. There were two middle school aged boys laughing and taking pictures of me. After indulging their curiosity, I waved them over and had an hour long conversation on one of the boy’s pocket translator. We talked about basketball and baseball, anime and his sister going to school in Utah and why I was on the train. It so happened that the onsen I was going to was in the town he was from. When we stopped, he walked me to the bus depot, told the ticket agent where I was going and made sure that I got on the correct bus. I would never have found that onsen without his help and that pocket translator.
Hi Jay, technology can certainly help communicate and break the ice, and the kindness of strangers ought to be valued too as you’ve illustrated with your story. Safe travels to you!
ABSOLUTELY take jeans. Enough of all this “don’t take jeans” nonsense. Jeans look good everywhere and they dry overnight under a ceiling fan.
Some fantastic tips! Thank you :)
The cockroaches bit made me sigh. Having lived in Ireland for the past two years I had almost … just almost … forgotten they existed. I fear I am going to have a few screamy moments when I come face to face with them again.
They’re quite hard to locate in Montreal too, but as soon as I moved to NY I realized that they were ubiquitous. Not my favourite animal, I won’t lie….
Jodi-
This post and your whole blog are awesome. I always enjoy reading your latest dispatch, and the advice. (Thanks to you, I’ll be much more “parasitic” on my future travels.)
To add to your point #3, I’ve found a chamois travel towel to be invaluable (also functions as a makeshift sleep or picnic blanket).
Cheers,
Tim
Hi Tim, agreed that travel towels can be great. I’ve found I don’t use mine much any more – my sarong doubles as a towel – but if you’re hiking or camping, you certainly can’t do without it. Safe travels to you!
I am from the Philippines and thank you for visiting our country. I am right now traveling in france and spain. It is so true that one should pack at least 1 jean. it is so useful especially in places with cold weather like france.
Nice! I’ve been travelling for two years and I relate to this post a lot more than I somehow expected to. We don’t travel in an identical fashion, of course, but I think we see a lot of things the same way. My own portable chopsticks, however, aren’t for eating food but are a sheathed self-defence device I can easily access if I need to.
Love this post. I’m sure I’ve commented on your blog before, but if not, I just want to say I really admire you. I’m just a couple years older than you and moved abroad (to the Thai-Burma border) in 2010, and the nagging feeling of “what am I doing with my life? what about my future? why am I still here instead of New York?” is always in the back of my mind. Good to see that at 32 you seem to have no plans to stop.
About the toiletries, the ones I can’t skip are a really good face moisturizer (once you find a consistency & result you like it’s hard to switch), contacts solution (way too expensive in most parts of the world and unfortunately my eyes can’t take LASIK) and mascara (either too expensive or waaay too cheap/crappy elsewhere). But I’ve never been traveling more than 2 months so I’m sure I would have to adapt. For moving to Thailand, I definitely brought a big supply of all three.
The one thing that always makes me laugh though is people talking about how they can travel with SUCH a small backpack because they buy everything abroad. Um…ok….but then where are you putting the new things you bought? In a new bag? So what does that prove? But those are usually people playing some “more hardcore than thou” game.
Jeans for sure. Cannot imagine why people disapprove. They’re certainly a little inconvenient after a downpour, but I just don’t feel right going to dinner in cargos.
Thanks for the comment Nancy. Are you at Mae Sot? I’m not sure what is next – I am going with the momentum the blog and other work has brought me and will see what happens. Eventually I’m sure I’ll stay put somewhere longer-term, just not sure where I want that to be. Montreal feels foreign since I left in 2001; I can’t work in the USA as a Canadian without a full-time job so if I went that route it would mean turning my back on this business. Time will tell!
That’s great that you’re so open to what’s happening next. Yes, I’m in Mae Sot and while sometimes staying put feels great, sometimes I want to run away when the community gets a bit tight. And I miss New York so much!
I forgot to mention last time–the doorstop idea is brilliant. I’ve never had a lick of trouble with robberies on the road, but I certainly think about them, particularly on my third trip to Myanmar when I ended up in a semi-big hotel with one floor completely full so I stayed on the second floor totally alone. Never would have considered this solution!
Congrats on four years. I’m six weeks away (!!) from leaving on my indefinite travels and your blog has provided great tips and lots of inspiration. Thank you!
Such great advice in this post! (Especially the underwear.)
I am selfishly glad that you did start traveling 4 years ago and because of that — and the twitter — we met. It’s a blessing to know you and count you as a friend. Can’t wait for Italy!
AMEN on the jeans! I want to feel like myself and at home I live in jeans or dresses. Let’s say cargo pants aren’t my usual getup. Perfect for blending in a little more and those cool evenings in great cities! Fantastic post, as always!
Congrats on 4 years!
Some of these have been tough lessons I learned personally as well (being sick on the road, for example. Not taking jeans wasn’t really tough, just annoying when I didn’t) so it’s nice to hear that I’m not the only one. However, #19 just makes me want to cry…
I love your insights and they have definitely helped me more than once during my own travels. Thank you!
Wow, comprehensively brilliant post Jodi. And good job on four years, many more to come I hope :D
1. Yes, cockroaches in the Philippines bite! And you end up with a huge, ITCHY, hot bite mark for days that has a tiny, pustule-filled dot on top. If you are offered mosquito nets in the Philippines, take it by all means! They make great cockroach nets as well…just don’t sleep too close to the sides of net because the cockroaches can still bite you that way.
2. Two other things I never leave home without: plug adaptor (saves time and hassle on the road) and charcoal tablets (for a quick fix for an upset stomach after an adventurous local meal).
Great post as usual, Jodi!
Yes, one of my friends got bit by blood-sucking cockroaches when we were in Camiguin. Not the best thing to wake up to. Agreed, I carry plug adapters and charcoal (charcoal is easy to stock up on in Thailand too – every pharmacy sells them). Hope you’ve been well!
I would also add that in quite a few of my travels around the world, oranges were not just cheap/portable/tasty, but were perhaps the most reliable and least-likely-to-induce-sickness food option available at the time.
That’s a very fair point. Peelable is good!
Being a frequent traveler and one about to set out on a six-month sojourn in central Asia, this is great advice. This is the stuff travel books ought to be printed on – the paper upon which all other advice should rest. My personal favorites are: don’t skimp on underwear, pack jeans dammit, you can buy everything else, and traveling solo.
One I think you left out is to be unafraid of speaking English instantly to anyone. I’ve done too much dancing around the language issue, but if you walk right up confidently and speak English, most people tend to either speak back to you in English or to go away. The first is why you learned to say “Excuse me, do you speak English” in the first place, and the second doesn’t waste anyone’s time negotiating language protocol.
Thank you Beau. This pieces has been posted elsewhere and commenters say ‘that’s all she recommends I bring?!’ But the point was to highlight some of the quirkier options; the rest are in the resources page to this site.
Agree that you ought to be unafraid to speak English, especially if it’s all you’ve got. Or play charades – always good to try charades! I think making as much an effort to learn the local language, or a few words of it, is imperative too – especially the words for “no worries”. Safe travels to you!
Hi Jodi, brilliant advice, and brilliant blog. I’ll share it with those I know are off travelling themselves. I particularly liked your gallery for the trans-Siberian railway. I caught a train from London to Beijing back around ’04. Brought back memories.
Hey Jodi ~ I don’t normally read most posts from beginning to end, but I did with this one. Great advice from an awesome traveler. Thanks for sharing your stories and experiences from the road. I really enjoy and appreciate it.
I think this is my favourite post on your site ever — and that’s saying a lot. Great list, and in spire of my travel experience, I learned a lot. You rock Jodi!