Exactly what the Hell do I think I’m doing?
This morning, as I was preparing to break the news of my departure to my boss, I read a very thought-provoking post by Graham Phoenix about not wasting your time with your round the world trip.
Image credit: laurakgibbs - creatve commons
Sure, you can’t plan for everything. But you should at least be able to learn the basics before you jump off toward parts unknown. While planning my round the world trip, here are things I learned about far later in the process than I would have expected.
Image: Creative Commons - futuristmovies.com
» Read more: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Sooner in Planning my RTW
You don’t get a lot of time to absorb the culture of a city when you’re there for a 48 hour business trip. Somehow, though, the nature of Miami came through loud and clear in those scant moments I wasn’t in conference rooms.
Miami is infected by beautiful. Beautiful weather, beautiful homes, beautiful beaches, beautiful people. In the universe’s eternal attempt to maintain equilibrium, that beauty comes with a side of hostility. This city is not only aggressive, it’s angry.
Image credit: www.hcwdb.com
This is part 3 of a four part series, in which I chastise myself for past experiences and give advice on fixing myself for future travels. Yes, I can give myself advice without being crazy. If you’d like to catch up, you can read:
Cultural Idiot Lesson #3: Participate
I’m a habitual watcher.
My nerd cred goes back up with this.
I love people watching, dog watching, whale watching, girl watching. I’ve never tried bird watching because it seems like if you wanted to do that, you could just grab some day old bread, sit in a park and let the birds come to you. When you add in binoculars and ornithology books, it knocks even ME down a few rungs on the nerd ladder.
As a somewhat shy solo traveler it’s easy to spend too much time on the sidelines, worried that people might judge me or rebuff me in some way. The fear of rejection when you’re on your own can be pretty daunting. To make things worse, I’m also a card-carrying non-conformist. Okay, that’s a lie. I don’t actually carry a card because that would be the opposite of being a non-conformist. The point is, I generally avoid anything that’s been done by millions of people before me, whether it’s watching Avatar or using dental floss.
» Read more: Confessions of A Cultural Idiot Pt. 3 – Participate
This is part 2 of a four part series, in which I chastise myself for past experiences and give advice on fixing myself for future travels. Yes, I can give myself advice without being crazy. If you’d like to catch up, you can read Part 1: Eat Stuff.
Lesson #2 for cultural idiots: Don’t just take photos, take inspiration.
I’m setting up a contest on the site called “Identify This Photo.” Because I need serious help with about 7,000 photos that are a total mystery to me. Seriously, I don’t even think I took most of them. My working theory is that they just came with the camera like that generic family in a new picture frame. You may not know them, but damn, they sure look pretty.
Do you know where this is? Me neither.
Just to finish off a trifecta of posts this week about my dubious travel past, I was enlisted to share 3 travel secrets by Joya Anthony (www.beatravelbee.com) and Jeannie Mark (www.nomadicchick.com) as part of the chain letter started by TripBase. Evidently, TripBase is taking marketing lessons from Herbalife. But hey, whatever works.
For some time, I struggled with the question. Oh sure, I could have carried on about the sedate beauty of Pau France, Lucca Italy or Al Ain UAE. But others have covered that territory far more eloquently than I could (meaning they’re not very well kept secrets in the first place).
Hey, you're doing it wrong!
Then, there are the offbeat California attractions like Winchester Mystery House, Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine and Watts Towers. All cool stuff. But still, they didn’t feel quite right.
And then it hit me. Like the Masked Magician revealing Magic’s Greatest Secrets, I’m going to reveal … wait for it … the travel secrets they don’t want you to know. Like grass stains on a prom dress, we’ve all been soiled with dirty little lies and it’s about time that someone did the laundry. » Read more: 3 Travel Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know
The always wonderful Monica opened up her site to guest posts and in a fury of poor taste, she agreed to put up something I wrote.
The Nine Warning Signs of Empty Travel
Check out Monica’s site at A Pair of Panties and Boxers or just throw caution to the wind and subscribe to her RSS feed right now. Present company excluded, her site hosts some fantastic stories, photos and information about world travel.
I am the anti-Bourdain. When I watch him, I see someone who turned Fear Factor into a full time career.
Where's the expiration date printed?
I confess. Foreign food terrifies me. So much of it is slimy and chewy and squishy.
Seriously, have you SEEN a 100 year old egg? It’s an unnatural translucent green that you suspect incubates something that would stalk Sigourney Weaver. If I had eaten it, there would have been a translucent green coating on everything within 30 feet.
The most lavish feast I’ve ever seen was when I attended a traditional Chinese wedding (it was in Chinatown in Los Angeles, but that’s besides the point). All the main courses came out with heads still attached, so I had to survive entirely on fried rice and a slice of the marital cake. » Read more: Confessions of a Cultural Idiot Part 1: Eat
A few of the things I’m most looking forward to when I leave the office to join the world.
Hopping on the bike without a destination or a schedule, just exploring.
Writing regularly and writing actual fiction, rather than the fiction of business proposals and expense reports. » Read more: 12 Things I’m Looking Forward to While Traveling RTWWith all apologies to those friends who are enjoying their new backpacks (www.theaussienomad.com), I have to let you in on a secret. Cycle touring is far better than walking around with a monkey on your back!
The Pacific Coast Highway - seeing it the hard way!
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