Surprised at 3 am
On this particular night, there were three of us in the room. About ten p.m., a young lady arrived to claim a bunk over one of the beds. I was relieved it was not mine. She left her luggage and departed.
On this particular night, there were three of us in the room. About ten p.m., a young lady arrived to claim a bunk over one of the beds. I was relieved it was not mine. She left her luggage and departed.
Hostels have moved along with the times and the baby boomers. Many have dropped the word “Youth” from their name. Most have private rooms available for couples and families. I frequently meet other people over 50—especially in the rural and small-town hostels.
Two years of travel adds up to a LOT of photographs and video footage. Today, I am going to put together a kind of montage of a few of my favorite very short videos and tell the stories behind them. These were taken in Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan.
If you are an independent traveler, it takes a lot of work to be ready to move to the next destination
If you were on an organized excursion, all this is done for you, but when you are on your own, you are on your own.
I was enthralled—and frustrated! I wanted to wander the streets, savor the aromas—really get a feel for this foreign place. But it was not to be. “Tour 201–boarding in 5 minutes.” Uggghhh!
I will give you the main reasons I don’t use escorted tours, as well as a few reasons why someone would consider them.
It is important for each person to figure out what his/her travel style is. It may take a while, and it may change from time to time, and place to place. Don’t allow others determine what your travel style is.
Imagine my surprise when seven (count ‘em SEVEN) adorable young college men walked into the room. Imagine THEIR surprise!
The crazy idea came to me when I was in Denmark in July. Once the idea was in my head, I could not shake it. I would be in south Asia; maybe I could find a good artist and it would not cost so much.
Most independent travelers like to choose their destinations and itineraries based on their own interests, and they like to do all or most of their own travel research.
People often ask me if I am afraid to travel alone.
Yes, sometimes I am afraid when traveling. But no more often than when I am at home. Experience helps. Sometimes you just need to step out and meet your fears head-on.
The main advantage of traveling alone is that you can decide where to go and how long to stay and you have all the say-so in your itinerary.
You won’t see as much of your destination country, but your travel experience will be much more memorable and deeper—not to mention the very special perk of meeting and becoming friends with locals.
I was not planning to visit Liverpool, by my daughter gave me a great idea to make the visit worthwhile!
I spent 13 months in Europe during 2017-18 for less than $1,300 USD per month using the tips in this post.
You never know what to expect when traveling, but often things work out better than you planned!
With access to the internet almost universal, working on the road is pretty much a piece of cake—well, as long I don’t have to teach my computer to speak English!
Maybe you feel that the two-to-three weeks of vacation time you get every year is just not enough. I used to say, “Gosh, if I’m going to go to the trouble and expense to travel that far, I want to stay a while!”
I asked owner what it was. He did not have enough English to describe it. He just kissed his fingertips and smiled. I threw caution to the wind.