Deciding on a country, booking a ticket, looking for a hotel, researching
on its most popular attractions, planning your budget, planning your day to day itinerary, and the list goes on and on and on. No wonder a lot of people resort to getting a travel agent when planning a trip, because planning it on your own is just too much of a hassle. But what’s the fun in travelling if you do it this way? Isn’t the whole purpose of going on a vacation to another country is escaping your busy world back home and just having fun and relaxing in a place where no one can control your schedule? So why put so much effort inplanning the nitty-gritty details of your trip when you can have so much more fun going on an unplanned, amazing adventure!
The only planning that ever comes into play when I travel is deciding on a country, date, accommodations, and budget. As for everything else, I make it a point to make a crazy adventure out of it. Because what’s the point in travelling if you’ll be limited to a strict itinerary anyway? I know some people might think I’m crazy for doing this… But I can assure you, I’ve had a lot more fun this way.
BREAKING THE BARRIER
One of my favorite feelings in the world is getting lost in a country where I don’t understand the language. It just makes the experience so much more interesting when you have to put a little extra effort to talk to people and try to break through the language barrier. Don’t get me wrong, it’s never easy to get lost in translation. In fact, it gets frustrating at times to have to play an entire game of charades just to know whether to turn right or left. But what I can assure you is this, anywhere in the world, if you just make that effort and make it a point to try, you will find at least one person that will be kind enough to help you getthrough. And if you’re lucky, you might even make a friend out of him/her. It’s always great to make new friends in new countries.
MAKE FRIENDS AND DISCOVER THE CITY
Make friends with the locals and try to learn at least a few key words in whatever country you’re in. Locals know all the best places to wine, dine, dance, and see. It’s always those “hole-in-the-wall” places the locals lead you to that turn out to be the best. There’s a certain thrill when you get that secret inside info from the locals about the most authentic this or that of their city. It makes you feel so much more than just a tourist in that country. It makes you feel like you actually belong. Of course it’s always a great idea to see the tourist spots and “must see” places of every country. But aside from that, instead of just shopping and buying unnecessary souvenirs, I think there’s so much more value in experiencing the country from the eyes, ears, nose, hands, and mouths of the locals. It’s priceless. Find out where they go when they want to eat good food, hear good music, drink with friends, appreciatetheir country, and so on. Ask them to join you, or join them if they offer. Eat with them, drink with them, walk with them. It’s just more fun that way. Besides, they usually make a lot more effort in helping you when they know you’re not just another tourist asking how to get to their landmarks. You make them feel like you really want to get to know their country, and they will proudly and whole-heartedly show it to you.
MAKE TRAVELLING A BREEZE
Have days during your vacation where you can just relax and take in everything you can. You don’t always have to be on the go when you travel. Sometimes, I get so much joy in just walking around not really knowing where my feet would take me. You get to stumble upon things and places you never expected to see. Sit down in a cafe, have some coffee, read a good book, and go people watching. You can get to really understand the culture of a country sometimes just by sitting down and watching them – how they talk to each other, how fast they walk, what they wear, and what they surround themselves with. Lastly, take lots and lots of pictures that interest you. These pictures will be worth more than any of the overpriced souvenirs you can buy. Travelling takes you to a whole new world and when you get back to reality, these pictures will be the only things that can take you back to that particular moment and place in time where you felt particularly enthusiastic about a certain thing, place, event, person, or what have you. These pictures will allow you to escape from reality every time you feel burnt out with work or the stress of your surroundings. These pictures will help you find yourself again when you feel lost. And these pictures will be the ones to inspire you and push you to go and travel again so that you can go on another crazy adventure.
