"A good Traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu
How do you decide where you are going to go? It's a common question I get asked. Well.....(my mind wonders if I should tell them the truth or if I will just sound crazy....)
Years ago, my initial trip destinations were primarily me accepting invites from others, or following the recommendations of other seasoned travelers. Now that I have become a frequent traveler, my destination choices and style have changed somewhat. I tend to trust my own judgement and intuition and therefore will often land in a country or city, knowing no-one and with few plans. I also tend to travel to a place, "just because." For example, my last big trip--2 weeks in South America in November--came about after I met a massage therapist in Chicago and an hour after knowing her she casually mentioned she was planning on visiting Bolivia and Peru for 11.11.11. I thought that sounded great. After getting all her info, I booked all my tickets two weeks later. Shortly after doing so, she informed me she would no longer be going on the trip. So I ended up alone in two foreign countries with no idea of why I was going or what to do. But it all worked out. I believe it always does. After all, I don't think the Universe has taken me this far (on so many random adventures) to just drop me. So I travel in trust and faith and with enough travel reference to know that I can get through anything.
As much as possible I prefer to do what I refer to as traveling intuitively. For me this means: making as few set plans as possible, allowing myself to be open to meeting new people, and doing whatever interests me. The benefit of traveling this way has allowed me to have amazing adventures: going abseiling with a German-hiker I randomly met and later taking a private plane ride over-looking the Blue Mountains in Australia; meeting a young girl, Hannah, whose family care-takes for an elephant farm in Chilla, India--feeding the baby elephants; teaching Tibetan Monks English while waiting to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Mcloud Gonj.... the adventures I have had are ENDLESS, and largely because I traveled alone and did not have "the next destination" I had to get to, or time constraint I had to follow.
As wonderful as those experiences have been, there is also a down-side to the 'easy-breezy go where the wind (or my interests) take me' kind of traveling; one of the major ones being cost. Waiting last minute to book hotels, flights, event tickets, etc can get incredibly expensive. One also runs the risk of being unable to do something because it gets sold out, becomes unavailable, or just ends up costing more than your budget allows.
A few suggestions for achieving what I find is a fairly healthy balance of planning your trip enough to be "responsible," but still allowing for freedom and the opportunity to change your mind last minute:
1. Purchase all Big-Item Tickets: Buy the "main tickets" in advance. Whether these be tickets for an event or for a plane or train. Purchase the tickets that have the most chance of being sold-out or drastically increasing in price. For example, buying the tickets out of your original country but then waiting until you get to the foreign country to purchase more internal travel. Often the internal travel tickets are much cheaper and do not go up in price as much if not purchased way in advance.
2. Remember: First & Last. As an extension of #1, I always book my hotel for the first night (and sometimes the last night) before I jet off. The last thing you want to do when exhausted from a long flight is to have to worry about where you will sleep that evening. On that same note, in some countries you MUST have a return (round-trip) ticket out of there and to your next destination, so purchase those and allow the in-between leg of your journey to abound with spontaneity.
3. Know before you go: Do your research! This will at least give you a general idea of possibilities and also help you to determine which "big tickets" must be purchased in advance and which can be delayed last-minute. For example, for my November South America trip I wanted to hike to Machu Pichu. Because I waited last-minute, the Inca Trail was booked out for the dates I wanted to travel and I was forced to do an alternative, much more strenuous hike (which I am sure was good for me even if I was miserable half the time).
4. Book if after Dark: For women travelers especially, if landing to an unknown destination after hours or when the light is no longer in the sky, book the transportation and/ or accommodation in advance. I got myself in a few scary situations not having observed this rule.
5. Be Open and Have Fun!!. Nothing ruins travel like a bad attitude. So you missed your bus and can't get to your destination until tomorrow. Ok, so instead of wasting energy stressing over what cannot be changed and make the most out of wherever you happen to end up. After all, "It's the Journey, not the Destination," right? ;)
I hope this has been helpful. Trust that your own knowing is strong and that the Universe is looking after you, and you might just end up in a place or situation other than planned, that turns out to be more exciting than any adventure you could have imagined.
"Keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you." -Martha Graham
"Don't short-change the opportunities the world has for you!"
--me
How do you decide where you are going to go? It's a common question I get asked. Well.....(my mind wonders if I should tell them the truth or if I will just sound crazy....)
Years ago, my initial trip destinations were primarily me accepting invites from others, or following the recommendations of other seasoned travelers. Now that I have become a frequent traveler, my destination choices and style have changed somewhat. I tend to trust my own judgement and intuition and therefore will often land in a country or city, knowing no-one and with few plans. I also tend to travel to a place, "just because." For example, my last big trip--2 weeks in South America in November--came about after I met a massage therapist in Chicago and an hour after knowing her she casually mentioned she was planning on visiting Bolivia and Peru for 11.11.11. I thought that sounded great. After getting all her info, I booked all my tickets two weeks later. Shortly after doing so, she informed me she would no longer be going on the trip. So I ended up alone in two foreign countries with no idea of why I was going or what to do. But it all worked out. I believe it always does. After all, I don't think the Universe has taken me this far (on so many random adventures) to just drop me. So I travel in trust and faith and with enough travel reference to know that I can get through anything.
As much as possible I prefer to do what I refer to as traveling intuitively. For me this means: making as few set plans as possible, allowing myself to be open to meeting new people, and doing whatever interests me. The benefit of traveling this way has allowed me to have amazing adventures: going abseiling with a German-hiker I randomly met and later taking a private plane ride over-looking the Blue Mountains in Australia; meeting a young girl, Hannah, whose family care-takes for an elephant farm in Chilla, India--feeding the baby elephants; teaching Tibetan Monks English while waiting to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Mcloud Gonj.... the adventures I have had are ENDLESS, and largely because I traveled alone and did not have "the next destination" I had to get to, or time constraint I had to follow.
As wonderful as those experiences have been, there is also a down-side to the 'easy-breezy go where the wind (or my interests) take me' kind of traveling; one of the major ones being cost. Waiting last minute to book hotels, flights, event tickets, etc can get incredibly expensive. One also runs the risk of being unable to do something because it gets sold out, becomes unavailable, or just ends up costing more than your budget allows.
A few suggestions for achieving what I find is a fairly healthy balance of planning your trip enough to be "responsible," but still allowing for freedom and the opportunity to change your mind last minute:
1. Purchase all Big-Item Tickets: Buy the "main tickets" in advance. Whether these be tickets for an event or for a plane or train. Purchase the tickets that have the most chance of being sold-out or drastically increasing in price. For example, buying the tickets out of your original country but then waiting until you get to the foreign country to purchase more internal travel. Often the internal travel tickets are much cheaper and do not go up in price as much if not purchased way in advance.
2. Remember: First & Last. As an extension of #1, I always book my hotel for the first night (and sometimes the last night) before I jet off. The last thing you want to do when exhausted from a long flight is to have to worry about where you will sleep that evening. On that same note, in some countries you MUST have a return (round-trip) ticket out of there and to your next destination, so purchase those and allow the in-between leg of your journey to abound with spontaneity.
3. Know before you go: Do your research! This will at least give you a general idea of possibilities and also help you to determine which "big tickets" must be purchased in advance and which can be delayed last-minute. For example, for my November South America trip I wanted to hike to Machu Pichu. Because I waited last-minute, the Inca Trail was booked out for the dates I wanted to travel and I was forced to do an alternative, much more strenuous hike (which I am sure was good for me even if I was miserable half the time).
4. Book if after Dark: For women travelers especially, if landing to an unknown destination after hours or when the light is no longer in the sky, book the transportation and/ or accommodation in advance. I got myself in a few scary situations not having observed this rule.
5. Be Open and Have Fun!!. Nothing ruins travel like a bad attitude. So you missed your bus and can't get to your destination until tomorrow. Ok, so instead of wasting energy stressing over what cannot be changed and make the most out of wherever you happen to end up. After all, "It's the Journey, not the Destination," right? ;)
I hope this has been helpful. Trust that your own knowing is strong and that the Universe is looking after you, and you might just end up in a place or situation other than planned, that turns out to be more exciting than any adventure you could have imagined.
"Keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you." -Martha Graham
"Don't short-change the opportunities the world has for you!"
--me
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| Feeding chips to a baby elephant in Chilla, India |
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| Salkantay Trek to Machu Pichu |
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| My "Private Plane" over-looking the Blue Mountains, Australia |
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| Although interesting, One of the scarier places I have traveled to solo: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
