How I travel
Lessons from a decade around the world
Lessons from a decade around the world
Every trip is a tiny life lived. For this reason, I used to avoid roundtrip tickets: knowing the date of my departure is too much to bear.
Travel to one place for 30 days or longer, if you can. The rest of the world functions on a calendar, so basics like housing, gyms, and classes get far cheaper when you commit to a month. Plus, your relationship to the city will change when you focus on depth over breadth.
Travel light, but not ugly. Technology has lightened the weight of our essentials far too much for you to still roam with two pairs of underwear.
Don’t get too attached to anything you bring. Travel light really means “travel with minimal stuff”
Things you can nearly always buy there: umbrellas, weather appropriate clothes, shoes under size 12, incredibly affordable medicine, sunscreen and toiletries.
Things you won’t find as easily: your favorite snack, a great pillow, a sleeping mask, that critical medicine you need, a wifi router that works correctly.
Figure out sim cards before you arrive. Sometimes its $3 at the airport: other times its two weeks of headache and you still cannot get one activated.
Expect your bank will put a hold on your cards, and/or the ATM will eat your card. Bring enough cash to survive the worst case.
Download a Google Map offline before you go. Scroll to your destination, and type in the search bar “OK MAPS” to save an offline version.
Spend the first week setting up your routine. Travelers often undervalue their routine, and just assume travel requires random activities or a strict daily agenda. I’ve found the best balance when I immediately identify a local gym, the best coffee, and ensure I can sleep well enough.
The world is full of different relationships to time: let this one embrace you. Three hour lunches, midnight dinner plans, these can be gifts.
This city will continue to exist when you leave.
Find your tribe. Increasingly, you’ll find every city you visit has a Starbucks and a craft brewery. Why fight it? Now you can travel not just to meet travelers, but travel to meet others who share your precise obscure interests. YMMV.
Use Foursquare for restaurant recommendations and avoid anything below an 8.5. They seem to consistently offer the best reviews, and most businesses don’t try to game it.
Sometimes, there is more magic to be found in a grocery store interaction than in a UNESCO heritage site.
Take an Uber whenever you can. Outside of the US, Uber still attracts primarily dynamic interesting early adopters as drivers, and I’ve found a higher rate of English among them than any other group.
Spend part of your last day visiting your favorite restaurants and cafes, and writing them a nice note of gratitude on the back of the receipt. This will benefit you more than it benefits them.