08.30.20
This is blog #99, with #100 around the corner, and I’m trying to come up with something significant to share for that landmark 100th episode. After all, it has been a very interesting journey of 33 countries (so far), countless cities and hundreds of thousands of miles/ kilometers. Kathleen and I have been on the road for more than two years now, consistently since February 2019, and have experienced many things that blew our mind and some things that disappointed; that just happens.
Our travels have been halted since March, and we are not sure when they will continue. Mexico is close to Central and South America, but access is still limited, even risky. We thought that we would be back in Europe right now, but the best laid plans and all of that… Who knows when that will happen or if it will happen again?
Which brings up the lessons I’ve learned.
There were some things we SHOULD have done when we had the chance, but didn’t, and I realized that there are things you should not hesitate on when you travel; it’s possible you may never get a second chance.
Our travels to Europe have been delayed and it’s possible we may never get back to the Far East, and we may decide that we don’t want to. Being in one location for almost six months has been surprisingly comfortable and between the ocean proximity, beautiful weather, awesome people, plus great affordability, Mexico may be a longer stay than we expected. Regardless I made a list of some things that you should do if and when you travel, whether you are a novice or an experienced nomad.
1) If you get a chance to go somewhere, GO, as long as it’s reasonably convenient and practical. The “convenient, reasonable and practical” terms are subjective, of course, and what works for one person may not work for another. We never made it to Slovenia, even though we were just 15 miles away.
Kathleen and I were on a full size BMW 750 bike traveling from Zagreb to Rijeka (both Croatia) on some amazing roads and almost running parallel to the Croatia-Slovenia border. We ran into a torrential downpour (an experience in itself!) and the ride took longer than planned. As we traveled on a series of back roads, a sign showed “Slovenia 15 miles.” We were tempted, really tempted, but darkness was close, and we were in new territory heading to the Istrian Peninsula. In hindsight I wish we had more time.
We also never made it to Turkey, even after having tickets, but that didn’t work out either. The “fear” I have is that we may never pass that way again, and that would be sad.
2) Take advantage of different cultures, including food, festivities, and events. Our first stop on our journey was Valencia, Spain and during our time there we experienced the month-long Las Fallas Festival, which was incredible. We told ourselves that we would seek out local events whenever possible, but didn’t always do that. We chose to not attend a pre-wedding party just outside our doors in Tivoli, Italy, because we were “too tired”… I regretted that but we DID get to watch the post-wedding procession out of the church, which was cool.
3) Know the travel rules with 100% certainty before you depart for somewhere. We got skunked and lost $300 on our flight from Thailand to Vietnam because I THOUGHT we had the right visa. Seems we needed a PRE-visa before we could leave in addition to a Visa on Arrival. We did resolve that mistake, but it was a tough lesson to learn.
4) Try to learn at least a little bit of the language, like hello’s, goodbye’s, and thank you’s. I’m going to be hypocritical here because languages are NOT my thing and I am having a hard time with Spanish. Thank you Google Translate and even the few words I CAN remember makes things more personal wherever you are.
5) Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone: that’s where the magic happens! LOL, this happened several times over the years, but a young man I met at one of the airports shared his theory on street food or things that gave me pause. He LOVED Bangkok, especially for the street scene, which Kathleen and I found a bit scary. He said, “you will rarely get sick, but sometimes you might not like it. So throw it away, it’s very cheap.” That brief conversation made me more committed to “trying” new things, which we did with sandworm and bullfrog in Vietnam.
I hope you can relate to some of these and learn from others. If you can share anything you would LIKE me to address in blog #100, I would appreciate that! Meanwhile, stay safe and healthy.
