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“Those who have gone native are easy to identify. They speak the local language, get the local humor. They wear the local dress. In some cases, they develop immunities to local microbes. I remember meeting an Englishman who had lived in India for so long he could actually drink the tap water and not die. The term ‘gone native’ is almost always used disparagingly by those who have not. Yes, we diplomats and journalists are supposed to learn the local language, eat the local food, know the lay of the land. But only up to a point. We’re expected to maintain a certain professional distance. The gone-natives are seen as weak souls, traitors of a sort, who should have known better. Going native is like marrying the girl you had a fling with during a drunken Mardi Gras party. Likewise, our time abroad is supposed to be a fling. Nothing more.”
–Eric Weiner, The Geography of Bliss (2008)
[Note: Each Saturday this month, Vagablogging has featured self-published travel books reviewed by self-published travel authors. We finish this series with Douglas Jewell's review of Imagine: A Vagabonding Story.]
Review by Douglas Jewell
Most American students are content to finish their years in school and jump right into the business world. But then there are the others, the restless one percent. Their time in academia leaves them wondering, “What next?”
Grant Lingel, just seven credits shy of earning his college degree, needed a change. A desire to experience adventure and new surroundings drove him to buy a one-way plane ticket from his home in New York to Mexico. Thus began his 2006 nomadic odyssey that he has artfully portrayed in his book Imagine: A Vagabond Story.
His travels through Mexico, Belize and Guatemala introduce him and his readers to the sub-culture of similar-minded mostly twenty-somethings from throughout North America, Europe, Israel, and Australia that likewise wanted to experience a whirlwind life not found in guidebooks or packaged tours. It was life on the edge, devoid of routine, always ready for spontaneity.
Lingel does a masterful job of letting the reader get inside his mind, as he exposes his self-doubts, triumphs, and innermost thoughts. His vivid descriptions of the people and third-world cultures he encounters give the reader the feeling of almost being along on the journey. If you don’t have the wherewithal to go vagabonding yourself, Imagine is the next best thing.
Douglas Jewell is the author of Roadtrip: A Baby Boomer’s Misadventures in Hitchhiking and Other Unconventional Travel.
Christina Farina and Bettina Aizzi book a flight to Rome. Photo by Chester Higgins Jr.
Sometimes the hardest part of a trip is simply booking it. Finding the best deals, avoiding hidden fees, tracking down a place to print out reservations, and dealing with electronic glitches can be incredibly frustrating.
The NY Times has an article on this issue, Worst Part of a Trip May Be Booking It on the Web. The article notes that while retail and even banking websites have become more user-friendly, travel websites have mostly stayed the same.
From personal experience, I was trying to book a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong on EVA Air. After I filled out the online form, I hit “confirm.” But an error message popped up, saying, “Do not put symbols or numbers in the name box.” I hadn’t done that! Finally, I gave up and booked a flight on Cathay Pacific. Their website was much better, you could even choose from a wide variety of in-flight meals and select your seat.
Do you have any horror stories about booking trips? How did you solve the problem?
In a recent post, Jessica Spiegel talked about the reactions that our loved ones may have about our long term travel plans. While I’ve never been ridiculed (to my face), I know that most reactions are less than positive. The good news is that through the years I’ve become better at telling friends and family. Here are some tricks that might work:
1) Don’t ask for their permission. Be careful of how you talk about your trip. You don’t want to sound like you’re asking for their permission. You’re telling them of a decision you’ve already made. “I’m going to Guatemala” sounds more firm than “I’ve been thinking about maybe taking a trip to Guatemala someday”.
2) Have a plan. You’re going to get a lot of questions. How will you finance the trip? What will you do when you get there? Do you even know what you’re doing? If you can answer all their questions, they’ll know that you have an extensive plan. Otherwise they’ll see your inability to answer as an opportunity to argue against your trip.
3) Remind them of how dangerous home is. One of the main concerns that relatives tend to bring up when I’m traveling is about the dangers of the place I’m visiting. They always say I’ll be robbed, raped, or kidnapped. I remind them that they live near a fault line, of how the crime rate is higher in their city than the small town I’m visiting, etc. This isn’t meant to scare them, it’s just a handy technique to put their fears in perspective.
4) Tell them how much they’ve inspired your trip. Quote a recent heart to heart talk you had with your father as part of your inspiration for the trip. Tell your Uncle Bernie how his photographs from Africa made the place seem so beautiful that you couldn’t fight the urge to go there yourself. If your decision somehow sounds as if it came from them, the news will go down easier.
5) Sometimes, they don’t even have to know you’re away. If you don’t live near your family in the first place, you can get away with not telling them. My family lives in Texas, I’m in the Philippines. All they get from me are photographs and emails after my trips, when I’m “safe and sound” at home. Everyone responds to this positively. In fact, no one’s ever asked “How come you didn’t tell me?”
There’s no step-by-step surefire way of telling loved ones about your long term trips, but after considering their individual personalities and the strength of your relationship, you’ll know the best way to approach it. The only thing you have to worry about, I suppose, is an unexpected response. But for someone who is vagabonding in the first place (or plans to), the unexpected is something that you actually look forward to.
How do you tell friends and family about your travel plans? How do they react?
I think it’s safe to say that we all travel for different reasons. Is your reason photography? If so, you might like the conversation going on over at Travellerspoint.
Someone recently posted a question there that asked about the best place for taking photos. I think we could come up with as many answers as there are places in the world. But it’s interesting to read the responses.
Some people pointed to specific countries (Morocco, Haiti, Myanmar, Iceland, Scotland). Others pointed to specific attributes of a place (landscape, vibrant colors, architecture, people who are open to being photographed). Still others pointed to a photographer’s abilities (your point of view, how you relate to the people you photograph).
What about you? Do you have a favorite place to take photographs?
It’s the end of summer, what better time for one last shot at the great American road trip? Well, if you can’t get out on the road any time soon, we’ve got the next best thing: Paul Theroux writing a slightly nostalgic, but still very good, article for Smithsonian Magazine about his recent road trip across the United States.
It’s worth keeping the backstory in mind: Smithsonian asked six well known travel writers to pick a destination and write about it (follow the previous link to get to other authors).
Theroux, surprisingly, had never traveled much in the United States so he chose the quintessential road trip — driving from coast to coast on something approaching route 66. It’s an interesting read and worth it to hear how Theroux sees America after 40 years of traveling and writing about the rest of the world.
My idea was not to linger anywhere, but to keep on the move, as though to create in my mind one long panning shot, from Los Angeles to Cape Cod; to get up each morning and set off after breakfast, going as far as I wished, and then find a place to sleep.
It’s quite long for an online piece, but well worth the read.
[Photo by Gret@Lorenz, Flickr]
I recently heard from a representative of USAirways in-flight magazine that Vagablogging, and an article I wrote in particular, will be featured in the September issue. There is a section devoted to drawing attention to new and interesting and exciting blogs, and Vagablogging is one of them!
So expect a few new visitors to Vagablogging and make them feel welcome!
A reader named Tracy recently wrote with concerns about making a living on the road. “I have become addicted to traveling, meeting new people and all the exciting adventures,” she wrote. “I don’t think I can go back to a ‘regular job.’ I have thought about teaching English overseas, but I’m not sure if that’s the best way to fund more travel. Am I better off getting a ‘real job’ and traveling on my time off, or is it possible to travel and not starve in the meantime? A lot of people have told me to go home, get work experience and then try and travel through the job. But I am an impatient gal. Since my goal right now is to travel, should I even bother pursuing anything else?”
This is what I told her:
I don’t know if there is one correct answer to your question. You seem to want to travel immediately and indefinitely — and I think this is something you can make happen, one way or another. With a little resourcefulness, you should be able to make ends meet and have quite an adventure in the process.
That said, I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s the best way to go. You’re young, and there’s no hurry to rush off (I didn’t have a passport until I was 25). A little bit of work and real-life home experience can’t hurt — especially if you are going to do long-haul travel in the future. Not only will the home-based work ground you and let you look forward to your travels, it will also earn you money in a way that is often more efficient than working overseas (where wages can be measly by comparison). Just save up those wages for your future travels, and that travel “nest egg” will eliminate the pressure to work so much on the road (though you might occasionally want to work abroad for experience).
Teaching English overseas is a great way to combine work with cultural experience. The downside is that not all countries pay well, and other countries are difficult for landing work visas. But I managed to earn a lot and learn a lot for two years teaching English in Korea (my last non-writing job before I went freelance full time). If you choose your country/job carefully when going into a teaching job, there’s no reason why the experience shouldn’t expand and improve your overseas travel experience in any number of ways (not just financial).
[Note: Each Saturday this month, Vagablogging is featuring self-published travel books reviewed by self-published travel authors. This week, Grant Lingel reviews Planet Backpacker.]
Review by Grant Lingel
On the back of Robert Downes’ book, Planet Backpacker, there is a caution to readers: “WARNING: Reading this book could cause your feet to wander.” There really should be a warning on the cover as well, because by the time I finished reading I was ready to pack my bag and hit the road.
Robert Downes, a baby-boomer from Michigan, decided it was time to see the world. He left behind everything he had ever known and set off on a five-month trip through Europe by bicycle before venturing off the beaten path even further into Egypt, India and Southeast Asia. Along the way, Downes documented his journey in the form of an incredibly informative and detailed blog that he later transformed into this action-packed book.
What surprised Downes the most, and a lot of others who have taken a similar path, was the lack of Americans he encountered on the long and winding road of the backpacking world. He became one of the boys in a sub-culture dominated by twentysomethings, proving that pursuing a passion and realizing a dream has no age limit – the only requirement here is an open mind.
Beyond the remarkable story of Planet Backpacker, there is a wealth of advice and tips for those looking to follow in Robert’s footsteps and make the road their home. Whether it’s nomadic wandering through foreign lands, wild adventures by bicycle, or unexpected encounters with exotic strangers, anyone with a passion for travel will find Planet Backpacker an exciting and enjoyable read.
Grant Lingel is the author of Imagine: A Vagabond Story, which will be available September 1, 2009.
Ask just about any long-term traveler why they’ve turned to the camaraderie of like-minded internet friends, and they’ll probably tell you it’s because their “real-life” friends just don’t understand why they’re so intent on hitting the road for so long. To a certain extent, that kind of confusion is understandable. Long-term travel isn’t for everyone. But even if your friends and family don’t totally “get” why you want to do it, you really hope they’re going to support you anyway.
Unfortunately, BootsnAll member K2 recently not only didn’t get support but actually got laughed at when he said he was planning a gap-year RTW backpacking trip. Worse yet, the girl doing the laughing was his date! I have to say, he really took it in stride:
I didn’t take offense to it because I know it’s not for everyone. But has anyone ridiculed your plans when you revealed them?
K2′s date called his plans “unrealistic,” which seems to be something many of the BootsnAll members replying to this thread have heard before. Several people can identify with people not understanding their travel ambitions, and many have contributed suggestions for how they’ve handled it. What about you? Have you ever been laughed at when you told someone you were planning a RTW trip? How did you deal with it? Share your thoughts in this thread on the BootsnAll boards!
@Backpack Foodie & Kim:...
