Wow, no posts from me for three years and then three posts in one day. I’m on a roll (literally I’m on a roll - I’m on a bus from Madison to Chicago as I write this).

This post is as much a reminder for me as advice for all of you readers. I’m going to take this opportunity, after my trip, to summarize the things I did right and things I’d do differently. I hope it helps someone out or at the very least, that I will have the opportunity to take advantage of my own advice again some time soon.

First, the number one thing I did right: I went. No matter what else I did right or wrong, this was the most important thing and the one piece of advice I’d love to give everyone out there: Just go! No matter what you screw up or would like to have done differently, I can assure you that you will not regret the experience. Sure it can be a bit stressful and trying at times, but the people you meet are amazing, and I met all sorts of cool people.

I met a guy who motorcycled from Perth Australia to Norway, a guy that spent 40+ days on safari in Africa, a really cool woman from Australia that seemed to have decided start her life over, an Indian guy traveling to honor his recently departed wife (who loved to travel), a guy from Manchester, England that was totally crazy and fun, two Spanish brothers that required my speaking most of the Spanish I know to communicate, a London born woman and her Polish friend that almost got the cops called on us in Amsterdam, three British girls I shared a room with that went to a live sex show and one of whom even got up on stage, a Scottish guy and Aussie woman who thought it appropriate to have sex in a hostel room they were sharing with 5 other strangers, a freelance sports writer that was boring (yes, that’s interesting in that it’s unbelievable that guy that writes about sports and travels was boring), a guy from England that didn’t drink (that might be the only time you see that sentence in print), two nineteen year olds from England that seemed to be following me around Europe (I ran into them in three separate cities and they just missed me by a day in Prague), two more Aussies that convinced me to go see a live band in Budapest, and many, many more.

The biggest thing I did wrong? I should have done this ten years ago. However, to steal and mangle a phrase from the book “The Alchemist”, at least I didn’t wait another ten years. Now how about a more complete list of right and wrong.

Let’s start with a list of things I think I did right:

1. Staying in good hostels. This is critical to meeting people. You need to find a hostel in a decent location, that has a good bar inside it, is clean, and secure. How do you do this? You log on to hostelworld.com, punch in the city you want, and, BAM, you’ll have a list of recommended hostels complete with 100’s of reviews for each.
2. Taking professional walking tours in various cities. This is easily one of the best ways to get to learn about a city as well as get a feel for how it’s laid out. And just an FYI, if you’re ever in Berlin, the free walking tour (which really isn’t free because you’re supposed to tip) is unbelievable! It was another of the highlights of my trip (as was Berlin in general).
3. Going to a super remote village in Hungary to stay on a farm with a friend of mine and her family. I’ve already written extensively about this so I won’t bore you with it again, but this was definitely a major highlight of my trip (and my life for that matter). The lesson for everyone: Find some way to get out of the big cities and spend some time enjoying the simpler life of the country.
4. Getting the names and emails of the people I met and enjoyed. I probably won’t stay in touch with very many of them, but the thing is, I now have them on my Facebook so I can follow them and they can follow me. If I ever go to visit their city, I’m confident they will not only give me a place to stay, but show me a great time. And I assure you that if they ever come to my city (wherever that may be), I would ecstatically do the same for them.
5. I took a money belt along to keep my passport, credit cards, and most of my cash in. This is a lesson I learned the hard way several years ago when I was traveling in Spain and got pick-pocketed in Madrid. By getting a money belt and keeping your most important things in it, you can free your mind from the worry of theft and focus on enjoying yourself.
6. I bought a great small camera right before I left. It was the Canon Digital Elph and it made for great pictures in bright light as well as low light. The low light picture taking capability is critical as you are often in low light buildings (such as museums or cathedrals). These are memories for a life time, so don’t get cheap on the camera that will help you remember them.

And here’s my list of the top things I would do differently:

1. More research about each city I was going to before I got there. This would not only have given me a better idea of must see things in each city, but would have given me a better feel for the history of where I was at.
2. I should have utilized my contacts abroad better. As I’ve mentioned several times, the most amazing part of my journey was visiting my friend Gabi in southern Hungary. That happened to be the only personal friend I had in any of the places I went. However, I had friends who had friends in many of the places I visited. I’m confident that almost all of these people would have been happy to host an American traveling in their country, and the experience gained from hanging out with actual natives of a land would have been unbelievable.
3. I would have spent more time researching deals on train travel. I don’t feel too bad about this one because my original intent was to just live and work in Amsterdam for 5 weeks so I didn’t really foresee the need for getting a train ticket. However, the next time I do this I will definitely work with my local travel agent to find the best deal and most flexible train ticket (many of which you can only buy in the US). I think this could have saved me some good money while giving me even more freedom in where I went.
4. Speaking of freedom of movement, I really wish I would have taken more day trips. With only 5 weeks to travel, it’s tough to see a lot of the countryside because you really do want to see the big cities. However, I could definitely have done more to get out and see things - kind of like I did in Krakow when I went to see the salt mine.
5. I wish I would have spent a little more time learning at least some basic phrases in the language of every country I was in. There’s no way to become even remotely functional in all those languages (especially Hungarian or Polish), but it is very doable to learn some basic things like: Hello, goodbye, thank you, please, excuse me, one to ten, do you speak English, beer, and a few other common phrases. Probably 60 minutes on a plane or bus before you arrive in a city would be sufficient to get you started, and you will be surprised how many people will smile and be appreciative at even the most feeble attempts to use their language.

I’m sure there are things I learned, both right and wrong, that I have forgotten now. If I think of anything important in the future, I will let you know. But really, the best way to learn is to get your own passport, jump on a plane, and go visit another country. If, when you’re done, you have any suggestions for me, please leave a comment.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 6:38 am and is filed under Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.