Breakfast is good. Burritos are good. Combined the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Kind of like Voltron.
Travel Tip
Travel Tip #78: Vending Machines Are Fun
Even if you’re a health nut who would never eat something from a vending machine in the States, you should have fun with the myriad products that can be mechanically delivered to you overseas. From interesting beverages to hot foods, vending machines are there for you late at night when shops are closed, when you’re back at your hotel and need some drunk food or when you’re simply wandering around a city and feel like rolling the dice.
Don’t act like you’re too good for vending machines. If I can drink 26 different beverages obtained via vending machines during ten days in Japan, you can try out one or two oddities on your travels. Get off your high horse and keep some change handy. There are some gems to be had in vending machines.
What’s the best or most exotic delicacy that you found in a vending machine? Share in the comments.
Travel Tip #82: Dress the Part
Before you depart for your adventure, be sure to pack clothes that are appropriate for your destination. Going to places of worship? Men should wear long pants. Women should have skirts that go well below the knees and keep their shoulders covered. Take your shoes off before entering homes in Asian countries. Basically, don’t stick out like a sore thumb and/or offend everyone around you.
Blending in with the locals is key to keeping tensions at a minimum and ingratiating yourself in the community.
Travel Tip #20: Bring Good Music
Music helps pass the time. Music helps make the moment. Music helps you ignore someone else’s snoring. Before you hit the road, pack your iPod full of good music that can adapt to your moods and itinerary.
I put together a playlist for Gadling’s Travel Tunes series. Sure would be neat if you checked it out.
Travel Tip #22: Expect Disappointment
Without fail. your trip will not go perfectly. A hotel will lose your reservation. The museum you want to see will be closed for renovations. You won’t find that “perfect” paella. Rather than wallowing in self-pity and complaining about those “failures,” mange your expectations, expect a few things to go wrong and make the best of the situations.
Ask the hotel if they will give you a deal on a room. Use that free afternoon to check out another museum or exhibit. Buy all the ingredients for a great paella at the local markets and do it yourself.
Inevitably, things will go wrong. It’s up to you to keep feeling right.
Travel Tip #64: Pursue Alternate Means of Transportation
It’s easy to take planes, trains and automobiles. It’s also likely that you’ll get stuck with a large population of nimrods, morons and downright smelly people when doing so. That’s because they are the common forms of transportation. For a true adventure, utilize some of the less trafficked (pun alert) means of people-moving.
Perhaps a sailboat? Or hitchhiking (yes, technically an automobile, but with greater chance of dismemberment)? What about motorbike? Customize your trip by finding quirky, bizarre or, yes, even dangerous ways of getting from Point A to Point B.
What’s the wildest form of transportation you’ve taken? Share in the comments.
Travel Tip #22: Sleep Together
Whether you’re in a hostel, hotel, apartment or friend’s house, being on the road requires you to be comfortable sharing beds (or couches, air mattresses, cots, etc). This isn’t sexual. This isn’t creepy. It’s just about saving money and maximizing space.
Get comfortable snuggling up next to a friend. Just remember: If you snore, you buy breakfast.
Travel Tip #103: Most Cities Do Sleep
Most cities, no matter how large, cosmopolitan and boisterous they are, eventually call it a day. And that means that public transportation ceases to operate. Before heading out for the night, be sure to know when the last train runs or what time the last bus departs back to your accommodations.
Sure, you can catch a cab (maybe) or walk (hopefully), but once public transportation shuts down, you run the risk of having to sleep wherever you are. Even in a MOS Burger.
