Very recently I wrote an
apparently quite successful (thank you!) post about my personal 9 politically
incorrect Do’s for the Solo Traveller and because where there is Ying there is
Yang, where there is love there is hate, here there are another 9 because when
there are reasons why you should do something, there also some other reasons
why you shouldn’t do it.
In my opinion some of us
we must be deliciously insane to take a backpack and fly for far too many hours
in an uncomfortable plane seat (I take it that if you are travelling with your
backpack and a budget and not in that order of priorities) you will fly tourist
and throw yourself to a strange land.
While out there, there are
so many things that you should Do, I truly believe that to make the experience
unforgettable and useful for you, the Do’s must always overcome the Don’ts, it
is just a matter of common sense; Do has a positive connotation of being
proactive, brave, an achiever, a creator of experiences BUT not always is a
good idea to be ready to DO and hence this post. It is indeed based only on my
own experiences and so you must read it like this. May you find something
useful among my words, please do take it and use it, how wonderful that we can
all learn from each other.
Here they are, I hope you
like them!
I was really naïve at the
very beginning of my travels; I badly wanted to believe that everyone was nice
and the world was full of good people. For most of the time I like to believe
that, BUT.
Look, I may sound now like
a bad person and don’t take me wrong, I love helping because I have the
capacity to put myself in other people’s shoes but the sad reality is that
there are a lot of scams out there and many of them will come from fellow
travellers (shock!). My first DON’T is be nice and emphatic but not naïve. If
you see an a fellow traveller that looks more capable of travelling
the world that you will ever do and tells you that someone has stolen his
wallet and has not money at all and needs you to give him so money…well, think
but really think, observe and trust your feelings.
If you become Saint Mother
of Theresa of the Travellers and give him money and then he tells you to give
him a bigger amount, well….What would you do? I tell you what you should do.
Don’t give this traveller money, 90% he is lying and relying on your good
faith.
Be forever grateful for
the countries you visit and the people that welcome you to their houses and
lives, most locals are just too wonderful for words BUT the world
is not pink, unfortunately and so not all the locals are nice, accommodating,
generous people. Truth is, out there are also those that are waiting for you to
get something. Unfortunately there are countries where these are abundant. I
did experience a lot of that in Vietnam,
incredible place but also incredible scams.
Don’t trust every local
that approach you with a smile, unfortunately, chances are that many of those
smiles are not genuine hence why, once again, you should trust your feelings.
You don’t know yet, but they are full of wisdom.
We all love a drink. We
all love a drink in an exotic land. We all love a drink in a exotic land full
of attractive people. We all love a free drink in an exotic land full or
attractive people.
I guarantee you that if
you travel long enough, there will be a time or many times that you will end up
in a bar in good company and you must enjoy it, those are moments to be lived
with intensity but as tempted as you are to accept that exotic colourful drink
that this attractive man (in my case) is offering you…well, Don’t. You want a
drink, you get it. You want to accept a drink from someone, please do spend
some time talking and getting to know this person. Of course most people will
wish the same as you, to have a good time but hey…the world is not pinkie,
remember?
Oh… the joys of having
sex with a stranger. The night if young, the music loud, the sky has a curtain
of stars, the sea is warm, the beer cold, you are tanned and happy and
carefree and the world is your oyster and you are as far away from home as you can be, so far
away…you can do anything, no one if going to judge you, they won’t find out if
you don’t want to. Those are very powerful feelings, very powerful….
To be this free in an
exotic land it makes you do things that you wouldn’t do at home, I know because
I’ve been there. You know the been there, done that, right?
If you are alone and happy
to be alive, I can pretty much promise to you that you will sleep with a
stranger and you totally should, why not? But if this is a male stranger and desires you as much
as you desire him, chances are that he will slip protection. Don’t let that
happen, just don’t. An orgasm doesn’t’ last a lifetime unless other things.
My fifth don’t is very
simple and straight forward. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. It
is simple and yet many people ignore this. Call it a sixth sense that help us
protect ourselves, I really don’t know what it is but I know how important is
to learn to read the signs that unconsciously your mind gives you. No travels
are exempt of difficulties, it is highly important that you remain aware of
everything that surrounds you and act in accordance to how you feel.
Don’t shut up, do speak
up. You will disagree fully in many circumstances, many times you will have to
fight your way into things, discuss it or argue and so what, don’t be shy or
stupid because you feel you own to people to be nice because you are far away
from home. It does not matter, backpacking can be tough, don’t believe those
that come back home full of only good experiences, that is not true. You go out
there and many times you will go through difficulties, I promise you that not
every day will be easy hence why you should never shut up, do yourself a favour
and don’t because the moment you jump onto that plane and your most faithful
company is a backpack, you will have only yourself to take you to places, this
won’t be any easier by not expressing yourself.
Don’t stop the
communication with your people. You own to your family all sorts of
explanations about your new life, whether is temporary or not. Because you are
overwhelmed with this new life of freedom and lack of responsibilities, doesn’t
mind that what you leave behind it suddenly appears less important. I know is
too easy to keep travelling and getting lost in your experiences but don’t
forget that possibly none of that is because somehow you had a family that
supported you and that is why, no matter how much fun are you getting or how
difficult is to find a computer, you should never forget about those that are
at home concern about you, They deserve to know that you are taking care of
yourself. Don’t let anything get on the way between you and them. Don’t forget
the important stuff.
