Believe it or not, Hostels and Guesthouses will tremendously improve – or reduce – your travel experience! After a while on the road, you will discover how important a good hostel can be… Check what we wrote about amazing Hostels: The 10 Best Hostels We Have Discovered – And How They Greatly Enhanced Our Travel Experience! Even more amazing is that excellent hostels are usually not more expensive than poor ones (just fully booked, so plan ahead) – They are just better run. And they are not necessarily those pushed by travel guides like the Lonely Planet. Your fellow travelers are the best source of information while on the road: this is first hand, unbiased information and you can ask detailed questions. Continue Reading →
Archive | Long Term Travel Guides
Avoid the Overdose
How About A Vacation From Traveling?
No, we are not kidding! The first time we wrote about this on our website in 2007, people back home feared we had lost our minds. But do not underestimate the overdose of traveling. Traveling can be physically challenging, even frustrating. We often hesitated to spend the money on the kind of accommodation we felt like that night, or maybe it didn’t even exist. More than once we told ourselves “well it’s just for one night”. Spending nights in freezing or cramped busses or in airports takes its toll. Continue Reading →
Getting Along With Your partner
… Or Avoiding Divorce On The Road
We had read a few blogs addressing this issue before we started our Trip Around The World. These highlighted that the relationship (no matter if married or not) would undergo some serious challenges. It might sound surprising, but many couples split during Long Term Travels.
Even though we came prepared, it hit us. Why? Back home, you see your partner a few hours in the evening, on weekends and during vacations (interestingly enough, this is when most divorces originate). When on the road, you are together 24 / 7. Moreover, the lack of physical space (hostel rooms are small) make it difficult to create some kind of intimacy / space for yourself. Continue Reading →
How About Communication?
First, do not be mistaken: you will not be able to disappear, even somewhere in South Bolivia or Papua New Guinea – We are in a wired world, like it or not! Most travelers are drawn into Internet cafés or hooked to WiFi, now a must in most hostels, or just scream in (or maybe at?) the Smart Phones, even in remote National Parks… Therefore, being connected is not so much the problem than being reachable all the time everywhere! Continue Reading →
The Re-Entry Shock
… or Reverse Cultural Experience
For those who have not been on a Long Term Trip or a Round The World, this may sound weird. But it is a matter of fact that coming back can be even more difficult than leaving. We all change during a Long Term Trip, see our lives back home differently and judge even the smallest aspects of our life from a very different perspective.
The Reentry Shock is very discomforting and can last quite a while. Heidi moved on quite well, Gilles actually never fully came back. That is maybe why he decided to take a new step mid 2014 and start traveling again. Continue Reading →