Hotels and resort living on holiday may seem the ideal to spend time and unwind at the same time its often a world wrapped up in cotton wool that ignores the areas outside of the secure walls and environment that often may seem a bit daunting and dangerous but just as likely to offer adventure and change of life experiences.
If you haven’t tried backpacking you should do it at least once in your life as the experiences, opportunities and things you see will be things that will travel through your life with you forever. Moments in time which were not set by hours or minutes but by days and experiences. Backpacking isn’t a holiday its a whole new experience.
I prepared these top 10 things I think will improve most peoples lives if they experience backpacking and its not a case of having to do it over and over again unless you get the travel bug. But more to do with even on the first trip having the mind opened to things around you and re-evaluating what you know and have experienced already.
10. People are generally friendly – In the chaotic world we often live in deadlines and catching the next train take priority over communication with others. Backpacking due to the locations and pace of travel means you will engage with more people and pretty much find that everyone wants to talk and interested in what your doing. At the same time you will find a lot out about others and often get invited to peoples homes for dinner as well as events such as fiesta’s. People really do seem a lot easier going abroad but a lot of that is down to the time frames of work they work within more than anything else.
9. Learning to do without – Backpacking means your limited to what you can carry, this isn’t a bad thing mind as it also means a lot of the gadgets you think you can’t live without your going to spend a lot of time without them. This also means instead of switched off to the environment around you your forced to engage and also experience everything. Not always a good thing on a long bus ride but you will find instead of sitting watching a movie on your laptop your more likely to go for walks and spend time in the communities your staying. This often creates the ideal setting for experiencing local life and learning more about the country and the people your staying with.
8. Time is only critical to those who think it is – You will find that timeframes are irrelevant to a huge amount of people which is partly why so many people are relaxed. Dinner is ready when its cooked, people are home when they get back and pretty much even the public transport systems function on the same system such as we will leave when the bus is full. May sound rather strange but its a more relaxed way to be, you should try it at the weekend by switching off all your clocks on a Friday night and spend the weekend without anything that tells you the time. The reason being is that you will be revolving round your body clock rather than predetermined times, this can make the weekends more easy going as your not thinking I have to be at football at 6pm or my favourite show is on at 8pm your just going to ride time and do things at a more relaxed pace.
7. World Politics May Influence The World But Most People Don’t Realise It – I am heavily into politics myself and do find it strange how many people choose to ignore even the most basics of influences in the media. Backpacking you will come across things which are propaganda led which stand out like sore thumbs in local media abroad, at the same time noticing it more you become more likely to notice it when you go home and how things affects peoples lives. Being aware of the housing crisis from the start of 2007 that it was out of control had allowed me to pack my bags and pretty much prepare to exit the UK before it happened. At the same time many people assumed I didn’t know what I was talking about and should leave it up to the politicians. Funny though many people who travel the way I do all had the same exit strategy at the same time that does say something about the way many travellers adapt they’re thoughts in what they believe.
6. The World Is Beautiful But Full Of Problems – Something I learned a long time ago is often places are beautiful on the surface but have underlying issues that affect daily life for locals. You can only see this as a backpacker unless you join some aid organisation as simply the tour operators and resorts of the more expensive vacations choose to keep tourists away from reality. Although amongst all the chaos of daily life and travelling amongst it you will often come across natural beauty in areas that tour operators will never venture. The world is a lot safer than it is often sold in the media, but only experiencing the world can you truly even begin to understand it and its beauty.
5. Friendship Is A Common Language - Sign language is often said to be a common language but I believe the bonds of friendships even come before this. I have made more friends internationally than I did in my home town. Not only because of being like minded in travel but also that we find each other interesting because we are from such varied backgrounds. The friendships you also make while backpacking often can last a lifetime and meeting up in the future is likely to happen. Exchanging locations you have all visited as well also opens up things off the tourist map that are well worth visiting.
4. You Appreciate More – Travelling around the world you can see how doing something small is appreciated in a big way by locals these sort of things change your perspective of the world and even going back to normal everyday life learning to appreciate things more can make a huge difference. An example of this is workers in all weekend at a contract I was managing previously. The first thought is well they are getting paid double time for the work why are they grumbling, but what was worth more than any extra income was telling them how much the company appreciated and valued them going the extra mile to have it completed on time. These life lessons are things that are often overlooked but are things that can make a huge impact on everyday life.
3. Learn To Relax – You do become a more relaxed person its impossible not to. Waiting for ferry’s, sitting in bus terminals as well as being in remote locations without any electricity from time to time, force you to unwind even if you initially didn’t want to. There is only one time you have to remember on the trip and that’s being at an airport on a specific day for flying back. The rest of the time is exploring and new experiences, even opening a book or two as well as getting the camera out is going to happen a lot more than it does in your normal every day life simply because the pace has dropped to one of enjoyment.
2. You Don’t Have Problems – Travelling puts life in perspective and although things often feel difficult and stressful in Western society the fact is we still have it a lot easier than most of the world. Difference is we seem to stress out about it a lot more than they do. Is it a case of many of them live for today or more to do with the fact they realise there is little they can do to influence change? Either way a smile is never far away and yet we will freak out over credit card bills. One thing we can take away from all this is the fact we can repay debts and begin to save. Even the coins in our pocket is often more than many people have for the week yet for us its the change from last nights partying in our pocket. There is always tomorrow and we can always change for the better.
1. There Is More To The World Than We Think – Be it cultures, places, people whatever the reasons each individual has they’re reason for seeing the world from a far bigger perspective after backpacking a few countries. But also learning to understand not only new things but that even old technologies are extremely useful. We often thrive to create new inventions in the modern world but forget the solution probably existed in the past already, mixing the old and new technology would probably give a better solution to a problem than starting from scratch. Thinking out of the box often comes from experiences and the more we experience and travel the more we learn but at the same time taking on the fact that the world really is bigger than we think.
Often overlooked but an important aspect of a holiday is checking the seasons as in Asia they are different to Europe and other regions. Spring time sees part of Asia still not in the monsoon season but right at the end of the dry season which is often just right as the rains have yet to come and many locations have a more bearable heat. In April though many places have reached extreme heats as well as humidity problems which make it very uncomfortable when visiting especially for things like backpacking on a budget with locations without air conditioning. India and Nepal are ideal from March ideal for trekking. From April its a good time to travel in Asia to Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and the Philippines but by this time the rest of Asia is starting to feel the heat. For those wanting Bali and some parts of China late spring months are perfect for your trip but May is worth taking a time out from Asia as well unless in for a few months and its a case of learning to climatise.
You have to do the theme parks at least once which then normally means you want to go again! They are geared towards making sure you have a great time and with a large selection of theme parks in Orlando and things to do they cater for almost everybody. For kids its a real vacation that dreams are made of. Searching around online normally gets you the best ticket deals, we found that ticket touts are available in several places around Orlando selling “odd days” but to be honest to avoid disappointment I would go direct with the big parks simply because you can order things in advance and you know everything is guaranteed to work no worry about fake tickets or problems gaining entry.
There is a huge wealth of things going on around Orlando and many things to experiences from learning to fly aerobatic planes, hot air balloon adventures to detective sleuth evenings and pirate experiences. The fact is the tourism industry isn’t just geared towards tourists in the theme parks but pretty much most of Orlando, even driving an Indy racing car is on the cards!
There is plenty to do for those not so interested in a huge rush of adrenaline or keen hobby historians or art lovers. A visit to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra can offer up a unique experience of classical music. Visit one of the many art museums and houses in Orlando or a playhouse theatre are all things that are a unique blend of things to see and do in Orlando but also a good way to get the kids to enhance they’re understanding of arts,culture and history on a few quiet days away from the bustle and high speed adrenaline of the theme parks.
Travelling on airboat across the vast watered glades is something to experience in Orlando you may never get to try elsewhere. The high powered boats jet across the waters giving a unique chance to see Florida’s wild in their habitat. For a more humbling experience swimming with dolphins or Manatee is possible and something that I am sure everyone will remember the experience. There are also many boating experiences available from yachting to paddleboats for a more relaxed experience. Outdoor activities are too varied to mention but one thing is for sure there is something for everyone.
Eating out in Orlando is a must and to not just stick with one restaurant as simply there is too much choice and trying a different place every mealtime is worth the culinary treats. For those with less of an interest in food or a tighter budget there are literally fast food restaurants on every street corner catering for every type of food taste. But to truly take the experience of food from Orlando trying dishes in many of the international styled restaurants is a must. You will find everything from Japanese cuisine to many European restaurants as well as regional restaurants that will delight your taste buds.
