BootsnAll Travel Community

An alernative to both taking photos and keeping a journal---the postcard ring.

Grab a few cheap metal keyrings.

Each place you go, stop by a place that has a decent selection of cheap postcards, and buy the one that's your favorite picture of it (even if it's not how the place looked when you were there). On the back of (and limited to the space of) that postcard, write your experiences, thoughts, what you did, people you met, etc. Poke a hole in a corner of it and put it on your "ring." When the ring gets full, mail it home & start over with the next ring.

You won't have to worry about constantly trying to grab great photos of the places (the postcards do that for you) and you won't have to worry about carrying around a notebook (the postcards do that for you), and as you mail them home, neither takes up space in your pack, and your memories are waiting for you when you return.

Another tip:

To enjoy the historical attractions a country might offer more, read up on their history, maybe just by checking its Wikipedia article. Also, I'm sure knowing some art history might make seeing an art museum more interesting and enjoyable.

I always take both a camera and a journal- I .mainly use the journal to make note of anything unusual in the camera shots- nothing like discarding a picture and then finding that was the one that had the gorgeous bird or monkey hiding in the branches. I also use the journal to note names and e-mail addresses of people I meet or to record some important piece of info for later use.

I try to e-mail home every few days- it allows my loved ones to a. know I'm ok and b. feel apart of what I am doing. I also e-mail myself and save those to match photos to place.

I totally agree to not overplan- it is nice to be able to scrap a piece of your itinerary because one area you were going is not as great as it sounded or because one of the places you are is just too wonderful to leave.

Probably the biggest thing is to truly enjoy each new experience- even disasters, in retrospect, are worthwhile experiences. Sometimes it is too easy to get so excited about where you are going that you forget to enjoy where you are.

Another thing I just remembered- someone said they never take tours, but I have found that especialy when I am going into the jungle that I would never see or understand some of the things I see if I did not have a guide with me.

Some other tips:

1. Don't over-plan your day, but don't be too indecisive. For example, if you want to see something specific, decide to see it early on. If you simply want to walk around and explore the city, do that.

2. Always have your camera charged. However, don't always have your camera with you. Sometimes it feels better to just go without it, to experience a place with your own eyes and not to worry about thieves. And if you're there for more than one day, you can often go back and take a picture the next day.

3. When taking pictures, be careful in your composition. Sloppily composed pictures are far less pleasing post-trip than those composed thoughtfully. Also, when taking videos with a digital camera, be sure to hold the camera still - I know my camera has VERY little image stabilization for videos!

4. Don't feel guilty about spending a day resting or on the internet, or doing something you can do at home. At times, you just want to do these things, and your enjoyment of travel will be reduced if you do otherwise.

5. If you're visiting numerous places, mix up the size of the cities. If you only visit large cities, you're missing out on something. Putting medium-sized (Spain: Granada, San Sebastian) cities and small towns in your itinerary will not only enrich your experience but give you a better, more complete view of the country you are visiting.

quote:

Originally posted by Jacob G. Norlund:
Another tip:

To enjoy the historical attractions a country might offer more, read up on their history, maybe just by checking its Wikipedia article. Also, I'm sure knowing some art history might make seeing an art museum more interesting and enjoyable.

Totally agree on this one.

Museums often have signs and information, if you are lucky it's in English, but 9 times out of 10 it's too much information to absorb in one visit. Same goes for all the other sights. Better to read up on a country first, then you will have more appreciation of the places while you are there.

For example on my tour of Guatemala I had read up on the military occupation of the highlands. When I visited Santiago Atitlan on the tour everyone else in the group just bought souvenirs. To them it was just a pretty market town. But because I had read up on Guatemala I knew that the town had been under army occupation and that an American Catholic Priest had been murdered there for defending the rights of local people - there was a plaque to him in the local church. I also knew there had been a massacre of Mayan people protesting against the military, which later resulting in the expulsion of the army from the town. I also knew about the local saint Maximon and was able to visit his shrine. Knowing all this stuff beforehand made my visit 10 times more interesting.

Another tip:

When going to a museum or other "sight" - type attraction, rent the audioguide if available. Usually, you'll be very happy you dropped the 3 euros or $7.

I can't suggest this enough. There's always a risk (I found some audioguides to be very unhelpful - like the one for the Alhambra with the Washington Irving impersonator) involved, but much of the time the additional information and background you gain far outweighs the price of the audioguide and adds value to your experience. The best audioguide for me so far has been the one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - very informative, hundreds, if not thousands of works had audioguide narrations, and comfortable (it had headphones, it wasn't the kind popular in Spain where you had to hold it up to your ear!).

I agree with the audio guide idea, as sometimes it's just simply worth it.

OR, if there's a lot of history, art, architecture, etc. you want to see with better eyes, see if the town you're living in has cheap walking tours conducted by college students majoring in--you guessed it--history, art, architecture, etc. Sometimes they'll be part of a small company or group, and other times they'll just be individuals offering their services.

They'll keep it lighthearted and interesting, never boring, and you'll def. walk away with a deeper appreciation for what you've been shown. I've done these in a few cities and def. can't recommend it highly enough.

You can also find out from them along the way where they'd suggest to go for cheap eats, things to do, see, etc. post-tour.

I like your tipo, craze_b0i - Its so true, reading up a little bit in random books that tell alittle bit more about the country, her people and its culture opens your eyes even further when you eventually get there.

The first time i did that was in Morocco, and it made such a difference. Since that trip, now each time i go somewhere new i always try to get hold of books/info either when I'm there or before I get there. It makes such a difference to your experience - and sometimes can help avoid making as many cultural faux pas, too. lol. nice one!

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I highly recommend anyone who travels to start a blog. It's pretty easy and most are free.