Aaaand I bought my ticket from Honolulu to Sydney! The round-the-world part of this trip is really coming together.
Uluru
Great Barrier Reef
Kangaroo!
Going to Australia!
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Category Archives: Travel
ACAM: What to Do in Thailand
Today, dearest fellow travelers, a quick look at some things to do and sights to see in Thailand. My many friends who have been there before: what am I missing? Other than the metric ton of street food I plan to eat, of course.
Baby!
Volunteer at the Elephant Nature Park
Elephant rides are popular throughout Southeast Asia, but the elephants usually work in terrible conditions and it’s generally more ethical not to contribute to their ill treatment by paying for rides. Instead, you can pay about $400 for a week of volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park, in the northern part of Thailand, and contribute to the healing of elephants who used to give tourist rides or do backbreaking work in logging operations. Volunteers muck in as needed, helping feed, bathe, and clean up after the elephants. It sounds like an amazing experience.
Relax on the beaches of the western coast
Phuket is probably the most famous resort town in Thailand, partly for the name that Westerners love to mispronounce (it’s really pronounced Poo-KET) and partly for the gorgeous beaches. But also there are monuments to the two sisters who defended the town from invaders through trickery, which sounds pretty excellent.
The Grand Palace in Bangkok
Visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok
It’s a giant palace compound, made up of multiple residences, temples, gardens, and courtyards. The royal family has lived elsewhere since 1925, and now it’s open to the public, so you can wander around for entire days, taking in the exquisite architecture and imaging yourself dancing along to the soundtrack of The King and I.
The More Things Change…
From Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad (published in 1880):
Travel isn’t what it used to be
“Seventy or eighty years ago Napoleon was the only man in Europe who could really be called a traveler; he was the only man who had devoted his attention to it and taken a powerful interest in it; he was the only man who had traveled extensively; but now everybody goes everywhere; and Switzerland, and many other regions which were unvisited and unknown remotenesses a hundred years ago, are in our days a buzzing hive of restless strangers every summer.” (p. 225)
I saw this really cool thing… on the Discovery channel
“[The Ladders] are built against the perpendicular face of a cliff two or three hundred feet high. The peasants, of both sexes, were climbing up and down them, with heavy loads on their backs. I ordered Harris [hired man] to make the ascent, so I could put the thrill and horror of it in my book, and he accomplished the feat successfully, through a sub-agent for three francs, which I paid. It makes me shudder yet when I think of what I felt when I was clinging there between heaven and earth in the person of that proxy.” (p. 255)
I never go to tourist spots. I prefer to see the REAL places in a new country.
“I flit,–and flit,–for I am ever on the wing,–but I avoid the herd. Today I am in Paris, tomorrow in Berlin, anon in Rome; but you would look for me in vain in the galleries of the Louvre or the common resorts of the gazers in those other capitals. If you would find me, you must look in the unvisited nooks and corners where others never think of going. One day you will find me making myself at home in some obscure peasant’s cabin, another day you will find me in some forgotten castle worshiping some little gem of art which the careless eye has overlooked and which the unexperienced would despise; again you will find me a guest in the inner sanctuaries of palaces while the herd is content to get a hurried glimpse of the unused chambers by feeing a servant.” (p. 284)
Home-Cooked Meals Away From Home
When you’re traveling more than a week or two, eating out for every meal is not only expensive but also a bit tedious. There’s something about a home-cooked meal, even when you’re not at home, that just tastes right. Of course, I usually prefer my home-cooked meals to be cooked by someone else, because I am lazy. But when I’m solo traveling, I don’t really have that option. So I try to make sure that there’s a kitchen wherever I’m staying.
Hostels
Not all hostels have kitchens, so you have to check the listing before booking. Once you’re there, check out the equipment provided (do they have sharp knives? more than one pan?) and see if there’s any communal food or spices before heading out to the store, so you don’t buy more than you need. Eva Holland provides a guide on hostel cooking, and Fiona Honor Hurley’s step-by-step list even includes recipes to try out in hostels.
Cooking with my couchsurfer Sophie in '09
Couchsurfing
If you’re couchsurfing, many of the same principles apply, but since you’re in someone’s home, there are additional things to take into consideration. Are your hosts cooking at the same time; is there enough room in the kitchen for several meals to be made at once? Or even better, cooking a meal for your host is a great way to say thank you for their hospitality. Be sure to check for any dietary restrictions and kitchen rules before starting. For example, one of my former roommates was a vegan, and she had a special cutting board and knife that we meat eaters couldn’t use; good info to have before you start chopping up ingredients for a chicken stir-fry.
Home rental service
There are fewer limitations when using a home rental service like Airbnb, since renting out the whole apartment means you have free rein of the kitchen provided. Still, surprises are possible; the twins and I checked the cupboards at our rental in Montreal and saw table salt. It was only when we returned from the grocery store and started cooking that we discovered the salt was a rock-hard block of indeterminate age.
What tips do you have, dearest fellow travelers?
How to Have a Successful Long-Distance Phone Conversation
I was searching my Gmail for some contact info the other day, and I found an email exchange from 2007 between me and Mlle. O’Leary. I was in our hometown for the holidays, and she was working at a preschool in Korea. I’d asked if she wanted to call when all our friends were gathered, so she could talk to us all at once. She was… less than enthused. Not because she didn’t want to talk, but because those conversations are all the same kind of unsatisfying.
Traveler: Hi!
Friend #1: Hiiiiii! How are you? Ohmygosh, you’re in [faraway land]!
Traveler: Yes, I am! I’m good, I’m good. How are you?
Friend #1: I’m good! I miss you! What are you doing? Tell me all about it! [loud party noises in the background]
Traveler: Um, well, right now I’m in a call center because I can’t get Skype in my new apar–
Friend #1: [distracted by something hilarious at the party] Hahaha! Do it again, I want to put it on Facebook. Sorry, what? Skype? I can’t right now, I’m not near a computer, but I’m so glad we got to talk!
Traveler: Um, yes. What’s going on with you?
Friend #1: Oh you know, not much. Nothing as exciting as you, off in [faraway land]! Ahh I have to go, things are crazy here. Misssss you! Here’s Friend #2! Bye!
Traveler: Oh, okay. Miss you too–
Friend #2: Hiiiiii! How are you? Ohmygosh, you’re in [faraway land]!
Hello, hello, baby you called? I can't hear a thing
It seems like a good idea to call your faraway loved one when everyone’s already gathered together, but despite everyone’s good intentions, it’s usually a bit awkward. There’s no time to really talk, so you have to stick to pleasantries. The party noises in the background will likely make the traveler homesick. Everyone hangs up wishing it had gone differently.
So what to do? Well, obviously, if you’re close to someone who’s traveling for an extended period of time, set aside time to talk to them one-to-one. Be aware of time zones and fit in phone calls at times convenient to both of you. Send emails. Write blog posts. Poke each other on Facebook (JK, don’t ever poke anyone on Facebook).
When you have a group of people gathered together for some festive occasion and you’re going to call the traveler, have everyone get ready ahead of time. No big preparation is necessary, but explain that when the traveler calls, you’re going to skip the awkward small talk and skip straight to the fun stuff. Everyone will come to the party with a Top Three list of some sort, which they’ll share with the traveler, who will be much amused. The traveler can share their Top Three too.
You can do a Top Five if you're feeling really ambitious, I suppose
So now your conversations will go something like this:
Traveler: Hi! I miss you!
Friend #1: I miss you too! I thought of you this week. Here are my top three pop music hits right now…
Traveler: Ahh Beyonce is still the best! Remember when we tried the “Single Ladies” dance like thirty times? You’ll like this; here’s my top three sarong mishaps from this week…
Friend #1: I need so many pictures of that second one. Okay, here’s Friend #2! Love you! Bye!
Traveler: Bye!
Friend #2: Hello! Would you believe I saw three different amazing mustaches this month? Here they are…
And so on. Everyone gets to store up some fun tidbits in anticipation of the conversation, the phone is passed around quickly, and there’s no time for awkwardness. There’s no letdown afterward, since you all know what to expect, and you get to share your silly lists with each other once you hang up. Ta da!
Disclaimer: I haven’t actually put this plan into effect yet, since I only thought of it after finding the aforementioned email, but I’ll try it out in just a few months and let you know how it goes. And if you get the chance to try it with any faraway friends yourself, tell us in the comments what you think.
Traveling From Your Living Room
Time for another story gushing about the wonders of Couch Surfing! This past weekend I hosted two women who were on break from their master’s programs in St. Louis. Ainur, from Kazakhstan, is studying American law, and Shushanik, from Armenia, is studying education. They’re in their 30s, they have jobs and personal lives to return to in their home countries, but they took the plunge on expanding their horizons thousands of miles from home, which I greatly admire. They were in Chicago to sightsee, but we found time to hang out and chat, and had some cultural exchange over omelets and ice creams.
Ainur, me, Shushanik
We talked about American politics a little; they had both come to the States with the impression that we were “the most atheistic” country in the world, so they were shocked to see how much religion dictates government decisions here. Then I talked about classroom overcrowding, and not paying teachers enough, and how testing is strangling education, and Shushanik said her main research interest lies in determining which standards and methods of testing are actually useful and which are part of the problems I bemoaned.
Both Ainur and Shushanik were born under the rule of the Soviet Union, and they remember the bad old days with little fondness. For example, Ainur speaks better Russian than Kazakh because she was only allowed to speak Russian at school. They both spoke with envy of the infrastructure we have here, and the reliability of the legal system (even taking into account my rants on the prison-industrial complex).
A gorgeous March day
But they’re both very proud and fond of their homelands, as most people are, of course. Neither has any plans to settle out of her country, and they enjoy travel for the same reason most of us do: to meet new people and see new things, but not to relocate. And some things about the US upset them. Somehow, sex ed came up, and I said that kids today are only taught abstinence, and abortion is practically legal in name only. They hardly believed me; the idea that a woman’s health is her concern and hers only is so basic to them, that the thought of putting it up for public debate and legislative oversight is repugnant to them.
All this is to say that I only spent a short time with these women, but our shared love of travel and meeting new people opened us up to wonderful conversations and a free exchange of ideas and information. I know couchsurfing isn’t for everyone, but it’s been a great way for me to travel without leaving my living room, just by hosting people visiting from all over the world. I highly recommend it if you’re considering hosting or surfing. You can also go to group outings in your hometown if you want to meet likeminded folk but can’t open up your home.
ice cream break
Finally, it’s fun! I think I made it sound a bit like a UN summit, but we had brunch, wandered around Millennium Park, picked out shiny souvenirs, and had ice cream in the shade while people watching. In other words, I had a relaxing weekend with friends. They just happened to be new friends from far-flung lands.
Images 1 and 3 courtesy of Shushanik. Image 2 is mine.A Sailor’s Life for Me?
I’ve traveled by plane, train, and automobile. I’ve taken taxis, subways, horseback rides, and the English Channel ferry. But I’ve never traveled by sailboat or large ship, and I think this trip might be the time to start.
Luxury liner
Now someday Heather will convince the rest of us in the family to join her on a cruise, and that will be fun. But in the meantime, it’s possible to travel by large ship with a little less glamour but just as much comfort. You can hitch a ride with a cargo ship. When I first heard about this mode of transport, I envisioned rattling around in a vast ship full of container boxes, peeking my head out from below deck occasionally.
But the reality is much nicer: you pay for a room with its own bathroom, you dine in the officers’ mess, and there’s usually even a swimming pool on board. It actually sounds like the perfect way for me to travel; there are no more than 10 other passengers on the ship (since if there are 12 or more, they’re required to pay to have a doctor on board), and the crew is all busy with sailing the ship and looking after the cargo, which means little need to socialize and lots of time to kick back and relax. Of course, it’s more expensive to travel by ship than it is by air, because it takes many days as opposed to many hours. But the slower pace, and the endless ocean views, are appealing.
the sailing life
The other boating method popular among travelers is sailing. You can join up as part of a crew and work for passage, or you can pay a certain amount per day and sail as a passenger. I’ve been on a sailboat all of once in my life–although that was in the little harbor of a Greek island, not bad–so I’m not sure any crew would hire me on. I’m also not entirely convinced of my abilities if they did let me on, but maybe I’d be a fast learner whose muscles would be much stronger than expected? But sailing as a passenger, chipping in with cooking, rocking to sleep on the waves… I could do that.
Anyone have sailing experience and access to a sailboat this summer? Want to show me the ropes? (Ooh, I bet that’s where that phrase came from.)
The Boston Mapparium: Walking into the Center of the Earth
“You get to walk into the middle of the world! You can be inside a map! This is basically all I’ve ever wanted out of life,” I said with only slight exaggeration. Luckily, my friend Mike agreed that a three-story glass globe sounded like a good tourist destination, so I put the Mapparium on the itinerary for when I visited him in Boston over Labor Day weekend in 2010.
tourist pose!
Christian Science headquarters
Journey to the center of the earth
The Mapparium was finished in 1935 and has been refinished but not changed since then. This means that the map shows the political world as it was pre-World War II. Many countries that don’t exist anymore appear: the Soviet Union, the Belgian Congo, French Indochina. Many countries that now exist didn’t then: Israel, all the ‘stan countries. The recorded message man talks about the decision to keep the map as an historical document, rather than updating it when wars and politics redraw the borders.
And then the propaganda sets in. The recorded guide describes the story of modern history as one of humanitarian triumph and progress. I’m not against this idea on principle (although a healthy dash of “and things are messed up too” would help). But the Mapparium takes a pretty selective view of what that story arc looks like; the disembodied voice talks about how democracy saved the world, and the map lights up with democratic countries. Then we hear that some countries still need to join the democracy train, and the map lights up behind those benighted countries. Democratic countries: the United States, the UK, and… Iraq. Non-democratic countries: North Korea, China, and… France. Hmm.
France, the non-democracy
But the slightly silly presentation aside, it’s awesome to be inside the Mapparium. Rather than being in the center of the earth looking out, we’re looking at a globe turned inside-out. The colors are deep and the writing is a little like calligraphy. And it’s endlessly fascinating to look at the changeable borders from eighty years ago. Being literally surrounded by the huge, colorful world was just as lovely and strange as I’d hoped. If you’re in Boston, I recommend it!
Hometown Tourist: The Lyric Opera
Hometown Tourist is a series that hears that chipper tip, “be a tourist in your hometown!” and says, “Okay!” When friends come to visit, I like to show them a combination of standard tourist spots and the neighborhood places they’d never know to look for. Why not write about all those places? If you have suggestions on Chicago places you’d like to see covered for Hometown Tourist, add it in the comments.
For the inaugural Hometown Tourist post, I thought I’d start classy: the Lyric Opera. “Ugh, Lisa,” I hear you all groan. “How boring! And overpriced!” But dearest fellow travelers, let me assure you that it is not boring! And it doesn’t have to be too expensive! I’ve seen three operas at the Lyric over the past five years, and I’ve never spent more than $75 on a ticket. That’s no pocket change, sure, but it’s maybe twice what you’d pay for a show at The Riv, and no one will be spilling beer on you or elbowing past for a better view of the stage here.
The Civic Opera House in Chicago
As to the boring part: I was raised on a lot of different kinds of music, but opera wasn’t one of them, so it’s not like I have an ear for it. But the tunes are stirring and the singing is powerful stuff. When I saw Aida on Tuesday, there were a few moments during Hui He’s solos that actually caused me to catch my breath, they were so lovely. The stories are never too hard to follow, so even when they’re told in Italian or German, they’re easy enough to follow. The emotions expressed onstage would be overblown if they were spoken in a play, but they take on more gravity in song form, and it becomes clear that the only way to truly express love or heartbreak is to devote an aria to it.
Right, so: opera can be riveting stuff, and it can be enjoyed without breaking the bank. Where do you go to see opera? In Chicago, there are a few companies that put on shows, but the biggest, most established one is the Lyric Opera. They have their own building on the Chicago River, and it is beautiful. It was built in 1929, and when they renovated it from 1993 to 1996, they kept the Art Deco style. This means that not only are you classing it up by going to the opera, you are classing it up flapper-style. What more could you ask for?
The theater seats almost 3,600 people, and when my friend Hannah and I were there on Tuesday, it looked to be just about sold out. On a Tuesday night! That’s a lot of music and theater lovers in Chicago, which warms my artsy heart.
That's a lot of aria appreciators
Where is it: Civic Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, on the northwest corner of Madison and Wacker
When to go: Weekday shows are cheaper, straight up. If you have a job that isn’t 9-5, they even have matinees, which are much cheaper. The season runs October through April, and show runs overlap.
What to see: Whatever your heart desires! If you wait past opening night, you can read reviews and see if something sounds particularly good. For example, Show Boat is getting raves this year. The only downside to this strategy is that tickets will be few and far between by the time the show run starts.
Cost: Tickets range from $35 to $200. Full-time students can get $20 tickets to some shows.
Some practical tips:
- Unless you are an opera buff, you probably aren’t familiar with the various shows. (I definitely am not.) Do a little research beforehand; I always thought of opera as solos alternating with big choral numbers, so I was disappointed that Tristan und Isolde never had more than six people on stage at once. I listened to clips of operas before buying tickets this season, and found that Aida had a lot of choruses, so I went with that one. (And it did not disappoint. There were easily over 100 people on stage at one point on Tuesday, including dancers who really livened things up during the instrumental portions of the show.)
- They are obsessive about starting on time here, so do not be late! The ushers will shut you out until intermission if you are late, so give yourself enough time to float elegantly up the stairs to your seat.
- Speaking of seating, unless you’re shelling out, you’re probably going to be in either the First or the Upper Balcony. Try to get a seat closer to the front of the balcony, because it can get pretty claustrophobic at the back, with the balcony above crowding in on you and the rows of people in front of you partially obstructing your view of the stage. In fact, the Upper Balcony is less claustrophobic, so if you are looking at seats in the back of the Upper Balcony versus seats in the back of the First Balcony, I’d recommend going against instinct and choosing the Upper Balcony seats. You’ll get a clearer view and save money, too!
Oh look, I made a 30-second video of Tuesday’s trip to the opera.
Running the Numbers: My Top 3 Money Mistakes while Planning for a RTW Trip
Here is a shameful secret: I’ve been planning to do some version of a trip around the world for 10 years, and seriously looking at where I want to go for 5, but I didn’t start making any real saving decisions til 3 years before I planned to leave. And I didn’t invest serious money til about a year and a half out. Spoiler alert: this was not smart planning. So although it pains me to admit it, here are the top 3 stupid money mistakes I made while planning for this RTW trip.
Would that this were my personal bank account
1. I didn’t automatically deduct from my paycheck until last year.
My parents had told me since college that the best way to save consistently is to have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and put into savings. This made sense to me, but my first post-college job was a classic publishing starter position in that I made less than I spent (and I only spent on rent, utilities, food, and the occasional movie out). So I was going into debt paying back loans, and by the time I got a decent-paying job in the city, I had enough debt that my new paycheck went mostly toward paying that off for a couple years.
I then looked at automatically deducting from my paycheck and putting it in my savings, but my company doesn’t deduct percentages (like 90% to checking, 10% to savings), only exact amounts. Since I infrequently work overtime that changes the amount of my income, that would cause headaches. I took out money from checking here and there and called it good, but of course that meant I wasn’t saving as much as I should have been, and not as consistently. It wasn’t until last year that I realized, hey, I could let the whole paycheck go into checking, then set it up so the bank automatically moved money into savings once a month. Voila.
2. I didn’t get an airline rewards card until this year.
I didn’t know I could have one! I got a Capital One credit card when I was 18, which my parents had to co-sign. They were taken off the card a few years later, but it’s still the only credit card I’ve ever had. Capital One sends me promotional stuff all the time, but never once have they sent me information on a card that gives airline rewards. None of the other major credit card companies have even spammed me with their offers, which is just an inconsiderate lack of junk mailing.
I always thought of credit cards as ways to accumulate debt, and maybe enough credit to do me good if I applied for a loan on a house or a car. I never thought of them as things that could work for me in other ways. If I’d had a rewards card, I could have enough miles for a couple of flights on my trip already! Oh well. I’m late to the game, but I’m in it. I got a United Airlines Visa and am putting all I can on it until the annual fee kicks in.
3. I didn’t set aside any money for my return to the States.
I’ve always joked that I’d go on this trip and come back broke, but I haven’t really put much thought into just how very broke I’ll be. Lots of world travelers are location independent earners, but I don’t have any freelance writing or editing gigs set up and I’ve found it a hard market to break into, so earning money on the road seems unlikely. This means it’ll be a blank slate when I get back, and depending on the kindness of loved ones until I can get set up with a job, home, etc. My parents weren’t keen to have me rent-free for long when I was 22, so they’ll probably be even less so when I’m 32!
I’ve set up an ING savings account and put a couple hundred in there. I’ll let the compound interest help me out, and make deposits as I’m able, but for now, this is the mistake that’s potentially going to cause the most trouble in the long run. Still, part of long-term travel is accepting that circumstances change all the time and there will be opportunities I’m not yet aware of. I’ll hold on to that for now.
Learn from my mistakes
There you have it! For all my big talk, I sure have been shortsighted and unresourceful in the numbers part of planning. It’s embarrassing to admit, but maybe by laying them out here for you, other travelers can learn from my mistakes. I wish someone had given me this advice years ago, so I’m passing it on in true pay it forward style.
(Money joke!)
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