January… time to plan travels (Part II)

Map courtesy of Worldmapper (Creative Commons Licence)

This is the continuation of my post of January 27th. All the comments from my blogging friends are very much appreciated. Comments feed my blog and give me more ideas for future posts. One of the comments, a question really, was from “loveable_homebody” who asked: “Why do you think you have always had wanderlust?” I thought about this for a while and believe it is a combination of several things. When I was a child staying at my grand-parents' house there were few toys so my grandpa would bring me a small suitcase full of postcards, old and new, from many regions of France, Europe and the world. I would spend hours looking at them and ask questions about all these far-away places and dream about them. Click on the following pictures to enlarge them.

Vintage Postcards – from top left : Chateau de Ramezay, Montreal, Canada – The Old Arsenal and the Arno River, Pisa, Italy – West Block House. Tartar Wall, Beijing, China – The New Medersa, Algiers, Algeria – Dal Lake, Kashmir, India – Driveway in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

When I went to Turkey at 5 years of age I was allowed to roam free on the ship as my mother was mostly below deck - sea sick. I loved the freedom and independence. When I came back to our apartment in Paris I looked at all the postcards, my stamp collection, maps and dreamed again of many travels to come. I was bitten by the travel bug.

He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left. -Chinese proverb


Flight Toward the Sea, 1968, Painting by Giorgio de Chirico, Italian, 1888-1978

From childhood some persons know that they want to be a doctor, an actor or a football player – I always wanted to travel. Some people stay close to home – going to other places do not tempt them and they are content to stay at home. That is fine. We are all unique with different interests. Mine is to move and see new towns, new countries and have new experiences. I always come back with something I did not know before, with a new appreciation of our world and some images that will stay in my mind. For example, how could you explain what a cup of coffee tastes like if you never had one? Would you know what it tastes like by watching a National Geographic show on TV about a Kenya coffee plantation? Would you know what it tastes like by looking at the picture of a coffee bean? No – you would have to taste it yourself – try it black or with milk, with sugar or not, strong or weak, as is or as flavored coffee or even iced, then you would know.



Among other things, I wanted to see how it felt to ride a camel in Africa, go on a slow boat on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, ride an elephant, visit Mykonos Island in Greece out of season, take part in the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial celebration in New Orleans and visit the French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. These I did. These experiences will reverberate throughout my life. It takes time and tenacity to travel frugally. It helps to have flexible travel plans and be open to various way of travel – and watch for sales.

from top left: Elephant riding in Chaing-Mai, Thailand - Slow boats on the Mekong River, Laos – Empty street in Mykonos Island in November , Greece – Street musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana – St Pierre panorama, St Pierre et Miquelon islands.

Since my parents were in France I would go and visit them, off season. One year I was invited to an event in Pisa, Italy. Instead of flying directly to Paris I found a flight, costing the same, on British Airways going from Atlanta to Paris but with a free stop in London. From London I booked a flight on a low cost airline, Ryan Air, to Pisa which at the time costs about 30 British Pounds one way. While in Pisa I stayed in a small hotel and took trains to visit Florence and Lucca in Tuscany, and then I flew back to London and thence to Paris. It cost a fraction of what I would have had to pay if I had planned an Atlanta Paris Pisa trip, but it took planning to coordinate it all. Do not disdain train travel. The rail system in Europe and many other countries is very efficient and inexpensive – it provides safe and economical ways to visit expensive cities. For example there is a quick train trip between Nice in France and Monte Carlo in Monaco – or a 1 hour 20 minutes train between Paris and Brussels, Belgium ($48) or a 2 hour 10 minutes train between Paris and London (with many special sales and passes.) There are even some fares which include a car rental for a couple of days at the destination city.

All my methods are hard to describe in a post like this – it would be too long and boring to read. I check many travel sites and budget airlines. I’ll fly to another country and from there get a local budget flight, or take a train or a bus. I also check to see if there are any “secret flights” available. Secret flights are unusual routes flown by international airlines. For example to travel from New York to Frankfurt, Germany, you could take a regular US airline or you could take Singapore Airlines stopping in Newark on their way to Frankfurt – this might be much less expensive. Going to Dubai I flew with a foreign airline going from Chicago to Australia, but stopping in Dubai. Then after a week in Dubai I took a round trip on a local airline to go back to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The trip was about half or less than I would have paid using conventional methods. I also used an airline “consolidator” who is a wholesaler to the public.

Photo of camel watching me taking its picture in Dubai (you can see my shadow.) Click to enlarge.

For all purchases, including food, medicine, gas and to pay my telephone and other bills I use a couple of credit cards which offer frequent flyer miles (on any airlines.) I pay the cards off each month but the miles accumulate quickly. We will redeem our frequent flyer miles for our next flight overseas, not use cash. For example in 2005 we had free flights (by redeeming our frequent flyer miles) to go to St Petersburg, Russia, and were allowed one stop. Since reading Out of Africa I wished to visit Karen Blixen’s (the author) home in Denmark so I wanted to stop in Copenhagen. There were no flights on that airline out of Copenhagen to St Petersburg. I searched and finally found a flight on Czech Airlines going to Prague and connecting with a flight to St Petersburg; Czech Airlines was a partner airline, so no added cost. Before going to Russia I had researched and found that renting an apartment would be much more advantageous than going to a hotel. We rented the apartment which was centrally located (costing about $50 a night) then took buses to get around. We looked so much like locals that Russians from out of town asked me directions for the bus to the Hermitage Museum – and I knew which one it was since we had already been there (I speak a little Russian – not much.)

Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood, St Petersburg, Russia and Peterhof the Great Palace, The Blue Drawing Room

A point to make, when overseas, is to look like a local, not a tourist. I always buy something at a local grocery store to get their plastic bag and place my camera and maps in it. I carry a local newspaper; wear no blue jeans or tee-shirts with ads on them. I never have had a bad experience in all my years of traveling. I am always open to new trips. I subscribe to travel sites which send emails on travel deals – here are a few: SmarterTravel.com, http://www.travelzoo.com, http://www.farecompare.com/, http://www.hotwire.com/index.jsp, as well as various airlines. I also receive emails from cruise discounters such as http://www.vacationstogo.com/, and travel info and deals from http://www.budgettravel.com/?wpisrc=newsletter. When fares are high I use a travel consolidator like http://consolidatorwebfares.ezgds.com/. I also subscribe to motel and car rental emails advertising special offers. A couple of years ago my family wished to spend a week on a nice beach in Florida so we could all enjoy our first grand-child. Instead of lodging at a hotel or motel I used the Vacation Rental by Owners site http://www.vrbo.com/. We rented a beautiful condo, on the beach, and at an advantageous price.

Views from our condo in Indian Shores, Florida (near Tampa)

A voyage of discovery does not have to always be in another state or country. Now that I am retired I take great pleasure in discovering parks, historical sites or little towns close to my home. When we only had a couple weeks of vacation a year then we wanted to go as far away as we could, but when time is open, that is when we can discover the charms of our own area. If we place our town in a 100 mile circle on a map we’ll see that there are many places we do not know and maybe quite enchanting. And as Robert Louis Stevenson said “…For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move …”

Wormsloe Plantation State Park, Savannah, Georgia (photo courtesy Savannah Visitors Center)

To be an independent shoestring traveler takes time and work but the rewards are great. We meet more locals by staying in small hotels and eating in local-style restaurants. We rarely shop but we look – I usually buy postcards, they are inexpensive, unbreakable and take little space. Sometimes it is logistically more feasible to take part in a tour, but we can still manage to have some independent time. When we were in Tunis last November it was faster and easier to take the bus tour as we did not have much time there. But while the guide was escorting the tour to a carpet shop in the Medina Bazaar in Tunis I asked if I could leave for ½ hour. Then I went further into the bazaar by myself and explored before returning to the tour.

Carpet shop in Medina bazaar,Tunis, Tunisia.

Some important points I follow are to treat people and places with respect, be friendly and courteous. Special treatment should not be expected because one is American or European. I stay aware of the culture, environment and local customs of the country visited and try to be patient and flexible. I don’t get suspicious or scared and don’t let fears make the decisions for me. Everything has always been and will be fine.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-J. R. R. Tolkien, English 1892-1973


Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, painting by David Caspar Friedrich, German 1774-1880