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[travelguy4444]

Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo?

Posted: 5/2/2019 | May 2nd, 2019

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse writes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s an important topic I can’t adequately cover, so I brought in an expert to share her advice for other women travelers to help cover the topics important and specific to them! In this month’s article, she shows us how solo travelers can deal with traveling as an introvert!

Recently, I traveled to Oakland to attend a birthday brunch. I didn’t know anyone besides the birthday girl. As an introvert, situations like that are hard for me; I don’t like strangers.

Per usual, I was pretty uncomfortable at first, choosing to stick close to the one person I knew and to kill time by slowly pouring myself a coffee and eating a fruit plate at tortoise speed.

But, as time passed, I began conversing with one new person, then another, and then almost everyone who was there. I met truly interesting and friendly people, and by the end of it, I was so glad that I went and that I stayed.

When I’m at home, though, I tend to put off going out to do simple things that involve personal interactions, like grocery shopping, until the last minute. It can get pretty ridiculous, to be honest.

Yet on the road it’s so much easier to get out and explore and especially to meet new people. Why is that?

In a word: dopamine.

According to professors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long in The Molecule of More, dopamine, which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior, is what pushes us to try new things. In addition, researchers Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel found, through MRI scans, that the reward center of our brain is stimulated more by novelty than familiarity.

Therefore, we are hardwired to explore and crave newness. It’s the anticipation of the unknown — and how exciting it could be — that encourages us to go beyond our comfort zones.

So, while it can be difficult for introverts to approach people and venture outside to do routine things at home, where everything is familiar, when we’re on the road we have dopamine on our side.

This scientific explanation makes sense to me. When I’m traveling and experience a moment of true novelty, I feel like I’m riding a natural high, something more pleasurable than I could ever try to manufacture. Newness feels good, so traveling feels good, and being an extrovert in these moments comes naturally.

So just know that even if you tend to be shy and uninterested in going to random house parties or even the grocery store at home, you may find that you have renewed energy for meeting people (and feeding yourself) on the road. It helps tremendously that most other people are also feeling that dopamine rush from traveling, so they’re in a more approachable state, too.

I used to joke that at home in Southern California I had no idea how to make new friends. Do I just walk up to them at a café and ask what they like to do during their free time?

The truth is, on the road, the answer is “yes.” It’s often that simple. Travelers are by and large more receptive and friendlier than most of us are probably used to back home. Since we’re all getting dopamine rewards for meeting new people and exploring new places, it becomes easier for both parties to be more open on the road.

I used to worry that I’d fear approaching new people, but I rarely even have to start a conversation. If all else fails, “Where are you from?” is a perfectly acceptable way to break the ice, an easy question that everyone has an answer to. I’ve had random bus, hostel, and café conversations that have turned into lifelong friendships, and I’ve had others that only served to entertain me for the afternoon; both are of value, and I never know which I might get.

I love having no itinerary and no fixed plans. This is one of the gifts of solo traveling. That said, booking activities ahead of time and paying some kind of deposit can be of help to introverts who might otherwise find reasons why they should stay inside. I’m sure my fellow introverts recognize the scenario of waking up the day of a tour you’ve booked, wishing you could cancel, but since you’ve already paid, you end up going and having the best time. Having some skin in the game makes us way more likely to honor our commitments.

Personally, it’s tempting to cancel even if it’s something fun that I honestly want to do. If I didn’t prebook things in life, I’d never exercise, dive, or explore. It would be too easy to keep putting them off.

For example, I booked an island excursion on Nusa Penida and a cooking class in Chiang Mai, and led a group hiking tour of Torres del Paine in Patagonia that the women participants prepaid for. Many of them tended to be more introverted, but in a group activity like that, other solo travelers tend to show up, which helps everyone to be more social and open.

I’ve also found that staying in an accommodation that is social by nature, like a yoga or meditation retreat, or heading to places that are known for an activity I love, like scuba diving in Indonesia, can make my introversion easier to handle. Knowing that the others there will also be into the activity that I’m into gives us common ground, something to talk about, and the activity itself allows us to bond over a week or two. Some of my favorite people are those whom I met on a dive boat or week of deep spiritual practice.

Though all of these are “hacks” for becoming a more extroverted traveler, we introverts tend to get our energy from time spent alone. At some point we need some “me” time — and this is why solo travel can be so wonderful. Part of the beauty of solo travel is the time that you get to spend with yourself. You won’t disappoint anyone by needing time alone, nor will you have to push anyone away or force yourself into an activity you’re not really feeling.

I used to get down on myself if I went a few days without meeting new people. I’d fret over moments that I felt I’d “wasted” by reading in bed or chilling out for the day. Now I realize how important those days are too. I get to recharge by taking it easy and practicing self-care. And that’s a big reason why we travel too, isn’t it? We want to treat ourselves.

So please don’t feel bad if you’re traveling and you just don’t feel like going out that day, don’t want to be social, or feel like getting room service. It’s okay to do those things if it’s what you feel you need.

Listening to yourself is the most important part of solo traveling, anyway. This is something I’ve learned as a solo traveler in my 30s, and it’s made me enjoy traveling even more.

Knowing that you’ll have dopamine on your side, that you will meet people more easily on the road, and that you’ll be able to make real-time decisions about what’s best for you, you’ll be better off making the leap and traveling solo.

Conquering Mountains: The Guide to Solo Female Travel

For a complete A-to-Z guide on solo female travel, check out Kristin’s new book, Conquering Mountains. Besides discussing many of the practical tips of preparing and planning your trip, the book addresses the fears, safety, and emotional concerns women have about traveling alone. It features over 20 interviews with other female travel writers and travelers. Click here to learn more about the book and start reading it today!

Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to travel the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings and left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, but it’s on her list). There’s almost nothing she won’t try and almost nowhere she won’t explore. You can find more of her musings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/can-introverts-successfully-travel-solo/

[travelguy4444]

Backpacking Cambodia: 3 Suggested Itineraries for Your Trip

Posted: 5/1/2019 | May 1st, 2019

Cambodia: it’s full of warm and friendly people, beautiful coastlines, a lively nightlife, and it has a growing foodie scene. It’s also one of the cheapest countries in the world.

I didn’t have high expectations when I first visited in 2006. Back then, all I knew about Cambodia was its awful history involving the Khmer Rouge and that it was home to Angkor Wat.

But I was blown away by the people and their warmth, spirit, and hospitality; the beautiful natural scenery; and the country’s long history. It was wonderful, and I ended up staying weeks longer than I thought I would (I especially loved Phnom Penh). I returned often, including spending over a month there when I was writing my first book. (It made for a great base of operations.)

In the last decade or so, Cambodia has grown by leaps and bounds. Sleepy little towns I visited before are now megacities, tourists (especially Russians and Chinese) visit en masse, there are more ATMs (there was exactly one in the country when I first went), and there’s a growing expat and foodie scene.

Cambodia still has problems, but it’s a lot more cosmopolitan today than when I first went.

What should you do when you visit Cambodia?

How should you plan your trip?

Below are some itineraries that include the best destinations in Cambodia. You can use them as a guideline to help you make the most of your trip!

What to See and Do in Cambodia: A One-Week Itinerary

Day 1 – Phnom Penh

The capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh has a Wild West ambiance, with dusty streets and a “devil may care” atmosphere. It has a few good attractions and an up-and-coming foodie scene.

The main attraction is the Royal Palace. Start there, and don’t miss the beautiful flower gardens and the Silver Pagoda, whose floor is made up of more than 5,000 silver tiles; inside is an emerald-covered Buddha and a diamond-covered Maitreya Buddha. It also has murals around its outer wall that tell the story of the Ramayana.

On the palace grounds are five stupas, with the two largest to the east containing the ashes of King Norodom and King Udung (the two most famous kings of modern Cambodia) and a statue of King Norodom on horseback. Admission is $10 USD for foreigners.

After seeing the palace, learn about the country’s tragic, not-too-distant history. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a former school where the Khmer Rouge interrogated and tortured people in the 1970s. You’ll see rusty beds and torture devices, in sharp contrast to the beautiful trees and lovely jasmine smell in the gardens. Admission is $5 USD for adults and $3 USD for anyone under 18.

Afterward, head to the Killing Fields, about 14km from Tuol Sleng. Although a visit to Choeung Ek (the best-known site) may not be the most cheerful way to spend an afternoon, it makes for a hallowed and memorable experience, a testament to the dangers of uncontested power. You won’t believe the memorial building in the center that is filled with skulls. Admission is only $3 USD; expect to pay at least $15 USD for a return-trip tuk-tuk ride.

(Tip: Visit the museum before heading to the Killing Fields, as it will open your eyes to the atrocities that happened here.)

Where to Stay in Phnom Penh: Sla Boutique Hostel – This is a pretty nice hostel not far from restaurants, bars, and attractions. It’s clean, and the beds are comfy and have privacy curtains. The staff (especially Mr. Star) are super friendly, and they can really help you plan your trip.

Day 2 – Phnom Penh

Spend your second day wandering around the city, and start by seeing the Independence Monument, designed by architect Vann Molyvann and inaugurated in 1958. It was created to mark Cambodia’s independence from French rule, though it also serves as a de facto war memorial. It’s one of the biggest landmarks in the city and a good place to start your day.

If you’re in the city on a weekend, try to catch an architectural walking tour with KA Tours, which has excellent guides who are students or experts in architecture, plus they’re not very expensive at around $15.

Check out the Cambodian Living Arts Center, a traditional dance school and performance center where you can watch students in training and see traditional live theatre. This is a fun way to spend a couple of hours while learning about the artistic traditions of the country. You can also take part in a workshop, which last around 90 minutes and cost $15 USD per person.

Make sure you stroll along Sisowath Quay on the Mekong River. The 3km walkway is busy and full of restaurants, bars, cafés, and shops.

Day 3 – Sihanoukville

Get an early start and take a five-hour bus ride to Sihanoukville, named after the ruling prince of Cambodia in 1964. It was a lazy beach town until about 2010, when it took off with travelers (and tons of Chinese and Russian tourists on package tours) because of its white-sand beaches, nearby deserted islands, excellent diving, and delicious seafood. Its varied nightlife filled with cheap booze makes it the premier backpacker party city in Cambodia.

If you’re looking to soak up some sun, Independence Beach and Otres Beach are probably your best bets. Serendipity Beach used to be a great party spot, but there’s a lot of Chinese development going on now, so I wouldn’t stay there.

Where to Stay in Sihanoukville: Monkey Republic – This hostel is awesome. It’s a happening place, with a bar, restaurant, and pool. The staff is really friendly, and they host a lot of events. (Say hi to Aaron for me!) They can also organize a lot of day trips for you too.

Day 4 – Sihanoukville

Today is a day for day trips.

From Sihanoukville, hop on a boat and take a 45-minute ride to Koh Rong. While you can stay overnight, if you’re pressed for time, you can do it in a day trip. The beaches here are way better than on the mainland (and a lot less polluted). Snorkeling day trips cost approximately $21 USD and include lunch and equipment; there are PADI-certified schools in the area that offer a variety of different dive trips for one or more days.

If you don’t feel like heading to Koh Rong, you could book motorbike trip into Bokor National Park (as well as longer, multiday trips if you’re interested). There, you can hike through a great rainforest or see the atmospheric ruins of the French aristocracy for whom Bokor was a big draw back in the day. You’ll have some amazing views and find ruins, waterfalls, and temples all around.

You could also do a day trip to Kampot and the pepper fields in that area too.

Day 5 – Siem Reap

It’s gonna be a busy travel day. From Sihanoukville, you’ll need to return to Phnom Penh and then get on another bus to Siem Reap. I recommend Capitol Tours. It’s a 12-hour ride, so it’ll be evening by the time you get to Siem Reap.

(Note: It’s better to take the night bus so as not to waste a day. You won’t sleep well, but you also won’t lose a day!)

Siem Reap is located on the northeastern side of Tonle Sap Lake and is the main access to Angkor Wat. The center remains a rural old town, with French-style houses and shops. The area around the Old Market is crowded with locals and foreigners all day long.

Where to Stay in Siem Reap: Topsky Hostel – This hostel offers basic accommodations in a pretty quiet area that’s not far from the action. Try to get a lower bunk with a privacy curtain. The friendly staff will help you arrange a tuk-tuk and activities too.

Day 6 – Siem Reap

Spend your day at Angkor Wat, the ancient city that was the center of the Khmer Empire that once ruled most of Southeast Asia. The temple was built in the 12th century and covers over 500 acres.

The most popular temples are Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Phrom, and Angkor Thom. I would recommend getting a multiday pass so you can visit some of the outer temples where there are fewer visitors. You can hire a tuk-tuk for the day for around $20-25 USD or rent bicycles and explore on your own.

Angkor Wat is open daily from 5am to 6pm. Admission is $37 USD per person for a day pass, $62 USD for a three-day pass, and $72 USD for a seven-day pass.

Day 7 – Siem Reap

Enjoy your last day in Cambodia by exploring more of the Siem Reap area. Head over to the Angkor Wat complex for several more hours in the morning and then head over to astonishing Banteay Srei.

Known as “the city of women,” this temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and features a number of outstanding red sandstone statues. (You need an Angkor Wat Pass to visit.)

If you have time, visit Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake. It is 52km (32 miles) from Siem Reap. Sailing down the river and around the lake gives you a look at how closely Cambodian life is tied to this major waterway. Tours start around $2.50 USD per person.

What to See and Do in Cambodia: A Two-Week itinerary

Want to spend more time in Cambodia? Great! You should! There are tons of other places to visit. Here are my suggestions:

Days 1 & 2 – Phnom Penh Follow the Phnom Penh itinerary from above.

Day 3 & 4 – Sihanoukville Follow the Sihanoukville itinerary from above.

Day 5 & 6 – Koh Rong

Head out to Koh Rong, which got its name after the legend of a giant King Kong–like ape that once called the island home. It’s a 45-minute trip from Sihanoukville and a great place to relax on the beach or go snorkeling. There are a lot of accommodation options, and it’s a popular spot with backpackers.

Day trips costs around $25 USD and include lunch and snorkeling equipment, but since you have the time, spend a few nights here relaxing and enjoying beach life.

There are also other islands nearby if you want to stay longer and explore, including Koh Rong Samloem, which is becoming something of a backpacker paradise (there’s even a Full Moon Party there now).

Days 7 & 8 – Kep

In the morning, travel by bus to Kep, which is about two hours from Sihanoukville. This quaint beach town and fishing village is the quiet version of Sihanoukville: a nice place to relax near the ocean but without a party atmosphere. It’s famous for its pepper crab and empty beaches.

Consider taking two full days here. Sure, it’s quite sleepy and there’s not a lot to do, but it’s the perfect place to relax, eat all the delicious crabs the city is famous for, and read a book. You can also spend some time on nearby Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay) too, a secluded and charming escape from the world if you’re looking to disconnect. Basic bungalows can be rented for under $10 USD per night.

Where to Stay in Kep: Khmer House Hostel – Kep is pretty spread out, so wherever you stay, make sure you rent a bike or scooter. This hostel is a good option as it’s not far from the Crab Market.

Day 9 – Kampot

The southern region of Cambodia is filled with pepper farms where you can learn about the history of the spice, see how it is grown, and pick up what is considered some of the finest pepper in the world.

I’d spend one night in Kampot. It’s another quiet town on the coast. Most people come here to enjoy the scenic riverside views as well as the rolling hills that surround the city. The area used to be a getaway for the French, so you’ll see old French architecture around.

At night, the street near the old bridge is lined with fruit shake vendors. Try a million. The city is famous for them.

Also, if you only do one thing in this entire itinerary, make sure it’s eating the ribs at The Rusty Keyhole. They are some of the best ribs I’ve ever had in my entire life. You have to order them the day before. You’ll also get healthy side of mashed potatoes and coleslaw too. It’s one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I still dream of it.

Where to Stay in Kampot: The Magic Sponge – This is one of my favorite hostels in Cambodia. Make sure you book early, as it tends to sell out. It’s a really nice, relaxed guesthouse where you’ll get your own bed (not a bunk). You’ll feel at home here, and it’s a short walk to the center of town. The dorm rooms are very clean. They also have a little mini-golf course too.

Day 10 – Kampot

Today, hire hire a tuk-tuk driver to explore the Kampot area. The Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple has a religious shrine inside, or you can head out and spend the day in Bokor, as Kampot is relatively close to the park.

Days 11, 12, & 13 – Siem Reap Follow the Siem Reap itinerary from above. Angkor Wat is best seen slowly, so use your days to explore it as much as possible. There are a lot of out-of-the-way temples to visit that are free of crowds.

Day 14 – Siem Reap

On your last day in Cambodia, why not take a cooking class? The class sizes tend to be around six people, and you will learn to prepare three different meals, as well as get recipe cards at the end. Prices start around $20 USD per person; local guesthouses can help arrange a class.

What to See and Do in Cambodia: A Three-Week Itinerary

Have even more time for Cambodia? Good! Cambodia has a lot more to it than the major spots on the backpacker trail.

Days 1, 2, & 3 – Phnom Penh and Kirirom National Park Follow the above suggestions, but also head out to Kirirom National Park for a day trip. This park has all sorts of walking trails, mountain biking trails, waterfalls, and a few lakes. It’s a good place to go to take a break from the city.

The park is around a two-hour drive from the city, so you’ll need to hire a driver for the day. The best way to do this is to find some travelers to join you so you can share a ride, which will cost around $80 for the day.

Days 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 – Sihanoukville and the Islands Follow the above suggestions but at a much slower pace!

Days 9, 10 & 11 – Kep and Rabbit Island Follow the above suggestions for Kep, but head out to Rabbit Island for a rustic island getaway.

Days 12 & 13 – Kampot Follow the above suggestions!

Days 14, 15, & 16 – Siem Reap Follow the above suggestions!

Day 17 – Koh Ker

For a fun day trip from Siem Reap, head to Koh Ker, located around 2.5 hours from town. Koh Ker was briefly the capital of the Khmer Empire, and many of the temples here are over 1,000 years old. It’s a massive archeological site located in the jungle, and it sees far fewer tourists than Siem Reap.

There are no public buses that go there (the roads were only paved a few years ago), so you’ll have to arrange transportation via your hostel or hotel.

Day 18 – Phnom Kulen

For another fun day trip, head to Phnom Kulen, considered the country’s most sacred mountain. It’s located just 50km from Siem Reap and offers some amazing jungles, hiking, and picturesque waterfalls where you can take dip to beat the heat. You can easily spend a day here. If you head up to the summit, there are some great views as well as a large reclining Buddha statue. Try to arrive early as the park fills up by lunchtime. Admission to the park is $20 USD.

Day 19 – Battambang

From Siem Reap, you can take a three-hour bus to Battambang. Or try taking a riverboat on Tonle Sap for a unique experience (there is one boat per day, with tickets costing around $20 USD per person).

When you arrive, you’ll discover Cambodia without the tourism. Get familiar with Battambang by exploring the town on foot (or by tuk-tuk). Check out the Phsar Boeung Choeuk and Phsar Naht markets. You’ll also want to visit the gorgeous pagodas and temples, such as Wat Pippitharam (near the Old Market), Wat Bovil, Wat Kandal, and Wat Damreay Sar.

In the evening, check out the Battambang Circus. The show is put on by students at a Cambodian nonprofit arts school, so your donations go to a good cause.

Where to Stay in Battambang: Sophea Hostel – This is a good place to meet locals and make some friends. It’s family-run, and they try to make you feel at home. The facilities are pretty basic, but typical, dorms. There’s a nice garden and sitting area. While there’s no restaurant on-site, there are plenty of nearby options.

Day 20 – Battambang

Take it easy this morning by touring the town a bit more on foot. Check out the colonial architecture along the waterfront and the governor’s residence. This building from the early 1900s is not open, but you can marvel at the exterior.

While you’re wandering, don’t miss the Art Deco central market building and the Victory swimming pool (where you can take a dip if you’re in the mood). You may want to visit the Battambang Museum; admission is just $1 USD, and you’ll learn a lot about the history of the area.

After lunch, you should grab a tuk-tuk and head a bit out of town to check out Phnom Sampeu. Take about an hour to climb to the monastery on the hill. You’ll also find some caves in the area with Buddhist temples in them. There’s also another cave at the foot of Phnom Sampeu; this is where you want to be around dusk, when millions of bats fly out of the cave in search of food. It’s an incredible sight!

Day 21 – Siem Reap or Phnom Penh

Make your way back to one of these towns, depending on where your flight is leaving from. Enjoy the bus ride, knowing it’s your last in Cambodia (at least for now)!

*** I always love my time in Cambodia. It lacks the polish of Thailand, making travel here a little more rustic and challenging.

But more amazing than any of the country’s sights and activities are the people. I’ve always found them to be incredibly welcoming. Even with so much darkness clouding their recent history, Cambodians always go above and beyond, making any trip here a memorable one.

But don’t take my word for it. Come and see this incredibly country for yourself.

And let these suggested Cambodia itineraries help you plan your trip!

Book Your Trip to Cambodia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. My favorite places to stay are:

Sla Boutique Hostel (Phnom Penh) – This is a classy hostel not far from restaurants, bars, and attractions. It’s clean, and the beds are really comfy!

Topsky Hostel (Siem Reap) – This hostel is in a quiet area and offers basic accommodation. The staff will help you arrange a tuk-tuk and activities.

Monkey Republic (Sihanoukville) – This hostel is a happening place and always good for a aprty. They have a bar, restaurant, and pool making it really easy to realx and meet people. The staff is really friendly, and they can also organize some day trips for you too.

Sophea Hostel (Battambang) – This is a family-run hostel and they doo a good job of making you feel at home. The facilities are basic but there’s a nice garden and sitting area. While there’s no restaurant on-site, there are plenty of nearby options.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use to save money, and I think they will help you too!

Want More Information on Cambodia? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Cambodia for even more planning tips!

Photo credit: 14, 15

The post Backpacking Cambodia: 3 Suggested Itineraries for Your Trip appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/cambodia-travel-itineraries/

[travelguy4444]

TravelCon Update: Why You Should Be in the Room Where it Happens

Posted: 4/29/2019 | April 29th, 2019

TravelCon is now only TWO months away!

This is going to the biggest travel media event of the year and the only one that focuses on all sides of the industry: traditional writing, blogging, YouTube, Instagram, and photography.

If you’ve been thinking of getting into the travel industry, don’t wait much longer as we expect to sell out again. We only have 130 tickets left and, when we sell out, that’s it.

Here’s a recap of last year’s event:

  So how will TravelCon help you?

Think of the millions of blogs, Instagram accounts, vlogs, and freelance writers out there.

How do you stand out among them all?

How do you become more than just another email in someone’s inbox?

By becoming a face.

What gets lost in this age of online hyper-connectedness is that old-fashioned face-to-face networking wins. When people know you personally, they are more willing to work with you. When they’ve talked to you and shared a beer with you, they WILL open your email.

Because you are no longer just another random stranger on the Internet.

You’re a cool — and REAL— person.

Someone they want to work with.

For example, last year, one of our attendees struck up a conversation with a rep from Czech Tourism — and ended up producing an ad campaign for them:

(Great video, huh?)

That’s the power of in-person events.

It allows you to talk in a way online pitching and communication can’t.

You’re only as successful as your network — and that network is strongest when it’s based on real-life connections.

And, if you’re worried you’re too much of a beginner, an attendee came last year who knew she wanted to do something in the travel industry — but she wasn’t sure what. Well, now she is running a successful tour company based on what she learned!

All within less than a year.

***

This event is going to be bigger and better than last year’s, and with only two months left to go, there’s not much time to get your ticket and make your plans. Over the last few weeks, TravelCon preparation has kicked into high gear:

1. We released our initial schedule. (There’s still a few more talks and speakers on their way.)

2. We signed our Friday night band! (I’m going to keep it a secret, but they were featured in an Apple ad!)

3. And, finally, we signed on more sponsors (with more on the way), including:

Adthrive AdThrive is the leading ad monetization platform for high-quality, mid-sized digital publishers, empowering content creators to make a living doing what they love while the company manages the advertising for them.

Bucketlist.Club BucketList.Club is a startup aiming to help its members accomplish more of their bucket list goals by introducing them to influencers and businesses with relevant experiences and offerings. We developed a business model and features that help Influencers promote their content and identify commercial opportunities, all while they inspire others with their content.

ConvertKit ConvertKit are creators who help creators earn a living online. They have the best email marketing software on the web. Their features are built by bloggers for bloggers to help online businesses grow their biggest asset: their email list.

Exercore LLC Our flagship product called the Eustachi is a first to market product designed to help anyone suffering from clogged ears by exercising their Eustachian tubes. The Eustachi helps by INSTANTLY clearing stuffy ears, anytime & anywhere using just a little air. The Eustachi is a must have for the traveler who suffers from ear problems.

Fat Tire Tours Fat Tire Tours was established in 1999 with the goal of being a bridge between the English-speaking traveler and some of the best cities in Europe. Today, with locations in 12 cities across Europe and the US, the company’s mission is to provide safe, fun, and unforgettable experiences through superior customer service that creates memories and smiles that last a lifetime.

Memphis Tourism Where in world can you visit the home of the king of rock n’ roll, bike across the Mississippi River and pay your respects at the site of Civil Rights history — only in Memphis. But the home of Blues, Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll is so much more. Memphis’s unexpected combinations create one-of-a-kind experiences.

Moon Travel Guides Founded in 1973, Moon was one of the first advocates of independent travel. Our authors are experts who have a passion for their destinations—they are women and men who are politically and culturally minded, informative, adventurous, inspiring, and have great stories to tell. They experience activities and destinations the same way our readers do — firsthand — making it possible for Moon to deliver up-to-date, reliable, and entertaining information.

Providence Historic and hip, charming and chic, Providence, Rhode Island combines the best of a quaint New England town with the amenities and sophistication of a larger city. The city’s downtown is compact and filled with innovative and eclectic restaurants, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and well-preserved architecture.

Here’s a full list of our current sponsors that will be at the event (with more to come):

We know that going to conferences can be scary. Will you meet people? Will you make friends? Will you learn enough to justify the cost?

That’s why we hold tons of networking events, host in-depth sessions with experts from the travel sphere (and other fields), and have some amazing brands and companies for you to meet and do business with.

The best connections I’ve made — and improvements to my blog — have always been the result of going to in-person events.

So come attend TravelCon in June.

Take your career to the next level — and make friends and connections that will last a lifetime.

Just click here to get your tickets today.

And, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments!

– Nomadic Matt

P.S. – If you’re looking to sponsor the event, let’s chat!

The post TravelCon Update: Why You Should Be in the Room Where it Happens appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/travelcon-update-2/

[travelguy4444]

The Ultimate List of Things to Do in Medellín

Posted: 04/19/2019 | April 19th, 2019

Once considered one of the deadliest cities in the world, Medellín has undergone a transformation over the last fifteen years that has made it one of the most modern places in all of Colombia.

The city has become a lot safer, there is a fantastic metro and cable car system that could rival the best in Europe, lots of parks, new buildings, libraries, restaurants, and a growing tech scene.

The city has changed a lot, and you can tell the residents are very proud of everything they’ve accomplished. There’s a palpable sense of possibility in Medellin. Optimism and excitement were always in the air.

Medellín is now one of “it” cities in the world. Tourists swarm it, and foreigners (especially young digital nomads) are settling and retiring here in droves. It was the most cosmopolitan and international city I visited in Colombia.

I spent close to a total of three weeks in Medellín.

If you’re looking to visit Medellín (and I don’t see why you wouldn’t be if you’re in Colombia), here is a list of my favorite things to do and see after spending so much time there:

1. Explore the Numerous Parks and Plazas

Medellín’s year-round temperate climate makes it a perfect place to spend a lot of time outdoors, where people are always lounging around and vendors are peddling food and drinks. Two must-visit parks are:

Plaza Botero – Botero was a famous artist from Medellin known for his drawing and statues of oversized people. This plaza is home to 23 Botero sculptures and is always packed with people taking photos, street performers, and artists. Located in the Old Quarter, you’ll find a couple of museums in the square too.

Parque Lleras – Located right in the center of Poblado, this park is full of people all day and night. There are street vendors, food sellers, musicians, and people drinking into the wee hours of the night. It’s a wonderful place to people-watch and one of the best places to have fun in the city!

2. Wander Parque Arvi

This park is worthy of its own entry. Located in the mountains near the city, you can take the gondola right from the subway to the park’s entrance. It’s a beautiful ride through the hills and offers some incredible views of the valley and city.

The park spans 16,000 hectares and includes trails that date back over 1,500 years. At the park entrance, you’ll find a small market as well as trails to hike. To visit, you now have to take a guided tour. It costs 5,000-7,000 COP ($1.50-2.25 USD) depending on the trail (most trails are 2-4km long). Bird-watching tours are also available.

3. Explore Jardín Botánico

The botanical gardens, a quiet retreat from the noise and chaos of the city, host numerous events, concerts, and festivals throughout the year. They cover over 14 hectares and are home to around 4,500 flowers and some 139 different bird species.

There’s also a nice (if not overpriced) restaurant in the center if you feel like spending more time here relaxing and taking in the scene.

4. See a Soccer Match

Soccer (futbol) here is religion and, if there are games when you’re here, you should really try to see one. Medellín has two local teams: Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín. Supporters of each team occupy bleachers at opposing ends of the stadium since things tend to get rowdy and violent when they are near each other. Ticket prices are well under 40,000 COP (under $12.50 USD).

5. Take a Day Trip to Guatapé

Guatapé is the most popular day-trip destination from Medellín. It’s a colorful pueblo (village) situated on the edge of a lake about two hours from town, and it’s possible to take tours of the surrounding area by speedboat or party boat (which is very popular with backpackers who spend a night or two here).

The main attraction is El Peñol, a granite monolith with over 700 concrete stairs etched in its side. For a few thousand pesos, visitors can climb to the top for breathtaking 360-degree views of the region.

Guatapé is a long day trip from Medellín (hostels in the city organize trips throughout the week), so I recommend trying to spend at least a night here so you aren’t rushed and can enjoy the area little more.

6. Take a Free Walking Tour

One of my favorite things to do when I get to a new city is to take a free walking tour. They’re perfect for getting an overview of a place while giving you access to a local expert who can answer your questions.

Real City Walking Tours has a great free tour that will give you an informative introduction to the city. Don’t do any other tours; this is the only free walking tour you need, and it’s the best in town. You’ll get a lot of information, and the guides are wonderful. Be sure to tip at the end!

7. Tour Comuna 13

This area was once the most violent part of Medellín. Murder, drugs, and violent crime were rampant (it’s still not a safe area to visit at night). You used to have to go through guards to get into this area; if you didn’t live here, you weren’t let in.

However, thanks to its street art (which was a reaction to heavy-handed police raids) there has been a huge influx of tourists. That has made part of the area safer and led to a rise in business and commerce. It’s really changed the fabric of the community. Local residents are even coming here now, figuring that if the tourists are going, it must be good!

You can visit by yourself or go on a tour (where a guide will explain the history of the area and the artists). Some of the better tour companies are:

Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour

Zippy Tour

Medellín City Tours

8. Visit the Museo de Antioquia

Founded in 1881, this interesting museum is home to numerous pre-Colombian works as well as national and international works by famous artists (there are a bunch of Boteros here too) and a wide variety of photographs and sculptures.

Cl. 52 #43, [phone], museodeantioquia.co. The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-5:30pm and Sundays 10am-4:30pm. Admission is 18,000 COP ($6 USD) per person.

9. Wander the Cementerio Museo de San Pedro

Built in 1842, this cemetery is also a museum where you can see the monuments and graves of many famous Colombians while learning about their lives and contributions. There’s a lot of large marble mausoleums and statues here. Keep an eye out for special events such as midnight tours and movie nights. The cemetery is small but it’s also close to the botanical gardens so you can do both one after the other.

Cra. 51 #68-68, [phone], cementeriosanpedro.org.co. Open daily 7:30am-5:30pm. Admission is free.

10. See the Casa de la Memoria

This museum opened in 2012 and examines the history of armed conflict in Colombia. It sheds light on the struggles the people of Colombia have had to overcome to get where they are today.

It’s a very sobering and solemn place but it offers some important insights. Don’t miss it.

Parque Bicentenario, [phone], museocasadelamemoria.gov.co. Open Tuesday-Friday 9am-6pm and weekends 10am-4pm. Admission is free, and there is also a free audio guide you can download. Guided tours are available on Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact the museum for details.

11. Visit the Museo de Arte Moderno

The Museum of Modern Art, located in a refurbished industrial building, is an awesome work of art in itself. There’s a ton of exposed area, giving it a really charming feel. Many people have a love-hate relationship with modern art (it’s not my personal favorite, I admit) but even I enjoyed my visit here.

The collection is small, but there’s also a beautiful photography section on the bottom floor. Even if it’s not your thing, it’s worth spending a couple hours here to get a sense of the modern art scene in the city.

Cra. 44 #19a-100, [phone], elmamm.org. Open Tuesday-Friday 9am-6pm, on Saturdays 10am-6pm, and Sundays 10am-5pm. Admission is 12,000 COP ($4 USD) per person.

12. Take a Food Tour

If you’re looking to taste a sample of what Medellín™ has to offer, there are a couple of food tour companies that can help. It’s a great way to get a taste for the local cuisine while learning about the country’s traditions in the process. There are plenty of options, such as street food tours from Toucan Café or more traditional local restaurant tours from Medellín City Tours. Both are good options!

Expect to pay 143,000-286,00 COP ($45-90 USD) per person.

13. Visit a Microbrewery

If you find yourself parched after an afternoon of sampling the city’s delicious cuisine, consider taking a brewery or craft beer tour to quench your thirst. There is an up-and-coming craft beer scene in Colombia, and Medellín has over 30 breweries and microbreweries. These are some of the best places to try a local beer:

3 Cordilleras runs tours Thursday and Friday evenings, offering five samples for 25,000-30,000 COP ($8-10 USD) per person.

Cerveza Premium Apóstol has a tour every Thursday at 6:30pm where you can see the brewery, taste a few drinks, and enjoy a snack in the process. Advanced booking is required, and tickets are 35,000 COP ($11 USD) per person.

20 Mission Cerveza has great beer, great food, and it’s a fun place to hang out and meet people. They don’t offer tours, but they do host music events and DJs. It’s super popular and one of the best places in town to grab a beer.

Brew House is a family-owned-and-operated brewery where you can take a tour and sample the offerings alongside their full pub menu.

Medellín Beer Factory doesn’t offer tours, though it does brew its own beer, with over 50 kinds on the menu! It’s a great place to relax with friends.

14. Visit Comuna 8

Much like Comuna 13, this area was one of the poorest in Medellín — and it still is. This district was really isolated until the city built a gondola from downtown, allowing people to get to work a lot more easily.

La Sierra runs a tour to teach people about the history of the area, and, unlike Comuna 13, it’s not overrun with tourists. It’s a small district and the tour doesn’t last long, but you get a much more authentic look at the city and its people and history than you do in Comuna 13 (where the focus is more on street art). I highly recommend it; it was one of the most insightful experiences I had in Medellín.

Finally, Don’t Do the Escobar Tour!

The locals here are not fans of Pablo Escobar. His violent life and legacy caused untold amounts of harm to the city and its population, and while it’s always good to learn about the history of a destination, glorifying this is not something I want to support. You can learn about his life online in a way that doesn’t spit in the face of the locals, many of whom don’t even speak his name. Out of respect for them, I encourage you to skip the Escobar tour.

Where to Eat in Medellín

I ate a lot in this city — and it was amazing! Here are some highlights:

Mondongo – Traditional Colombian food in a relaxed atmosphere. Try the mondongo, a traditional tripe soup. It comes with a ton of side dishes (including giant avocados). Come early, as this place get packed. Try to avoid the weekend. (Cl. 10 #38-38)

Carmen – High-end gastronomy with some of the best food in all of Colombia. It’s expensive but worth it. It was the best splurge meal I had in the country. (Cra. 36 #10a-27)

Mercado del Rio – An awesome food court offering all sorts of delicious food from dozens of vendors. There’s something for everyone here. (Cl. 24 #48-28)

20 Mission – A great microbrewery with delicious food too! Try the IPA. (Cl. 16 #43f-66)

Pergamino Café – A chill café with some of the best coffee in town. I spent a lot of time working here. They make great breakfast food, BLTs, and empenadadas. (Cra. 37 #8A-37)

37 Park – Another great bar and restaurant with a rustic outdoor garden. (Cra. 37 #8A – 4)

Hatoviejo – This is one of the best places to get traditional Colombian food. It’s pricey when compared to some of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants you’ll find throughout town. (Cl. 16 #28-60)

***

I was never bored in Medellín. In a country full of hype, this hyped-up city is all that it’s cracked up to be. It has enough activities to fill weeks on end. Combined with the low cost of travel and living, it’s no wonder more and more people are visiting the city.

This guide can help you plan your trip. And while it’s easy to get lost in Gringoland here, try to get out of Poblado or Laureles and see the locals’ side of town.

That’s where the magic of Medellín happens.

Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time. Here are suggested places to stay in Medellín:

Los Patios: This is an upscale hostel, but you get a lot of value. It’s in a great location and the staff are awesome. It’s always clean and the beds are comfy!

Happy Buddha Boutique Hostel – This is the biggest party hostel in Medellín, so if you’re looking to get crazy, this your best bet! The staff works hard to keep people happy (and drunk), including organizing drinking games, salsa classes, and pub crawls!

The Wandering Paisa – This hostel is located in the upscale area of Laureles, which is the up and coming touristy area of the city. All the dorms are covered in South American and Colombian cultural artwork by local students and each bed comes with a large locker and a privacy divider, which makes it easier to sleep.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use to save money — and I think they will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credits: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8,9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

The post The Ultimate List of Things to Do in Medellín appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/ultimate-list-medellin/

[travelguy4444]

Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How!

Updated: 04/22/19 | April 22, 2019

Earlier this year, I announced I was opening this website up to guest posters. For years, I turned away unsolicited guest posts, but, this year, I decided it was time to change that policy as I want to add more voices, opinions, stories, and tips to this site.

I want to bring in people out there who have helpful information and insight I might not have, especially now that I’m traveling a lot less.

So, if you’d like to write for this site, here are our guidelines for submissions:

What Content Do We Want?

First, what kind of submissions are we looking for? We’re interested in the following (and only the following) areas:

LGBT content: stories by transgender people, queer couples, and solo gay, lesbian, or bi travelers

Africa-related content (bonus points if it’s East or Central Africa and Egypt related)

Middle East–related content

Central Asia–related content

India-related content

China-related content

Technology- or gear-related content

Your pitches should have a focus on budget-related issues: cheap things what to do, budget accommodation, good companies or apps to use, travel hacks, or ways to save money. We want the kind of service article that will help readers travel cheaper, better, and longer.

Of course, travel stories are great too, so long as they contain a lesson or advice that can be used to help people travel.

Typical posts are 1,000-2,000 words, are super detailed, contain lots of useful links, and have tips and tricks not found elsewhere. I love insider knowledge!

How to Submit a Post

Send an email to [email protected] with the exact title “New Guest Writer Article Submission”

Include the following:

Your travel history

Your blog or channel

A link to two other guest posts you’ve done

Your topic idea(s), with suggested title(s) and description(s) of the article(s)

Here’s an example of a good email:

Hi Matt,

My name is John and I’m writing about submitting a guest post on your site. I’ve been traveling the world for ten years, with a focus on Africa. For the last six months, I’ve been traveling around East Africa as a backpacker and have a lot of resources that can help. My blog is johnsworld.com, and I’ve written some posts on the subject that can be found here and here.

My proposed topic is “How to Visit Tanzania on a Budget,” which will focus on how to get around, eat, and safari without spending a lot or money or doing an expensive tour. The idea here is to show people you can travel the country independently.

Here are links to some of my writing so you can see I can put words together.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John

Simple and to the point. If I like your pitch, I’ll reply. Please DO NOT follow up. While tenacity can often be appreciated, DO NOT follow up. I get too many emails.

Please follow the rules above too. I like people with an attention to details so if you send an email with the wrong subject line or miss any of the other following rules, we’ll delete your pitch!

Finally, please note that if you send me a draft and I find that it will be too much work to edit, I reserve the right to reject it. Additionally, since I am pretty picky, there’s also 99% chance I’ll ask you to make changes to your draft so please expect notes and rewrites.

Oh, and we pay $250 USD per post.

That’s really it.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.

Matt

The post Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/write-for-matt/

[travelguy4444]

My 21 Favorite Places to Visit in Colombia

Posted: 4/18/2019 | April 18th, 2019

From the blue waters of Tayrona National Park, the sweeping views of the Cocora Valley, and the ruins of San Agustín, Tierradentro, and the Lost City, to the white colonial buildings of Popayán and the hustle and bustle of its metropolises, Colombia is packed with things to see and do.

I’d wanted to visit Colombia for years. And after spending six weeks there, I must say, it lived up to the hype.

I mean I’ve been fawning over it a lot in my last few posts. And I know I’m the millionth blogger to do so, but it really is as incredible as people say. (Even getting knifed there couldn’t stop me from loving the country.)

I had falsely assumed that six weeks would be enough to get a good sense of Colombia. After all, six weeks is a fair amount of time to spend anywhere.

But I was wrong. Given its size and the sheer number of activities, it was barely enough to scratch the surface.

Yet I did manage to see a lot.

Today I want to share my list of what I think are the best things to see and do in Colombia. These are the activities and places you should try to focus on when you visit:

1. Cartagena

Cartagena is one of the most visited destinations in Colombia (thanks to a lot of direct flights and cruise ship visits). Dating back to 1533, the city is famed for its colonial Old Town: a maze of cobbled alleys, flower-covered balconies, and giant churches on spacious plazas.

But despite the crowds (and there are a lot of crowds), I really enjoyed Cartagena. While there aren’t a lot of tourist activities (you can do most of them in a single day), what makes it a wonderful place to visit is just that: it’s somewhere you can slow down, relax, and gorge on the phenomenal gastronomy.

For more, check out this blog post about Cartegena and all my favorite places to eat there.

2. Tayrona National Park

Located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Tayrona has long stretches of golden beaches lined with coconut palms and a dense rainforest with lots of easy day hikes. You’ll also find campsites for overnight stays, hammocks for rent, restaurants, diving, and horse riding.

It’s easy to visit as a day trip from Santa Marta. I highly suggest you start early at the big entrance at El Zaino and exit the park through Calabazo. This underused route takes a whole day, and once you pass the Cabo San Juan campground, you’ll get the last half of the trail to yourself. Try to avoid visiting during January and weekends, when the crowds on the beaches and hiking paths are at their peak.

3. The Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida)

The Lost City was built around 800 CE and contains 169 terraces carved into the mountains, as well as a network of tiled roads and small plazas. It’s one of the most beautiful treks in the country, and the site is older than Machu Picchu! To visit, you need to hire a tour operator (you can’t do it by yourself). It’s about $300-350 USD for the trek from Santa Marta through the jungle up to these beautiful ruins and takes 4–6 days. If you’re pressed for time, you can also do it in three days; the only difference is the pace you go at.

(Tip: You cross a lot of rivers, so be sure to bring an extra pair of shoes or flip flops for when you cross the rivers. You’ll easily ruin a pair of sneakers along the way.)

4. Salento

Surrounded by green mountains and coffee farms, this is one of the oldest towns in the coffee-growing region and the most popular for travelers. The houses are painted a variety of vibrant colors, and the high vantage points throughout town provide some stunning views (sunsets are quite magical). There’s not much to do in the city itself — it’s simply a base for coffee tours or hiking the Cocora Valley (see below) or the trails around town — so it’s easy to spend a few days here watching the world go by with a good book in hand.

5. Cocora Valley

The Cocora Valley is home to Colombia’s national tree, the wax palm, which grows to nearly 200 feet tall. This area has probably the most popular day hike in the country (which was also my favorite activity during my entire trip). You’ll cross jungle rivers, visit a bird sanctuary, and enjoy some stellar views and forest scenery. The route’s about five hours, and you can choose to either take the clockwise or counterclockwise route. The clockwise route, starting at the Wax Palm Valley, is easier, with fewer hills. Counterclockwise is easier at the end, though a little anticlimactic, as you end the hike walking down a boring road.

(Tip: Start early to avoid the brutal midday heat, since there are a lot of exposed areas here.)

6. Bogotá

Bogotá is Colombia’s vibrant capital. While it’s not the country’s most popular destination, it felt the most “Colombian” to me: there was just a certain edge and charm to it, and it seemed the least touristy, with the fewest gringo expats. The historic downtown, La Candelaria, is filled with bright colonial buildings, detailed museums, delicious restaurants, tiny fun bars, historic churches, and centuries-old houses. The north end of town is home to boutique hotels and entertainment areas like Zona Rosa and Zona G. The foodie scene in the city is incredible, with a lot of international options and cutting-edge gastronomic happenings. Throw in some amazing walking tours, day trips, and hikes and you’ve got a recipe for an astounding city.

For more, here’s a list of all my favorite things to do – and places to eat – in Bogota.

7. Cali

This hot, hot city is the salsa capital of the world, where people come to dance. A lot of the guests at my hostel had been there for weeks to learn (the hostels also offer free dance classes). If you like to dance, you can’t miss this city. Besides dancing, though, there are a number of parks, museums, and churches you can visit, plus free walking and food tours. While I didn’t stay long, I definitely enjoyed the scene.

8. Popayán

Popayán rivals Cartagena as Colombia’s most impressive colonial town. It’s known as La Ciudad Blanca (“The White City”) because all the buildings are painted white. Popayán is also a college town (there are three universities), and it’s produced 17 presidents too! Though small, I really loved the slow pace of life and the surprisingly robust food scene here (eat at La Cosecha Parrillada, Restaurante Italiano y Pizzeria, La Fresa, and Mora de Castilla).

While you don’t need a lot of time (take the walking tour, climb the hill, see the churches, and you’re done), I do suggest staying longer to enjoy the slow pace of life. So much of Colombia is go-go-go, it’s nice to find a place that’s more “stay and relax a while.”

9. Tatacoa Desert

Millions of years ago it was once a lush tropical forest. Now, Tatacoa Desert is filled with rocky canyons in shades of red and gray. It is also home to one of the most important observatories in South America, where you can gaze at the stars (weather permitting). If you want to be blown away by the universe, you really need to see this place! Other than that, there’s not much here. Bike into the desert, take some walks, stare at the sky. Stay a night or two. It’s not a popular area, but it is a picturesque way to break up the long bus ride from Bogotá to the south or vice versa.

10. San Agustín Archaeological Park

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, San Agustín is a small mountain town that’s home to hundreds of pre-Columbian statues and burial mounds. Its collection of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures is the largest in Latin America, for which you’ll need at least one full day (two to really see it all in depth). If you love history, this is probably the best spot in all of Colombia to experience it.

11. San Gil

San Gil is considered the outdoors capital of the country. Extreme-sports fans love it here. You can go white-water rafting, paragliding, caving, rappelling, trekking, and more from this city! This city is a great place to do outdoor activities and you’re going to find a lot of tour operators in the city. Try to plan at least three days here. It’s worth it.

12. Providencia and San Andrés Islands

These islands are actually closer to Nicaragua than Colombia. They are also considered some of the most unspoiled places in the Caribbean. You’ll find white-sand beaches, stunningly clear blue water, and few crowds (though, thanks to some recent press, Providencia is becoming a lot busier).

Try to make it when tens of thousands of black crabs migrate to the sea. This happens twice a year for about a 1-2-week period between April and July, so it’s not always easy to nail the timing.

13. Medellín

In a country full of hype, this hyped-up city is all that it’s cracked up to be. Set in the Aburrá Valley, Medellín is one of the fastest-growing cities in Colombia. It has enough activities and things to do to fill weeks on end: from microbreweries, museums, walking tours, spacious parks, street art, food tours and markets to incredible nightlife, and on and on and on.

It’s one of the most popular destinations for expats and tourists in the country. While it’s easy to get lost in Gringoland here, try to get out of Poblado or Laureles and see the locals’ side of town.

There’s more to the city than those two areas!

14. Guatapé

This pueblo is one of the most picturesque towns in Colombia and one of the most colorful in the world, as most of the traditional homes have murals painted on the bottom half of their façades that depict animals, people, and shapes. Just hanging out in one of the bright plazas, drinking coffee and people-watching, is one of the most pleasant things to do here.

Most people, though, come to climb the steep (and difficult) staircase to the top of the monolithic Rock of Guatapé (La Piedra) for some of the best views in the country. Guatapé is a long day trip from Medellín (hostels in the city organize them throughout the week) so I recommend trying to spend at least a night here so you aren’t as rushed and can enjoy the area little more.

15. Chingaza National Park

This is one of the biggest nature reserves in Colombia, home to more than 1,000 plant species and 187 bird species. Here you’ll learn about the Páramo ecosystem and how it affects the global water system. (Fun fact: Nearly 80% of Bogotá’s water supply comes from Chingaza.) If you’re going to hike, joining a tour is a good idea. The guides are usually naturalists who can explain the unique environment of the area. One of the best routes is the challenging hike to the summit of Lagunas de Siecha, with a great view over the lakes.

16. Barranquilla

Located between Santa Marta and Cartagena, Barranquilla is the spot to be during Carnival, the second biggest in Latin America. It starts on a Sunday with the Battle of Flowers (a big parade) and the coronation of the King and Queen.

But there’s a lot to do here when it’s not carnival season as well. Make sure you visit El Museo del Caribe, a museum offering an interesting insight into the history of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. There’s also a special exhibit dedicated to Gabriel García Márquez (the famous author who wrote Love in the Time of Cholera).

17. Tierradentro

Tierradentro is one of the most important archaeological sites in South America. It’s up there with San Agustín but gets less press since it’s located in the middle of nowhere and not on a main road. It contains over 100 hypogea (underground tombs) dating from the sixth to the tenth centuries, the only examples of their kind in the Americas. It takes a day or two to hike all the paths around the tombs. You can hire a guide if you want, but the trails are pretty easy to do on your own.

18. Manizales (and Los Nevados)

On the road from Medellín to the south is the city of Manizales. Here, you can take some tours at this northern point of the coffee-growing region, or roam around town, which has some decent restaurants and churches, and a scenic gondola ride. The main reason people visit is to hike Los Nevados, a mountain range with majestic snow-capped peaks. You can do a day or multi-day hikes, but whatever you do, don’t rush up to the top — acclimatize yourself to the altitude in Manizales for a few days first. The town is 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level, but mountains are about 6,000 meters (19,700 feet)! I wasn’t climatized and could really feel the altitude just walking around town. Don’t push yourself if you want to do the hike.

19. The Caribbean Coast

The beaches on the Caribbean coast might not win any awards (at least in my opinion), but the sleepy towns reminded me a lot of the tiny backpacker beach villages around Southeast Asia: a dirt road, lots of hostels, a relaxed atmosphere, and not much else to do. I could easily see why people end up getting stuck here for weeks at a time. The best beach towns to visit are Costeño Beach and Palomino.

20. Punta Gallinas

Punta Gallinas is the northernmost point in all of South America. Most people come here via a tour from Santa Marta or Cabo de Vela, with the latter (through La Guajira Desert) being the better option if you just want to take your time and relax because it’s closer so there’s a lot less drive time. In fact, the only way to see the area is via a tour. Most are two or three nights depending on where you’re coming from. Any hostel can organize a trip for you.

21. Minca

Minca is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Santa Marta Mountains. Once a sleepy backpacker town, it’s now a hot spot for tourists escaping the oppressive heat on the Caribbean coast and hoping to do some quiet hikes. One of the best hikes is to Los Pinos, but it isn’t easy: it takes about three hours from the center of town, and it’s a steady climb into the mountains but, like all things like this, it’s worth it.

There are a lot of waterfalls in the area as well. Two of the best are the Pozo Azul and Marinka. Both have swimming holes at them too.

Be sure to check out the sunset Mundo Nuevo Hostel. It’s an amazing vantage point.

***

Colombia has a million and one things to do. I lost track of all the places I kept wishing I had time to visit. You can spend months there (and a lot of people to do). However, I think this list is a great start. My recommendation is that if you’re short on time, fly (the bus rides are long) or just stick to one area of the country and go in depth around that region.

Trying to “see it all” in Colombia is just a recipe for burnout!

Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Want More Information on Colombia? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Colombia for even more planning tips!

Photo credits: 4, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 21, 22

The post My 21 Favorite Places to Visit in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/best-places-colombia/

[travelguy4444]

How to Spend Your Time in Tokyo: A Suggested Itinerary for 2019

Posted: 4/25/2019 | April 15th, 2019

Tokyo is one of the most amazing cities in the world. It’s fast-paced, futuristic, and bursting with weird and wonderful activities to keep you busy, including gorgeous shrines, palaces, and temples; hip clubs and bars; and fashionable people and shopping, not to mention cherry blossoms.

Tokyo lives up to all the hype you’ve heard about it.

You never know what you’ll find here. One second you’ll run into a group of women dressed in pig masks and ’80s dresses and the next you’re in a robot café.

Or a centuries-old temple.

It’s also one of the biggest cities in the world, home to over 13 million people — almost 40 million if you count the Greater Tokyo Area. It’s massive!

Not surprisingly, it’ll take some time to see it all. And there are so many nooks and crannies to explore that it’s easy to get lost.

Here is my suggested itinerary on how to visit the best restaurants, sites, and activities in Tokyo:

Table of Contents

Day 1: Fish Market, Ueno Park, and Asakusa

Day 2: Imperial Palace, Below the Girders, and Quirky Cafes

Day 3: Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Robots

Day 4: Take a Day Trip

Day 5: Tokyo Tower, Sumo, and Samurai

Where to Eat

Extra Resources

Tokyo Itinerary: Day 1 – Ueno Park, Museums, and Asakusa

Visit the Tsukiji and Toyosu Fish Market As of 2018, the main fish market moved to Toyosu. The new market is twice the size of Tsukiji, making it the largest fish market in the world. Just make sure to get a visitor’s pass when you enter.

Eat just-caught sushi for breakfast and marvel at the chaotic atmosphere at the world’s largest tuna market. The auction here powers much of the world’s sushi supply, and it is truly breathtaking. All around you are fish with colors and shapes you didn’t know existed. I have never seen more seafood I couldn’t identify.

The old outer market where you can find food and shops is still in the same location, in Tsukiji. You can still head there to eat and look around but the main market is now in Toyosu.

Tsukiji Fish Market: 5 Chome-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo, [phone]. Admission is free.

Toyosu Fish Market: 6 Chome-6-2 Toyosu, Koto, [phone]. Open Monday-Saturday from 5am-5pm, though most shops don’t open until 7am. Admission is free.

Relax in Ueno Park Ueno Park is a lovely spot to spend the day. It’s a perfect spot to photograph the many cherry trees and have a picnic. Don’t miss these sites in the park:

Tokyo National Museum – This museum is on the north end of the park. Established in 1872, this massive building houses one of the world’s largest art collections of art and artifacts from Asia, particularly Japan. 13-9 Uenokoen, Taito, [phone], tnm.jp. Open daily 9:30am-5pm (8pm on most Fridays). Admission is 620 JPY.

Tosho-gu Shrine – This 17th-century Shinto shrine can also be found in the park. It’s beautiful with carved gold doors and ornate carvings. 9-88 Uenokoen, Taito, [phone], uenotoshogu.com/en. Open daily 9am-5:30pm. Admission is free, though to go further into the shrine, you’ll have to pay 500 JPY.

National Museum of Western Art Opened in 1959, this is one of the only art galleries in the country to focus on Western art. The collection of almost 5,000 pieces extends from the Renaissance all the way to the 20th century.

7-7 Uenokoen, [phone] , nmwa.go.jp. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:30am-5:30pm (8pm on Fridays). Admission is 500 JPY for adults, 250 for college students, and free for seniors and anyone under 18.

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum Built in 1933, this small museum used to be the official residence of the Prince and Princess Asaka. The prince had studied in Paris and wanted to bring the art deco style to Japan, which explains the building’s style and decorations. In 1983, the residence became a museum and is now home to a rotating series of modern art exhibitions.

5-21-9 Shirokanedai, [phone], teien-art-museum.ne.jp/en. Open daily 10am-6pm. Admission is 200 JPY, with discounts available for students, children, and seniors.

Stroll Along the Meguro River The Meguro River weaves almost five miles through the city and makes for a magnificent stroll. There’s a path with a bit of greenspace that follows the water, so plenty of locals walk or exercise there. In the spring, you’ll be able to see a lot of cherry blossoms.

Check out Asakusa If you want to check out some of Tokyo’s historic religious sites, be sure to spend some time wandering around Asakusa. Two places that I’d suggest you visit are:

Senso-ji – This is Tokyo’s most popular and famous temple. It’s beautifully painted and sits in a scenic spot near a pagoda and the beautiful Kaminari Gate. There’s a huge statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, inside the main hall. Look at the “wooden wishes” cards hanging off to the side: you can write your own and join the artistic display. It’s very busy during the day, so maybe check out the grounds in the evening. 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito, [phone], senso-ji.jp. The grounds are open 24/7, though the temple itself is open daily 6am-5pm. Admission is free.

Asakusa Shrine – Not far from Senso-ji is this Shinto shrine. This is much more peaceful than Senso-ji as there are fewer people and you’ll able to see people praying, meditating, or performing traditional rituals. It was built during the Edo period and survived the air raids of World War II. 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito, [phone], asakusajinja.jp. Open daily 9am-4:30pm. Admission is free.

Have Dinner with Ninjas For another unique dining experience, head to Ninja Akasaka, a ninja-themed restaurant designed like an Edo-era building, with waitstaff clothed in stereotypical all-black garb and trained in all sorts of tricks and illusions. You’ll order off old scrolls while being entertained by the skillful tricks of your server! It’s super fun.

Tokyu Plaza Akasaka, [phone], ninjaakasaka.com. Open daily 5pm-10:30pm (9:45pm on Sundays)

Drink in Golden Gai If you are looking for something interesting to do at night, this alley of backstreet bars is a cool spot to start at. There isn’t much going on here during the day, but come sundown, these zigzag hallways and closet-sized beer rooms are filled with interesting people and cheap drinks.

Tokyo Itinerary: Day 2 – Imperial Palace, Below the Girders, and Quirky Cafes

Stop by the Imperial Palace The Imperial Palace, home to the Emperor of Japan, is a terrific spot to learn about Japan’s history and culture. Formerly Edo Castle, it was built in the 15th century, and some of the walls and moats from that time are still in use to this day. When the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1869, he took Edo for his new palace and renamed it the Imperial Palace.

Though you can’t go inside (or get super close), the building is amazing. It is surrounded by beautiful grounds and a park, and there’s a moat around the stone walls. You can also see the changing of the guard ceremony, though it’s relatively low-key and unassuming. Admission to the grounds is free.

Visit the National Art Center Opened in 2007, this museum and gallery doesn’t actually have a permanent collection but rather houses a never-ending series of temporary exhibitions, from impressionism to modern art. Check their website to see what is currently being shown.

7 Chome-22-2 Roppongi, [phone], nact.jp. Open Wednesday-Monday 10am-5:30pm. Admission varies by exhibit.

Eat Below the Girders Not far from Ginza is the Yurakucho neighborhood. Below the elevated train tracks at Yurakucho Station is a 700m-long stretch of restaurants and bars. There are wine bars, beer pubs, and casual restaurants filled with businessmen. If you want to get a sense of local city life, this is a good neighborhood to explore after the workday is over.

Superhero Go-Karting Want to speed around the streets of Tokyo in a go-kart while wearing a costume? Of course, you do! MariCar is a real-life Mario Bros. go-kart company that lets you dress up and race around the city. As long as you have an international driving permit (which you can get if you have a valid driver’s license), you can take part.

4-12-9 Sotokanda, [phone], maricar.com/en/akihabara.html. Open daily 10am-10pm. The course will take 1-2 hours and costs 9,000 JPY per person. There are multiple locations around the city.

Check out a Sento A sento is a traditional Japanese public bathhouse. The Japanese are not shy in sentos so you need to be comfortable with nudity! They are typically separated by gender. A budget-friendly sento will cost you just under 1,000 JPY.

Visit a Quirky Café Tokyo has all sorts of amazing, weird, and wonderful cafés. Monster cafés, owl cafés, cat cafés, vampire cafés, dog cafés, religious-themed cafés, and much more! If you’re looking for something unusual to do, see what weird and quirky cafés are near you (they’re all around the city so you never have to go far to find one!). Here are some suggestions:

Kawaii Monster Café

Vampire Café

Christon Café (Christian-themed café)

Dog Heart (dog café)

Cat Café Calico

Tokyo Itinerary: Day 3 – Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Robots

Stroll Around Shimokitazawa Brimming with vintage shops, this Bohemian neighborhood, often compared to the New York’s East Village showcases the quieter side of Tokyo. Whether you’re looking to shop or just want to take in the scene, it makes for a cool neighborhood to explore.

Stroll through Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden This park is over 144 acres with some 20,000 trees. Most of the original park was destroyed in World War II during the air raids but was rebuilt and reopened in 1949.

During spring, this beautiful park is one of the best spaces to see cherry blossoms. My favorite part is the Japanese landscape garden, which has several ponds with bridges and islands. It’s a peaceful little oasis within the hustle and bustle of the city.

11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku, [phone], env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/index.html. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-4pm. Admission is 200 JPY.

Visit Shibuya Crossing This is quite possibly the busiest and most famous intersection in the world. This area is buzzing at night, with bright lights and frenzied activity, like Times Square on steroids. Make sure to visit the statue between Shibuya Station and the intersection; it’s a tribute to Hachiko, the loyal dog made famous in the film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.

Eat at the Robot Restaurant This restaurant is an absolute sensory overload. Lasers, robots, monsters…it has it all! It may be a tourist trap (not cheap), but it is epic, unlike anything you’ve ever seen and worth the price if you want to do something completely out of the ordinary!

1 Chome-7-1 Kabukicho, [phone], shinjuku-robot.com/pc. There are three performances a day on weekdays starting at 4:45pm, with afternoon matinees on weekends.

Hang with the Harajuku girls Harajuku is an electric and quirky part of town. You’ll often see teenage “Harajuku girls” walking around town in unique clothing and colorful hairstyles — imagine a 1990s Gwen Stefani video come to life. There’s also a monthly Harajuku Fashion Walk, in which costumed cos-players parade around — for dates, check out the group’s Twitter account (@harajuku_fw).

Experience a Tea Ceremony No visit to Japan is complete without experiencing a traditional tea ceremony. While these are usually long and expensive experiences, there are definitely some budget-friendly options for anyone looking to experience the ceremony without breaking the bank. Here are a few worth checking out:

Kyoto-kan (500 JPY per person, Yanmar Tokyo Building 1F 2-1-1)

Nadeshiko (2,700-4,400 JPY per person, 2-7-24-2F Asakusa)

The Way of Tea (5,500 JPY per person, Coredo Muromachi 3 3F)

Watch Traditional Japanese theatre Kabuki theatre is a traditional form of Japanese performance involving dance and drama. The costumes and makeup are heavily stylized, making for a very visual performance. The Kabukizaka Theatre, located in Ginza, is the best locale to see one of these incredible displays. You can purchase tickets for an entire show or just one act if you’re not ready to commit to a longer performance (they’re in Japanese and last a few hours).

4 Chome-12-15 Ginza, [phone], kabuki-za.co.jp. Performances are held almost daily. Check the website for the most up-to-date schedule. Expect to pay at least 1,000 JPY for a single-act ticket.

Tokyo Itinerary: Day 4 – Take a Day Trip

Time to take a break from the city and head out on a day trip. Here are some suggestions:

Visit Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) Make a day trip to Kamakura, where you can see a 13m bronze statue of Buddha. Built in 1252, the statue was initially constructed within a temple, but the temple was washed away — on several occasions — by storms. The statue now sits in the open air.

4 Chome-2-28 Hase, Kamakura, [phone], kotoku-in.jp. Open daily 8am-5:30pm. Admission is 200 JPY.

Get Touristy at Tokyo Disneyland I’m a sucker for Disney attractions! This is a fun choice for anyone traveling with children, but also for any adults who just love amusement parks. Opened in 1983, it has seven themed areas to explore and is the third most visited theme park in the world!

1-1 Maihama, Urayasu, [phone], tokyodisneyresort.jp/tdl. Open daily 8am-10pm. Admission is 7,400 JPY for adults and 4,800-6,400 JPY for children, depending on age.

Hike Mount Mitake Located just over an hour from Tokyo is Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. The park covers 1,250 square kilometers of rolling hills, mountains, and forests. There are plenty of hiking trails, though you can also take a cable car to the top and then hike to the shrine that sits on the peak, some 930m above sea level.

Gaze at Mt. Fuji from Hakone Located just over an hour from Tokyo, Hakone is one of the best places to get away from the city, relax for a few days, and take in the view of Mount Fuji. There are numerous guesthouses in the area, many with their own private onsen (hot springs).

Visit the Ghibli Museum If you’re a fan of famed director Hayao Miyazaki’s work (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke), then you’ll want to check out this amazing exhibition. It was designed by Miyazaki himself and is an immersive experience that any film buff will appreciate. There is also a new short film every month, only available to visitors. The museum won’t take up a whole day, but it’s not in a very central location so you’ll need to plan accordingly.

1 Chome-1-83 Shimorenjaku, [phone], ghibli-museum.jp. Open Wednesday-Monday 10am-6pm. Admission is 1,900 JPY for adults, with discounts available for youth and children. There are limited tickets available each day so book in advance.

Tokyo Itinerary: Day 5 – Tokyo Tower, Sumo Match, and Samurai

Visit the Tokyo Tower Built in 1957 and resembling the Eiffel Tower, the Tokyo Tower is taller (at 333m) than its European version and made entirely of steel. You can pay to go all the way to the top floor to take in the view, but frankly, the main observation deck offers one that’s just as good.

4 Chome-2-8 Shibakoen, Minato, [phone], tokyotower.co.jp. Open daily 9am-11pm. Admission is 900 JPY for the main deck or 1,600 JPY for the top.

Visit the Samurai Museum No trip to Japan would be complete without learning about samurai. While they were known for their martial skill, there was much more to the culture than just mastering the katana (traditional swords). The museum has some incredible displays of traditional weapons and armor, some of which you can even try on.

Kabukicho 2-25-6, [phone], samuraimuseum.jp/en. Open daily 10:30am-9pm. Admission is 1,900 JPY per person. You can explore the museum on your own or in a group tour, which are conducted every 30 minutes.

Walk across the Rainbow Bridge This is the city’s most popular bridge and offers some lovely views of both sides of Tokyo Bay. Built in 1993, the bright lights up at night with rainbow colors — hence the name. It makes for a pleasant walk during the day or at night.

Watch a Sumo Match Kokugikan, Japan’s most famous sumo wrestling arena, hosts tournaments three times each year. The sumo wrestling that we see today dates back to the 17th century, though its origins date back even further, and it’s still one of the most popular traditions in the country. If you’re in town at the right time, this is a must-do! Tickets sell out quickly so act quick. A visit to one of the sumo stables nearby can be interesting but must be arranged well in advance.

1 Chome-3-2-8 Yokoami, Sumida, [phone], sumo.or.jp/kokugikan. Ticket prices vary, but expect to pay around 2,200 JPY.

Drinks at the Park Hyatt New York Bar is the iconic bar from Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost in Translation. Located on the 52nd floor, it actually lives up to the hype of the film. The atmosphere is classy, the drinks are great, and the view is absolutely stunning. There is live jazz every night, and while there is a cover charge (around 2,500 JPY), it’s definitely worth it!

3-7-1-2 Nishishinjuku, [phone], hyatt.com. Open Sunday-Wednesday 5pm-12am and Thursday-Saturday 5pm-1am.

Where to Eat

Tokyo is so huge and has so many dining options, that it would be impossible to pick just two or three favorites. Here are just a few of my favorite restaurants in Tokyo:

Bifteck Kawamura Ginza – The steak here basically melted in my mouth and exploded with flavor. I found it a bit too high-end and overpriced for me though. 6 Chome-5-1 Ginza, Ginza MST Bldg. 8F, Chuo, 104-0061, [phone], bifteck.co.jp.

Ichiran Shibuya – This ramen spot served one of the best meals I had my entire trip. The thick, flavorful broth is to die for. I also like how you eat in your own little private booth. Funky. Expect a wait during peak lunch and dinner times. 1 Chome-22-7 Jinnan, Shibuya, 150-0041, [phone], en.ichiran.com/index.php.

Isakaya Juban – A little hole-in-the-wall izakaya restaurant (think Japanese tapas) with locals getting drunk on sake and eating tasty small plates. I was big fan of its salmon and grilled squid. 2 Chome-1-2 Azabujuban, Minato, 106-0045, [phone], izakayajuban.com.

Kakimaru – An amazing seafood and tapas place. Be sure to get the oysters. Note: While Google Maps will list the restaurant as Kakimaru, when you go there, the restaurant will be called Uohama. 6 Chome-1-6 Roppongi, Minato, 106-0032, [phone].

Standing Sushi Bar – This standing sushi location is one of many in town. It’s great for a quick bite: you stand, eat sushi, and get out. It has a robust menu and it’s cheap! 1 Chome-12-12 Nishishinjuku, Kasai Bldg. 1F, Shinjuku, 160-0023, [phone], uogashi-nihonichi.com.

Tenmatsu Tempura – The tempura here is well known for its lightness. It’s a small establishment with set tempura menus. 1 Chome-8-2 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo, 103-0022, [phone], tenmatsu.com/english.html.

For more places to eat, check out this post on the best places to eat in Tokyo.

Extra Resources

To see what other fun and interesting activities are going on in the city during your visit, here are a few magazines and websites you’ll want to check out:

Time Out Tokyo

Tokyo Weekender

Tokyo Journal

Metropolis Japan

*** Tokyo is a massive city. You could spend a lifetime here and still not discover everything there is to see. But if you follow the itinerary and suggestions above, you’ll be able to have a fun and insightful visit and leave this sprawling capital with a nuanced perspective of what life in Tokyo is like. Best of all, you’ll be able to do it without breaking the bank!

Book Your Trip to Japan: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the most comprehensive inventory so they are best for booking a hostel. If you want to stay in a hotel or guesthouse in Japan, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. They’re the best booking site out there. My favorite places to stay in Japan are:

Khaosan Tokyo Kabuki (Tokyo) – This is one of the best hostels in the country. The staff go above and beyond, each room has its own bathroom, and it’s in a great location to help you explore the city.

Sheena and Ippei – This hostel is super homey, and the owners are both helpful and knowledgable. The lounge is open to everyone, and you can enjoy appetizers and sake on the weekends.

Hostel Chapter Two Tokyo – This is a small, family-run hostel in Asakusa. There’s a great view of the river and the dorms seem new and immaculately clean.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more travel tips for Japan Check out my in-depth Japan travel guide for more ways to save money, costs, tips on what to see and do, suggested itineraries, reading, packing lists, and much, much more!

The post How to Spend Your Time in Tokyo: A Suggested Itinerary for 2019 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/tokyo-itinerary/

[travelguy4444]

What Kind of Backpacker Are You?

Updated: 4/8/2019 | Originally Posted: 07/29/2009

Note: So much has changed since I originally wrote this post 10 years ago (also, isn’t it crazy that I’ve been blogging for so long?) that I thought that this funny little article needed an update. The Flashpacker is long gone. The Digital Nomad has risen. Others have remained the same.

I redid this entire post on the curious species that is the backpacker after having embedded myself in their culture and learned their curious ways.

***

You always hear about the distinction between tourists and backpackers, but even among backpackers, we love to group each other into categories by who is the “better” traveler. Check into any hostel, and you will find a variety of travelers wearing their distinctive tribal gear and people going “Yeah, that guy over there? Definitely the partier.”

So who are the backpackers? What kind of types have I identified in the hostel jungle? After years of research, many!

Here are some of the more common species of backpackers that can be found in a hostel’s jungle:

The Spiritual Traveler

Usually white, Western, and sometimes young (though there are plenty still trapped in 1969), travelers spiritus have come to find themselves. Exploring local religions and customs, they spend their time reading books on Buddhism, Kabbalah, or yoga and talking about how connected life is. They’ve done ayahuasca in South America. They’ve done yoga in Bali and just “looooooove” Tulum.

Jaded by the materialism of their homeland, they have come to reconnect with the world, find inner peace, and learn some tantra among the tourist centers of India, the hill tribes of Asia, or the shamans of the world. Travelers spiritus forgo material possessions, except for a computer, which they use to blog about the healthy snacks they are eating and tell people how much freer they are now that they have been to six retreats in Bali and went on a juice cleanse.

These backpackers are usually found in South America, India, and Southeast Asia.

The Hippie

Not wanting to be held down by the man, the hippie can be found wearing fisherman pants, dreadlocks, and lots of necklaces, and has a distinct “I haven’t showered in two days” smell. This species of traveler is often thumbing a well-worn book on social justice.

Hippie travelers use local transportation, eat local food, and talk about cultural imperialism while watching the latest Hollywood movies on their Macbook and begging for money to get to the next place. They usually avoid most tourist destinations because “they’re too commercial, man.”

Mostly found in India or other developing countries (because they can’t afford anywhere else).

The Gap Yearer

Traveler gap-yearius is usually college-aged, English, Kiwi, or Aussie. This backpacking species tends to be traveling for exactly one year right before or after university. They follow the main round-the-world ticket route, spending most of their time in Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia.

Gap-year travelers like to party a lot, see the main attractions, sleep in dorms, and tend to stick to the beaten path. They are out to have a good time, meet other travelers, and come home with a few good stories before they start their career.

They can be found wherever a round-the-world ticket will take them.

The Partier

Sporting sunglasses, shorts, flip-flops, and a Lao beer T-shirt, travelers partyoholic spend most of their time getting drunk in each country. Most of their day is spent nursing the hangover from last night while avoiding loud and well-lit areas. You’ll probably see them still in bed when you check in at 2pm. But they’re the first one at the bar each night. Very loud, these nocturnal creatures bounce from one party destination to the other.

Mostly found in “party destinations” like Amsterdam, Thailand, Barcelona, and Prague.

The Couple

The backpacking couple spends most of their time sightseeing, touring, and doing activities. They avoid most of the backpacker ghettos and parties and tend to gravitate toward other couples or older travelers. The younger version often goes the opposite route and tends to party a lot while breaking up about ten times on the road.

They are found worldwide.

The Better Traveler

While sipping on a drink in a hostel, this traveler will tell you how insincere and hypocritical all other travelers are and how they really are just tourists and not trying to find the “local culture.” He will speak about his experience taking local transportation, and that one time he spent living in a village for one day. He waxes on about the death of local cultures, globalization, and how he’s really out there traveling to be part of the world and not force his culture down other people’s throats.

This species is found being hypocritical in hostels all over the world.

The “Remember When” Backpacker

Traveler living-in-the-pastus has been traveling a long time (and usually to the same destinations). He’ll tell you all about how he remembers when the Full Moon Party used to be good and how Laos is too discovered now.

He’ll talk about how Ios used to be quiet and no one had heard of Queenstown. He’ll describe the time when he was the only person in Costa Rica or sailing the Amazon. When asked why he’s still here if he hates it so much, he’ll quickly change the topic.

This depressing species can be found in the same destinations he says are ruined now.

The Digital Nomad

Traveler flashpackosaurus has evolved into a new species called digital nomadosaurus. These creatures work online to afford their travels, often clustering with others of their species in spots like Bali, Chiang Mai, or Medellín.

Carrying laptops, cameras, video cameras, and iPads, they spend much of their time behind their computer touting their free lifestyle and/or recent startup while often never seeing much of the destination they are at. Their first question is always about the Wi-Fi.

They are found behind their computer, talking into their phone, and wherever there is good internet access and a cheap cost of living.

***

Life in a hostel on the backpacker trail sure is interesting. There is a lot of diversity out there in the hostel jungle!

To further investigate the habits of these fabulously interesting creatures, I shall continue to travel the world and stay in hostels.

Ya know, for science!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post What Kind of Backpacker Are You? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/what-type-of-backpacker-are-you/

[travelguy4444]

The Atlas of Happiness: Discovering the World’s Secret to Happiness with Helen Russell

Posted: 4/4/2019 | April 4th, 2019

A few years ago, I read the book The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell. I think it originally came up as a suggested book on Amazon. I can’t fully remember. But, I stuck it in my queue, ordered it, and it sat on my bookshelf until it was time to read it. I couldn’t put it down. It was funny, well written, interesting, and an insightful look into Danish culture. It was one of my favorite books I read that year.

Last year, I somehow convinced Helen to speak at TravelCon and got to meet her in person. Now, she has a new book out called The Atlas of Happiness. It’s about why people in certain places are happier than others. It’s a phenomenal book (you should get it). Today, Helen shares some of what she learned in researching that book!

Here’s a funny thing: if you’ve been online today for more than a fraction of a second, you may have started to get the sense that the world is A Terrible Place. Even the committed traveler with an open mind could be forgiven for thinking that the outlook is pretty bleak.

And if you’ve seen the headlines today or been on social media and you’re feeling low as a result, you’re not alone.

It’s easy to get the idea that the world is becoming more miserable by the minute and that happiness is a luxury in these troubled times.

But over the past six years, I’ve learned that there are people all around the world finding ways to stay happy, every day. And that happiness is something we’re hardwired to seek out – wherever we are.

I started researching happiness in 2013 when I relocated from the UK to Denmark. I’d spent 12 years living and working in London as a journalist, and I had no intention of leaving, until out of the blue one wet Wednesday, my husband came home and told me he’d been offered his dream job…working for Lego in rural Jutland. I was skeptical to start with — I had a good career, a nice flat, great friends, close family — I had a life.

Okay, so my husband and I both worked long hours, we were tired all the time, and never seemed to be able to see each other very much. We regularly had to bribe ourselves to get through the day and we’d both been ill on and off for the past six months.

But that was normal, right?

We thought we were ‘living the dream.’ I was 33 years old and we’d also been trying for a baby for as long as either of us could remember, enduring years of fertility treatment, but we were always so stressed that it never quite happened.

So when my husband was offered a job in Denmark, this ‘other life’ possibility was dangled in front of us — the chance to swap everything we knew for the unknown. Denmark had just been voted the world’s happiest country in the UN’s annual report and I became fascinated by this. How had a tiny country of just 5.5m people managed to pull off the happiest nation on earth title? Was there something in the water? And if we couldn’t get happier in Denmark, where could we get happier?

During our first visit, we noticed that there was something a bit different about the Danes we met. They didn’t look like us, for starters — quite apart from the fact that they were all strapping Vikings towering over my 5’3” frame — they looked more relaxed and healthier. They walked more slowly. They took their time to stop and eat together, or talk, or just…breathe.

And we were impressed.

My Lego Man husband was sold on the idea and begged me to move, promising we’d relocate for my career next time. And I was so worn out by my hectic London life that I found myself agreeing. I quit my job to go freelance and decided I would give it a year, investigating the Danish happiness phenomenon first hand — looking at a different area of living each month to find out what Danes did differently.

From food to family life; work culture to working out; and design to the Danish welfare state — each month I would throw myself into living ‘Danishly’ to see if it made me any happier and if I could change the way I lived as a result. I decided I would interview as many Danes, expats, psychologists, scientists, economists, historians, sociologists, politicians, everyone, in fact, to try to uncover the secrets to living Danishly.

I documented my experiences for two UK newspapers before being asked to write a book: The Year of Living Danishly, Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country.

Since then, I’ve been humbled and moved to hear from readers from across the globe with wide-ranging life perspectives, but the one constant was a need to share the happiness secrets of their own cultures. Some of the themes that sprung out were universal — such as social interactions, exercising out of doors and finding a balance in life — while others were intriguingly unique.

So I set out to research into unique happiness concepts from around the world, interviewing people internationally until The Atlas of Happiness — my new book-baby — was born. It isn’t a compendium of the happiest countries; instead, it’s a look at what’s making people happier in different places. Because if we only look at the countries already coming top of the happiness polls, we miss out on ideas and knowledge from cultures we’re less familiar with.

Nowhere is perfect. Every country has faults. But I wanted to celebrate the best parts of a country’s culture as well as national characteristics at their finest – because that’s what we should all be aiming for.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Did you know, for example, that in Portuguese there’s something called saudade — a feeling of longing, melancholy, and nostalgia for a happiness that once was — or even a happiness you merely hoped for?

And while Brazil may be famous for its carnival spirit, the flipside of this, saudade, is so central to the Brazilian psyche that it’s even been given its own official ‘day’ on the 30th of January every year.

Most of us will have experienced a bittersweet pleasure in moments of melancholy — flicking through old photos, or caring about anyone enough to miss them when they’re gone.

And scientists have found that this temporary sadness — counter-intuitively — makes us happier: providing catharsis; improving our attention to detail; increasing perseverance and promoting generosity. So we should all spend time remembering those we’ve loved and lost — then practice being a little more grateful for the ones still around.

Finland ranked number one in this year’s UN World Happiness report thanks to a great quality of life, free healthcare, and education funded by high taxes.

But there’s also something else the Finns enjoy that’s infinitely more exportable: kalsarikännit — defined as ‘drinking at home in your underwear with no intention of going out’ — a pursuit so popular it even has its own emoji, commissioned by The Finnish Foreign Ministry.

In common with most Scandinavians, Finns aren’t shy about disrobing, and they all have such enviably well-insulated houses that stripping down to their pants is apparently completely okay even when it’s minus 35 degrees outside. What you drink and crucially how much of it you knock back is down to the individual, but it’s a uniquely Finnish form of happiness and mode of relaxation that we can all give a go.

In Greece, they have a concept called meraki that refers to an introspective, precise expression of care, usually applied to a cherished pastime — and it’s keeping Greeks happy despite turbulent times. This is because having a hobby improves our quality of life according to scientists, and challenging ourselves to do something different also creates new neural pathways in our brain. Having a passion that you take pride can be of extra benefit to those who can’t say the same for their primary occupation.

Because meraki can make life worthwhile if your 9-5 is more of a daily grind. Many tasks that need to be taken care of on a day-to-day basis aren’t particularly challenging or inspiring – from filing, to raising purchase orders or even — dare I say it — some of the more gruelling aspects of parenting.

But we can break up the never-ending cycle of mundane work with our own personal challenges — things that we’re passionate about that we can genuinely look forward to doing. Our meraki.

Dolce far niente — or the sweetness of doing nothing — is a much-treasured concept in Italy — often hashtagged on Instagram accompanying pictures of Italians in hammocks. Okay, so Italy hasn’t exactly topped any happiness rankings in recent years, but the cliché of the carefree Italian still exists – and with good reason.

Italians do ‘nothing’ like no other nation and perfecting the art takes style and skill – because there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s watching the world go by over coffee and a cornetto. It’s laughing at tourists. Or politicians. And crucially it’s about savoring the moment and really enjoying the present. Many of us search for relaxation by traveling to exotic locations, drinking to oblivion, or trying to blot out the noise of modern life.

But Italians let the chaos wash over them. Instead of saving up our ‘fun quota’ for an annual escape, they spread it over the minutes, hours and days throughout the year and ‘enjoy life’ in all its messy reality.

One of the happiest countries in the world, the Norwegians must be doing something right. And quite aside from their enviable Scandi-lifestyles and the safety net of all that oil, Norwegians have a secret ace card up their sleeves: a concept called friluftsliv. This roughly translates as ‘free air life’ and it’s a code of conduct as well as a life goal for most Norwegians – who like to spend time outdoors and get high, as often as possible.

Anyone who’s ever visited the country will know that if you meet a Norwegian out in nature, their objective tends to be the highest mountain nearby – and there’s a saying in Norway that “You must make an effort before you can have pleasure’.

Most Norwegians believe you have to work for things, to earn them with physical endeavors, battling the elements. Only once you’ve climbed a mountain in the rain and cold, can you truly enjoy your dinner. It’s an old fashioned approach to the good life but numerous studies show that using our bodies and getting out into nature as often as possible boosts mental and physical wellbeing.

Which is all very well, on paper. But how to apply these principles and all the things I’d learned in real life? Well, I took it slowly — dolce far niente style. I had to learn not to be the archetypal Londoner, working all hours. Instead, I had to try relaxing once in a while.

Radical, I know.

Next, I got on the hobby train. I found my meraki in pottery, in cooking and trying out new recipes, often inspired by the countries I was researching. Some weeks, we ate well. Others, not so much (my husband still hasn’t forgiven me for ‘Russian month’). I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve done a fair amount of underwear-drinking, too.

The Finnish concept of kalsarikännit and I are now firm friends. And because I was working less and being more mindful of living well and looking after myself, it was relatively easy to adopt the Norwegian ethos of friluftsliv.

So now I try to ask myself: what did I do today? What did I climb? Where did I go? But the biggest mind shift was the realization that to be happy, we have to be comfortable being sad sometimes, too. That we’re at our healthiest and happiest when we can reconcile ourselves to all our emotions, good and bad.

The Portuguese saudade was a game changer for me — helping me to come to terms with the life I thought I’d have and find a way to move on, without resentment or bitterness. Because when you let go of these things, something pretty amazing can happen.

By learning from other cultures about happiness, wellbeing and how to stay healthy (and sane), I found a way to be less stressed than I was in my old life. I developed a better understanding of the challenges and subtleties of coming from another culture. My empathy levels went up. I learned to care, more.

Optimism isn’t frivolous: it’s necessary. You’re travelers. You get this. But we need to spread the word, now, more than ever. Because we only have one world, so it would be really great if we didn’t mess it up.

Hellen Russell is a British journalist, speaker, and the author of the international bestseller The Year of Living Danishly. Her most recent book, The Atlas of Happiness, examines the cultural habits and traditions of happiness around the globe. Formerly the editor of marieclaire.co.uk, she now writes for magazines and newspapers around the world, including Stylist, The Times, Grazia, Metro, and The i Newspaper.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post The Atlas of Happiness: Discovering the World’s Secret to Happiness with Helen Russell appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/atlas-of-happiness/

[travelguy4444]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/getting-stabbed-in-colombia/

[travelguy4444]

20 Things to See and Do in Bogotá

Posted: 03/25/2019 | March 25th, 2019

The capital of Colombia, Bogotá was the home to the region’s indigenous people, the Muisca, when the Spanish came around plundering gold and resources, and it’s been the country’s main city ever since.

Before I went, everyone told me Bogotá wasn’t anything special: dirty, crowded, hard to get around, and lacking the charm of the other big cities in Colombia.

“Spend a few days there and move on,” they all said.

Well, I spent a few days there — and then a few more.

I LOVED Bogotá.

It felt like the most “Colombian” city I visited. It’s not like the gringofied cities in the rest of the country. Its “gritty” nature was what appealed to me.

Bogotá was a vibrant, lively city I couldn’t get enough of.

The museum scene is incredible, there’s a lot of history, a blossoming art community, an exciting food scene, a wild nightlife, and super welcoming people.

It is also a huge city with a ton of tours, day trips, and other things to do. You could easily spend a week here.

To help you make the most out of your visit, here are my top 20 things to see and do in Bogotá.

20 Things to See and Do in Bogotá

1. Take a Free Walking Tour

One of my favorite things to do when I get to a new destination is to take a free walking tour. It’s a great way to get the lay of the land, see the main sights, and have a local expert answer any and all of my questions.

BeyondColombia has a great free walking tour that will give you a solid introduction to the city. It also has a free food tour, which is a terrific way to get a taste of some local Colombian dishes (you’ll spend around 18,000 COP/$6 USD on food for the tour). Just be sure to tip your guides!

For a more specialized tour, check out the Bogotá Graffiti Tour. This one operates by donation, using the money raised to reinvest in future community art projects.

2. Stroll in the Botanical Gardens

Opened in 1955, the Botanical Garden of Bogotá is home to almost 20,000 plants. There is a focus on regional plants, usually those that are endemic to the Andes and other high-alpine regions of the continent. It’s a really peaceful place to walk around, and there are some food stalls nearby, so you can grab a quick bite as you explore the gardens and browse the exotic flowers and trees.

Cl. 63 No. 6895, [phone], jbb.gov.co. Open daily 8am-5pm (9am-5pm on weekends). Admission is 3,500 COP for adults and 1,800 COP for children.

3. Climb Monserrate

Standing tall at over 3,000 meters, you can see Monserrate from pretty much everywhere in town. It’s a popular spot to take in the view, and since there is a church at the summit, it’s also a popular spot for local weddings. You can walk up yourself in under an hour, or you can take a cable car or funicular to the top. Keep in mind that the walk up isn’t that safe at night or alone — thieves scout out the route. Be careful!

The funicular runs Monday-Saturday 6:30am-11:30am and Sundays 5:30am-4:30pm. The cable car is available Monday-Saturday 12pm-11:30pm and Sundays 10am-4:30pm. Tickets for either vehicle are the same price: round-trip tickets cost 21,000 COP for adults (12,000 COP on Sundays).

4. Visit the Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum)

This is the most interesting museum in the entire country and sees over half a million tourists every year. Opened in 1939, the Gold Museum documents the importance and use of gold in pre-Hispanic civilizations in Colombia and is home to over 55,000 gold items. There’s a lot of information to take in, so be sure to get the audio guide (8,000 COP) or join one of the daily free tours.

Cra. 6 No. 15-88, [phone], banrepcultural.org/bogota/museo-del-oro. Open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-6pm and Sundays 10am-4pm. Admission is 4,000 COP for adults and free for children. Admission is also free for adults on Sundays, but it gets busy quickly so be sure to arrive early!

5. See the Salt Cathedral

Located about an hour’s drive from the city in Zipaquirá, the Salt Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church that was built in the tunnels of an old salt mine. It’s 200 meters below ground, making this one of the more unique religious sites in the country, if not the world. Every Sunday, up to 3,000 people attend church services here.

Parque de la Sal, [phone], catedraldesal.gov.co. Open daily 9am-5:40pm. Admission is 58,000 COP for foreigners, with discounts available for seniors.

6. Check out the Museo de Botero

Founded in 2000, this museum is home to one of Latin America’s most important art collections. The museum was created after Fernando Botero donated hundreds of his works to the Banco de la República de Colombia with the promise that they would be displayed in a free museum for everyone to see. In addition to his own pieces, included in the donation were works by Monet, Picasso, and other world-famous artists. Take a free tour or get the audio guide (not free).

Cl. 11 No. 4-41, [phone], banrepcultural.org/bogota/museo-botero. Open Monday and Wednesday-Saturday 9am-7pm and Sundays 10am-5pm (closed Tuesdays). Admission is free, and free guided tours are available daily; see the website for updated times. Audio guides are available for 10,000 COP.

7. Explore La Candelaria

I really loved this neighborhood. This is the old part of Bogotá. You can wander the narrow cobblestone streets and take in the eclectic architecture, with art deco, colonial, and baroque styles all calling the neighborhood home. Many of the city’s best attractions (also, many hostels) are here too, such as the Botero Museum, the Gold Museum, and several churches and universities. Watch live music while hanging at Plaza Chorro de Quevedo, try the local chicha (a drink made from corn, often fermented to be alcoholic) on the side streets, and take in some of the amazing restaurants in this district.

8. See the Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Carmen is a Gothic church located in La Candelaria. The church has a red-and-white striped pattern — both on the outside and inside — making it look like a giant candy cane. Built from 1926 to 1938, the church stands almost 60 meters tall has some incredible Byzantine and Moorish art.

Cra. 5 No. 8-36, [phone]. Open Monday-Friday 7am-7:30am and 10am-4pm, Saturdays 7am-7:30am, and Sundays 7am-12:30pm.

9. Visit Simon Bolívar Metropolitan Park

This is one of the most popular parks in Bogotá. Created in 1979, it spans almost 1,000 acres. You can find people exercising, relaxing, or attending concerts here. The park is named after the famous Simón Bolívar, who led the liberation of the region from its Spanish overlords.

Open daily 6am-6pm. Admission is free unless there is a concert or event in progress.

10. Wander Plaza Bolívar

This is the main square of Bogotá, home to Colombia’s Palace of Justice, the Cathedral of Bogotá, the mayor’s office, and the Capitol Building. It’s the historical heart of the city, with buildings from as early as the 16th century. Under the Spanish, the plaza was home to bullfights, circus acts, and public markets. Watch out for the plethora of pigeons!

11. Head to the Laguna de Guatavita (Lake Guatavita)

If you want to take a break from the city and get some fresh air, head out on a day trip to Lake Guatavita. Located around 60 kilometers north of Bogotá, this small lake is a sacred site to the region’s indigenous people and is apparently where the rumors of El Dorado originated. There are also hot springs in the nearby town of Sesquilé if you’re in need of some relaxation.

Day trips to the area last around 6 hours and will vary in price. Expect to pay at least 180,000 COP per person.

12. Explore Parque 93

This is the area of town with some of the best restaurants, nightclubs, and bars in the entire city. The park itself is home to an ongoing rotation of temporary art exhibitions. Located in one of the nicer areas of town, you’ll find a lot of good restaurants and cafés lining the park.

13. Attend Gringo Tuesdays

This is a weekly language exchange that evolves into an international party. Every Tuesday, you can meet with other locals and travelers for a few hours of conversation. Once that’s over, the real party begins and goes late into the night. It’s a fun, social night out if you’re looking meet fellow travelers. A lot of hostels organize party buses to the event, so if you’re coming from La Candelaria, this is a good transportation option.

Street 85 No. 11-53, Promenade del Faro, [phone], gringotuesdays.com/en. Every Tuesday, the language exchange occurs 4pm-8pm, followed by the party, which runs 8pm-3am.

14. Discover the National Museum of Colombia

Situated in the heart of Bogotá, this is the oldest and biggest museum in the entire country (and one of the oldest on the continent). Built in 1823, it’s home to over 20,000 pieces of art and historical artifacts, some dating as far back as 10,000 BCE. The building was actually used as a prison initially (it definitely looks imposing) until it transitioned into a museum in 1946. If you’re a history buff or just want to learn more about the country, this museum is a must.

Carrera 7 No 28-66, [phone], museonacional.gov.co. Open Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sundays 10am-5pm. Admission is 4,000 COp for adults, 3,000 COP for students, and 2,000 COP for children aged 5-12.

15. Wander the Usaquén Market

Every Sunday, artisans line the cobblestoned streets to sell all sorts of local crafts and goods. While it’s usually referred to as a flea market, things here are a bit nicer and more upscale than some of the other markets. It’s still quite affordable, though, and makes for a fun way to spend the day.

The market runs 11am-4pm every Sunday in Usaquén.

16. Explore the Museo Santa Clara

This church was built in the 17th century and is actually one of the oldest in the entire country. It was deconsecrated in the 1960s and converted into a museum by the government. There are over 148 baroque paintings that almost entirely cover its walls, making this one of the most beautifully decorated churches you’ll see in Colombia.

Cra. 8 No. 8-91, [phone], museocolonial.gov.co. Open Tuesday-Friday 9am-4:30pm and Saturday-Sunday 10am-3:30pm. Admission is 4,000 COP for adults and 2,000 COP for children.

17. Grab a snack from La Puerta Falsa

This little shop has been serving locals for over 200 years! La Puerta Falsa (The False Door) is a small restaurant with room for fewer than 20 people, yet the tamales and ajiaco soup have been community staples for generations. If you’re looking to try traditional Colombian food, this is the place to go!

Calle 11 No. 6-50, [phone], restaurantelapuertafalsa.inf.travel. Open daily 7am-10pm though its schedule isn’t set in stone.

18. Visit the Iglesia de San Francisco

Built in the 16th century, this Catholic church is the oldest surviving church in Bogotá. The interior is incredibly ornate, with a beautiful altar that dates back to the 17th century. It’s still in use, and you’ll likely see some locals praying during your visit, so make sure to dress appropriately and be respectful.

Av. Jimenez De Quesada No. 7-10, [phone]. Open Monday-Friday 6:30am-10:30pm; 6:30am-12:30pm and 4pm-6:30pm on Saturdays; and 7:30am-1:30pm and 4:30-7:30pm on Sundays. Admission is free.

19. Sample the local brews

Bogotá (and the country has a whole) has a growing craft beer scene. Bogotá Craft Beer offers a four-hour tour that takes you to some of the best bars and breweries in town. The tour includes a knowledgable guide as well as secure transportation from place to place. I highly recommend it.

Tours are available daily 4pm-9pm and need to be booked in advance via their website. Tickets are around 95,000 COP per person.

20. Take a food tour

Bogotá is a great city for foodies, and the best way to get a sense of the culinary offerings is to take a food tour. Bogotá Food Tour will take you around La Macarena, Bogotá’s bohemian and artistic neighborhood. The tour lasts three hours and will take you to three different restaurants where you can sample a local dish and drink. Tours also include pickup and drop-off at your accommodation.

Tours are available Monday-Saturday and begin around 7pm. Booking in advance is required so you can secure your transportation. Tickets are 188,500 COP per person.

***

It’s true that Bogotá is an “edgy city” with a lot of petty crime. Yet I loved the atmosphere and vibe of the city. It had grit (kind of like Naples, Italy). I loved the art, the museums, the food. The city has so much to offer travelers. You can really fill a lot of time between all the sights, tours, parks, and activities. I would have liked to stay longer in Bogotá if I could.

I’d budget three to five days for your visit. It will definitely be worth it.

Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. My favorite places to stay are:

Masaya Hostel – This is a cool hostel located in La Candaleria. It has lots of common space where you can meet people and some comfy hammocks you can relax in; it also hosts all sorts of activities and excursions, from live music to salsa lessons.

Botánico Hostel – This cool hostel is relvatively new. The beds are comfy, it’s in a good location, and it offers free breakfast too!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel — and I think they will help you too!

Want More Information on Colombia? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Colombia for even more planning tips!

Photo credits: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 20, 21

The post 20 Things to See and Do in Bogotá appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/things-to-see-and-do-in-bogota/

[travelguy4444]

Life in Paris: One Month Down

Posted: 3/21/2019 | March 21st, 2019

It’s been exactly one month since I moved to Paris.

During that time, it’s been nonstop wine, cheese, brasseries, influencer meetups, fashionable social events, writer salons, museums, picnics, and late-night jazz concerts.

It’s been a whirlwind of adventure and romance.

Just I imagined it would be.

Actually…

It hasn’t been that way at all.

I just made that up.

Life here has been the exact opposite of that (though that kind of fabulous lifestyle does sound like fun).

I arrived after a much-delayed flight, plopping my jetlagged self into bed and not waking up until the following day. From there, I met my one Parisian friend and her friends for some wine and cheese. That little outing to a park turned into a late-night wine fueled bar crawl that ended at some ’50s-style American sock hop. (Seriously. I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, in a bar in Paris, and people are dressed up and dancing like it’s 1953. It was kind of incredible.)

But, after that wild night, life slowed to a crawl.

I spent my first week here settling in: I got a SIM card, saw a plethora of apartments (and finally picked one), signed up for French classes, and tried to catch up on work. (I thought about joining a gym but, in paperwork-loving France, you need a doctor’s note saying you’re fit enough to join. I’m told most people don’t follow that rule but, for now, I can’t be bothered.)

After that first week, I moved into my new apartment, went to some meetups in hopes of making friends, and flew to Berlin for ITB, the largest travel conference in the world.

Upon returning to Paris, I came down with a terrible cold and spent the last week inside my apartment trying to recover. Just when I had hoped to hit the ground running, life had other ideas.

Now, as I hit my first full month here, I’m finally feeling better (and thanks to spending so long inside, I’m fairly caught up on work).

The timing couldn’t be more perfect. The weather is getting warmer and sunnier again. Over the next few weeks, I start hosting a plethora of visitors, which will finally get me out of my apartment and exploring the city more. (I’ve lined up a lot of activities, which are basically the museums, tours, and shows I’ve yet to see, so my friends are going to get a very off-the-beaten-path look at Paris.)

Life here is very different than what I imagined it to be.

In my head, I imagined hitting the ground running. I imagined perfectly scheduled days balanced with work and play, including regular French classes, meetups, sightseeing, food tours, and nights out. I imagined myself like Owen Wilson’s character from Midnight in Paris where I just wander around town and stumble into this action-packed life.

But, instead, my time here has been similar to when I moved Bangkok where I spent much of my early weeks there alone playing video games, discouraged that life just didn’t “happen” to me.

It took a long time to find my groove in that city.

But living in Bangkok taught me two things:

First, life just doesn’t happen. Sitting at my kitchen table doing work isn’t going to show me life in Paris. Neither is going to the same co-working space.

This first month has gone by the in the blink of an eye, and, with only three more left to go, I know I have to make the most of every single day.

I need to go out and make thing happen. I need to be more proactive in doing things.

But, when I think of some of my motivations for coming here — to escape the fast pace of New York City, to write more, to relax, to sleep, to be healthier — I realize that, by those metrics, my first month has been a success.

I’ve done all those things.

Yeah, it would be nice to live this life I imagine in my head. But what I really want is exactly what I’ve been doing.

Now I feel settled in and ready to take on the city.

So, though, I’m 25% of the way through my time in Paris, I still have plenty of time left to accomplish the other things I want to do.

I didn’t come here in hopes of establishing a new life.

I came here for a fresh start and to try out what it’s like to take a really extended holiday to one of my favorites cities in the world. To no longer be just passing through but rather to peel back some of the layers of the onion that is Paris.

No move to a new place is ever going to be easy.

Because the second thing living Bangkok taught me? If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.

Bangkok showed me that I could be self-reliant and independent. It showed me that I could adapt to anything.

I’ve done this before.

And I can do it again.

***

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my time here, so here are some answers to for anyone wondering:

1. How did I find an apartment so quickly? I got lucky. Someone on Twitter connected me with someone who rented out apartments. And having a decent budget allowed me to find a place quicker. I was going through some agencies and looking at Facebook groups and Le Bon Coin (French Craigslist), but that personal connection made it a lot easier.

Finding an apartment here in Paris is hard even for the French. It’s a long process filled with a lot of paperwork. The way New Yorkers talk about the price of an apartment is the way people here talk about finding an apartment. It’s the first topic of discussion, as a way to bond with strangers.

2. Are you studying French? If so, where? I was taking French classes at Alliance Française but, disliking the classroom teaching style, dropped out and hired a private tutor. I’m also learning via podcasts and Duolingo.

3. How are you meeting people and making friends as an expat? There’s a bunch of expat meetup groups I’ve joined, and I started hosting my own meetups. I am also reaching out influencers based in France. But if you know of any cool Parisian locals, let me know!

4. I heard you’re running walking tours. Is that true? Yep! I started running my own historical walking tours. You can sign up here. I have put up the schedule through the end of May. I do them once a week and they’re free. Come join! If a date is full, join the waitlist. A few people always end up canceling!

Book Your Trip to Paris: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. Some of my favorite places to stay in Paris are:

St. Christopher’s Canal – Comfy spot on the canal. During the summer months, the terrace is hopping!

3 Ducks Hostel – This hostel has one of the cheapest bars in the city, and it’s just a 10-minute walk to the Eiffel Tower.

Les Piaules – Fantastic chimney lounge, a cool bar, and a rooftop space. It’s a great place to meet people!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Paris? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Paris with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

The post Life in Paris: One Month Down appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/life-in-paris/

[travelguy4444]

My 8 Favorite Hostels in Medellín in 2019

Posted: 3/19/2019 | March 19th, 2019

There are a lot of hostels in Medellín. As “gringo central” for Colombia, you can’t walk five feet without coming across one, with majority located in El Pablado (Gringoland) and Laureles (up-and-coming Gringoland).

In fact, if you look on Hostelworld, you’ll find 93 hostels in this city. That’s a lot of hostels.

I spent close to three weeks in Medellín: first for an extended time over the holidays and then again as I made my way from north to south. Like I do whenever I’m in cities that long, I decided to stay in as many hostels as possible to find out which were the best.

A lot of online lists purport to tell you the best hostels in the city, but I found that my experiences staying in them differed so greatly from the reviews, I began to think, “Ya know, I don’t think people really stayed here!”

So, after spending three weeks there and moving every other day, here is my list of my favorite hostels, based on actual firsthand experience.

The 8 Best Hostels in Medellin

1. Los Patios

This stylish hostel has themed floors inspired by Colombia’s natural surroundings: mountains, jungles, sea, and plains. It’s part of a massive two-building complex that also has a co-working space, a gym, rooftop bars, an organic garden (whose herbs you can use), a Spanish school, and communal kitchens. It was by far my favorite hostel in the entirety of the city. (In fact, I think it is one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in!)

Each dorm bed comes with a privacy curtain, and the private rooms are as comfortable as hotels. The bathrooms were amazing and the beds super comfy — I got some of my best nights’ sleep here. It offers free tea and coffee, great happy hours, amazing parties, and activities like salsa classes and street art tours, plus there are free bike rentals. The staff is also super friendly and welcoming. Overall, this hostel just gets it.

Beds from $17 USD, privates from $50 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Los Patios!

2. Hostel Rango Boutique

Hostel Rango is one of the more upscale hostels in the city. The dorm beds are super comfy, though the beds lack privacy curtains. Each bed comes with reading lights, two power sockets, and personal lockers. The bathrooms are nicer than anything I’ve ever seen in a hostel and rival that of a luxury hotel. I mean, that water pressure! That rustic design? So good! I want these bathrooms in my home. Private rooms are also available and come with a few additional touches, like TVs and mini-fridges, but they are as expensive as hotels, so skip them.

I found the open, industrial décor is super fashionable, and the hostel’s restaurant and bar area great for grabbing a meal and a really good professional cocktail (honestly the bar alone is worth visiting). The staff will also help to set you up with activities like food tours and free walking tours.

Beds from $18 USD, privates from $75 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Hostel Rango Boutique!

3. Sugar Cane Hostel

German- and Colombian-owned Sugar Cane is small. There are just a few private and dorm rooms on one level. The rooms are impressively clean, although they lack the character of the larger hostels in town. The roof has a common area with a few hammocks as well as the hostel’s kitchen. Breakfast is free (you serve yourself) and comes with all the essentials, like bread, eggs, muesli, coffee, and tea. Every Sunday the German owner (I forget his name) cooks up his famous barbecue of chicken, steak, sausages, and all the fixings! It’s a pretty standard, simple hostel, but the owner really makes you feel like family, and he helped me a lot during my stay.

Beds from $10 USD, private rooms from $28 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Sugar Cane Hostel!

4. Happy Buddha Boutique Hostel

This is the largest party hostel in Medellín, so if you’re looking to get crazy, this your best bet! The staff works hard to keep people happy (and drunk), including organizing drinking games, salsa classes, and pub crawls. You’ll get free breakfast and coffee in the mornings. The drink are cheap here and there are two on-site restaurants selling sushi and tacos.

Thankfully, the huge bar area is separate from the rooms, so it’s pretty quiet. But the rooms are fairly basic and the beds nothing special — you’ll sleep but won’t be blown away by anything. The real reason to come here is to be in the middle of the party! A lot of pub crawls stop here.

Beds from $10 USD, private rooms from $28 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Happy Buddha Boutique Hostel!

5. The Wandering Paisa

The Wandering Paisa is located in the upscale area of Laureles, which is the up and coming touristy area. All the dorms are covered in South American and Colombian cultural artwork by local students. Each bed comes with a large locker and a privacy divider, which makes it easier to sleep. While the beds are average, I was a big fan of the nice pillows. The kitchen is has the basic essentials. The Paisa Bar is a fun spot to hang out in, and local musicians perform on the sundeck. The hostel also offers free salsa lessons and Spanish classes. If you want to get out of Poblado, this is the place to stay.

Beds from $8 USD, private rooms from $23 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at The Wandering Paisa!

6. Black Sheep Hostel

The Black Sheep Hostel, one of Medellín’s most popular, was also the first in town. I really loved this hostel. The rooms, while pretty bare, are spotless, and the bathrooms have great water pressure and are cleaned regularly. There are lots of common spaces here, including a large balcony and terrace area. The beer sold is cheap and I found guests here were always socializing and hanging out (the way they should). The Kiwi staff owner is super nice and staff members are all university students that are great at handing out local advice. The hostel also offers a ton of tour options that you can book directly from and they’ll even exchange money if you need. This is another “classic” hostel that gets everything right! I loved it.

Beds from $11 USD, private rooms from $25 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Black Sheep Hostel!

7. Purple Monkey

This is definitely one of the liveliest party hostels in Medellín. It’s quirky and upbeat, with a massive rooftop bar area. I found the dorms to be small and cramped, and it was a bit weird to go upstairs and outside to the shower area, but the place is kept very clean, there’s free breakfast, and you really only come here to party, so who cares about anything else!

Beds from $11 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Purple Monkey!

8. Casa Kiwi Hostel

Casa Kiwi Hostel is another institution and located in the middle of Poblado. The dorms are small and I found the beds to be a little thin, but each bed has a locker, and overall, the building is clean and tidy. There’s a big kitchen with free coffee and tea, but the hostel’s restaurant serves up tasty and cheap food. It also has a rooftop terrace, a plunge pool, a bar, plenty of hammocks, and a mini-theater. As one of the most popular hostels in the city, it’s really easy to meet people here, as it’s always full!

Beds from $11, private rooms from $31 USD.

—-> Click here to book your stay at Casa Kiwi Hostel!

***

Two places I would not recommend staying are Monet’s and Selina. Monet’s is new and cheap and has friendly owners, but it’s far from the action, the walls are thin, and the accommodations pretty basic. If you were on a tight, tight budget and everywhere else was full, it would be good for a night. I wouldn’t spend more time there than that.

Selina is a super popular hostel with digital nomads and has locations around the world. It’s always so hyped up that I was pretty excited to stay there. However, I was greatly disappointed with it. It was good spot to work from (they have a co-working space), there are resturants on site, and the bar, though overpriced, was nice place to meet expats and travelers, but the beds were hard, the rooms had little privacy, and the bathrooms weren’t well kept. Given the high premium it charges, I just didn’t see the value in staying there. Better to stay elsewhere and go party at Selina instead! You get more bang for your peso elsewhere.

***

So there you have it: the best hostels in Medellín based on my recent firsthand experience. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but by far the best, best, BEST hostel in the city is Los Patios. It’s one of the greatest hostels I’ve ever stayed in!

Did we miss any? If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments.

Book Your Trip to Medellin: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credits: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10

The post My 8 Favorite Hostels in Medellín in 2019 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/best-hostels-medellin/

[travelguy4444]

This is Not Your Parent’s Colombia

Posted: 3/14/2019 | March 14th, 2019

Colombia’s troubled past – cartels, paramilitaries, poverty, petty crime — casts a long shadow that still reaches to today. The country is still viewed by many as a place where danger lurks around every corner.*

Having grown up hearing stories of Colombian drug lords, kidnappings, murders, and muggings, these ghosts haunted the back of my mind as prepared to visit the country.

Was the country going to be safe? Should I bring my electronics?

The stories and images we grow up with don’t leave us easily. They slide to the recesses of our mind and wait there, ready to jump back to the forefront and whisper fear into our ears.

Even though I knew otherwise, the old image of Colombia — born of decades of media bombardment — still circled around me as I touched down in Medellin.

It quickly evaporated once face with reality.

Colombian history is just that. History.

Yes, there are still many problems here in Colombia: the drug trade is still strong, paramilitaries still exist, and petty crime is a major problem. The murder rate, though falling dramatically over the last decade, was still 11,781 in 2017 and petty crime and armed robbery are still a regular occurrence with 2018 seeing over 200,000 armed robberies in the country.

Locals often suggested not going out to certain areas at night and being extra careful with my stuff. There are still issues with the paramilitaries (there was a bombing while I was there by the National Liberation Army, a radical paramilitary group). Income inequality is high. Poverty is rife. About 29% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Colombia is not perfect. It’s still growing, it’s still developing, and it still is trying to cast off the long shadow of its troubled past.

But the big cartel days are over, and most paramilitaries have entered peace agreements with the government. Major crimes are decreasing each year. Kidnapping has decreased by 92% since the cartel years and homicides have dropped by around 50% over the past two decades.

Poverty is decreasing as well. Since 2002, when the government started tracking poverty statistics, the poverty rate in the country has dropped from almost 50% to 29% — and it’s still dropping by around 3% each year. On top of that, their GDP per capita has increased almost five-fold since 1980.

Slowly but surely, things are improving.

Tourism from around the globe is on the rise, as well, with tourism doubling since 2010.

Foreigners are moving there in droves (Colombia gets a new immigrant every 18 minutes). The country is a hub for digital nomads and tech companies like WeWork, Facebook, and Google. It’s making big strides, generally dispelling visitors’ previous preconceptions.

Danger doesn’t lurk around every corner the way it used. Colombia is a country on the move and people are eagerly wanting to shed its past.

This is not our parents’ Colombia.

The country constantly blew away all my expectations. (Even my dad, who was sure I was going to get kidnapped, commented after seeing my photos that it wasn’t anything like he thought it was.)

The people were curious, friendly, warm, and helpful. I had some great conversations with students and Uber drivers (I bonded with one over classical music and another over our mutual love of the book The 5 Love Languages). Colombians I met in Cartagena took me out and treated me like we had been friends forever. I had countless other positive encounters with people who seemed generally happy to show their country to visitors.

The infrastructure rivaled what you see in the advanced countries of Europe. Seriously, the roads, the ski-style gondolas leading into the mountains, the subways, the rapid bus routes, the trams — I only wish the United States had such a comprehensive system.

The culinary scene — high-class gastronomy throughout, mixed with incredible hole-in-the-wall restaurants and ceviche and fruit smoothie street vendors — is one of the most eclectic and cutting-edge in the region.

And with lightning-fast Wi-Fi and tons of cafés, I found working there a breeze.

Colombia is packed with things to do and see, from beautiful colonial towns like Popayan and Cartagena to vibrant cities such as Bogotá and Medellín, from dancing in Cali to the Lost City Trek, from the beaches of the north to hikes in the coffee region, from the desert of Tatacoa to the ruins of San Agustín.

I thought that spending six weeks in the country would allow me to dig a little deeper, but even with that amount of time, I still barely scratched the surface.

Colombia is no Shangri-La.

But it’s damn close.

I give it an 11 out of 10.

It may be clichéd to say but I can’t wait to go back. Colombia was one of the best countries I’ve visited in years.

I can’t speak highly enough about it.

Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

  *I don’t mean just in the United States. Colombia has become incredibly popular with Dutch travelers thanks to a popular TV show that takes place here but many told me that older Dutch residents still ask “Why are you going to Colombia? It’s dangerous.” Old patterns die hard…no matter where you are in the world.

The post This is Not Your Parent’s Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/amazing-colombia/

[travelguy4444]

Visiting Budapest: Suggested Itinerary, What to See & Do, and Where to Stay

Posted: 3/13/2019 | March 13th, 2019

Before I first visited, I imagined Budapest to be this rundown former Communist capital with little to do.

But I was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Budapest turned out to be a vibrant city with a rich history, beautiful parks and buildings, bustling food halls, cool underground bars, and centuries-old thermal baths.

There was indeed a lot to do.

Since then, I’ve been back many times and have even led tours there.

I love how Budapest’s drab exterior hides an inner warmth. It’s hip. It’s cool. There is so much more to the city if you can look beyond its concrete façade. Do that, and you’ll be rewarded with a visit to one of the best destinations on the continent.

Budapest is actually two cities straddling the Danube: Buda on the west side is hilly and classy, while Pest (pronounced “pesht”) on the east is its flatter, wilder neighbor. (A third, Óbuda, merged with the others in 1873.)

Each part has its own personality as if the river not only divides the city geographically but metaphysically too.

To help you plan your visit to this marvelous Central European capital, I’ve created this itinerary with the best things to see and do in Budapest, taking you on — and off — the beaten path so you not only check out the main sights but you also get to know the locals and culture too.

Visiting Budapest: Day 1

Since Budapest is so neatly divided, it’s best to tackle each half separately. Today, we’re going to start with the Buda (west) side of the Danube. This is the upper-class, ritzy area — complete with a castle — and it’s filled with lots of museums, historic streets, parks, and regal homes.

To kickstart your trip, start your visit with a free walking tour!

Take a Free Walking Tour I love free walking tours. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you probably know that already, since I’m always recommending them. They give you a wonderful way to get an overview of a place, learn about its culture, and orient yourself. Budapest has a number of good tours. Check these out (and be sure to tip your guide!):

Strawberry Tours

Trip to Budapest

Generation Tours

After the free walking tour, which will last about three hours, head over to Castle Hill.

Tour Castle Hill This area has a lot of charm, with cobblestone streets and narrow alleys running through the Old Town. There are panoramic views of Pest and the Danube, great cafés and restaurants, and shops to explore.

The cheapest and easiest way to get up the hill is on the No. 16 bus. The funicular is another option, but it usually has a lengthy wait. I actually prefer walking, as I don’t think the hill is that steep.

Once there, explore some of the sights listed below:

Buda Castle They call it a castle, but it’s more of a palace complex than anything else. Though it was originally constructed in the 13th century, the huge Baroque complex you see today was built between 1749 and 1769. The palace’s days of being a luxurious living space ended in World War II, though, when Nazi (and then Russian) troops looted it. Today, it’s home to a collection of museums (see below).

Beneath the castle, there is a labyrinth that you can explore. You’re free to wander the damp maze, which includes a section of pitch-black winding corridors (don’t let go of the guide rope!). What makes the labyrinth particularly interesting is that Vlad the Impaler (who we know colloquially as Count Dracula) was imprisoned there for 14 years.

Szent György tér 2, [phone], budacastlebudapest.com. The courtyards are open 24/7 while the castle has hours that align with the museum and gallery below. Admission to the labyrinth is 3,000 HUF for adults, with discounts available for students and seniors.

Budapest History Museum This museum covers four floors of Buda Castle and will really give you a comprehensive overview of the city’s entire history (plus the views across town are amazing!). It has some rooms that date back to the 15th century, and you can also explore the old cellar, which also dates to the 15th century. Personally, I really liked the “1,000 Years of Budapest” area.

[phone] , budacastlebudapest.com/budapest-history-museum. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-4pm (6pm in the summer). Admission varies by season (2,000-2,400 HUF), with discounts for students and seniors, and an additional charge for taking pictures (free admission if you have the Budapest Card). An audio guide is available for 1,200 HUF. Admission is free on national holidays.

Hungarian National Gallery Opened in 1957, this museum focuses on Hungarian artists and history, of which I knew very little before my visit. There are a lot of treasures here: besides the paintings and sculptures, you can see a collection of altarpieces from the 1400s and tour the building’s dome. To see what new temporary exhibits are on display, check the website.

1014 Budapest, [phone], mng.hu. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm (last tickets sold at 5pm). Admission is 1,800 HUF, with discounts for students and seniors, and an additional charge for taking pictures. Audio guides are available for 800 HUF.

Hospital in the Rock This museum is underneath Castle Hill and just a five-minute walk from the castle. It has a fascinating history, having served as a hospital, bomb shelter, prison, and nuclear bunker. You’ll learn about World War II, the 1956 revolution, and the Cold War. It opened as a museum in 2008 and is one of the most popular attractions in town. There’s a one-hour guided tour complete with wax figures, tools, equipment, and furnishings!

Lovas ut 4/c , [phone], sziklakorhaz.eu/en. Open daily 10am-8pm. Admission is 4,000 HUF for adults, with discounts available for seniors and anyone under 19.

Matthias Church This neo-Gothic Roman Catholic church is not what you might expect. I’ve seen hundreds of churches and cathedrals across Europe, and this one is unique. The colorful roof almost looks like it was built from Legos. The original church was built in the 11th century, though nothing remains of it. The current building was constructed in the 14th century, though it saw significant renovations in the 19th century. Once inside, you’ll notice the vaulted ceilings and ornate décor. It was a mosque for a while, which explains its vibrant colors and painted designs that aren’t the norm in European churches.

Szentháromság tér 2, [phone], matyas-templom.hu. Open 9am-5pm on weekdays, 9am-1pm on Saturdays, and 1pm-5pm on Sundays. Admission is 1,800 HUF for adults, with discounts for students and seniors. Guided tours are available for 2,500 HUF.

Fisherman’s Bastion This ornate, fairytale structure faces Pest and provides great panoramic views across the Danube River. Built between 1895 and 1902, the terrace comprises seven lookout towers that represent the seven Hungarian tribes who founded Budapest. (It was designed by the same architect who constructed the Matthias Church next door.) The name comes from either the fact that the terrace overlooks the fishermen’s guild or that the fishermen’s guild actually was responsible for protecting that area of the wall — no one is quite certain.

Szentháromság tér, [phone], fishermansbastion.com. Open daily 9am-11pm. Admission is free, with an additional charge of 1,000 HUF (500 HUF for students/seniors) to visit the upper turrets.

Hungarian Presidential Palace The home of the Hungarian president is called Sándor-palota (Alexander Palace). It is not super eye-catching compared to the surrounding buildings, but if you time it right, you can see the changing of the guard ceremony at the top of each hour, from 9am to 5pm, excluding Sundays. If you’re really lucky, in the summer the palace will be open for tours, though this rarely happens.

Szent György tér 1-2, [phone]. Admission to the changing of the guard is free. There is an additional fee for palace admission (when available).

Buda Tower This reconstructed “tower” is all that remains of the Church of Mary Magdalene, which was built in the 13th century but nearly destroyed during an air raid in World War II. When the Turks occupied the city between 1541-1699, it was used as a mosque. Since reopening in 2017, you can now climb the 172 steps to the top, but given the great free views on Castle Hill, I’d skip it and just view the tower from the outside.

Kapisztrán tér 6, budatower.hu/en. Open daily 10am-6pm (but only on the weekends in January and February). Admission is 1,500 HUF for adults and 600 HUF for students.

Visiting Budapest: Day 2

Today, let’s tackle the Pest (eastern) side of town:

Visit Parliament This massive building on the Danube is where the Hungarian legislature meets. The literal translation means “House of the Nation” or “House of the Country.” After the three cities that make up modern Budapest (Buda, Pest, and Óbuda) united in 1873, it was decided that a new parliament building was needed. This massive structure took 19 years to build, with construction finishing in 1904. Not only is it the tallest structure in Budapest but it’s actually the largest in the entire country.

These days, you can tour the Gothic Revival edifice and watch the changing of the guard. I recommend purchasing your tickets in advance, as the lines to buy tickets on-site can be incredibly long.

Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3, [phone], parlament.hu. Open daily 8am-6pm. Admission is 6,000 HUF for non-EU adults, 3,100 HUF for non-EU students, 2,400 HUF for EU adults, and 1,300 HUF for EU students.

Stroll Along the Danube A walk along the river is a nice activity after visiting Parliament. Head south and check out the promenade and its many green spaces and sculptures, including the sobering “Shoes on the Danube Bank,” a memorial honoring the Jews who were shot here during World War II.

Walk Across the Chain Bridge Continuing south, you’ll reach the Széchenyi Chain Bridge connecting Pest with Buda. This wrought-iron and stone suspension bridge is 375m in length. It opened in 1849, though it had to be rebuilt after World War II. At the Pest (east) end of the Chain Bridge is the Gresham Palace, a beautiful Art Nouveau building. It was once a luxurious office/apartment building and is now a luxurious hotel, the Four Seasons.

Eat at the Great Market Hall Built in 1897, this is the oldest and largest indoor market in the country, a bit southwest of the Jewish Quarter. You’ll find mostly produce, meats, baked goods, and candy on the ground floor, while the upper floor is home to restaurants and souvenir shops. It has a lot of traditional places to eat, so be sure to walk around and explore first. Sure, it’s touristy (it’s the central market, after all!), but I still found the food tasty. My favorites are the shops on the second floor, on the right side, closest to the front.

Vámház körút 1–3. Open Monday 6am-5pm, Tuesday-Friday 6am-6pm , and Saturday 6am-3pm. Closed on Sundays. Admission is free.

Gaze at St. Stephen’s Basilica This is the largest church in Hungary and can’t be missed. It is beautiful inside and out, with ornate architecture, gorgeous artwork, sparkling marble, and a tall dome. No wonder it took 50 years to build! If you go inside, check out all the little chapels and St. Stephen’s mummified hand. If you’re there on a Monday, you can go to an organ concert.

Szent István tér 1, [phone], bazilika.biz. Open weekdays 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. Entry to the basilica is by donation, though it’s 600 HUF per person for the tower/observation deck.

Check out Dohány Street Synagogue Also known as the Great Synagogue, this is the second-largest synagogue in the world, built in 1854 and seating 3,000 people. Make sure you go on the guided tour (included with admission) to get more perspective on the building. The guides are super knowledgeable, and you’ll learn about the construction of the synagogue, Jewish life during wartime, and a lot more. Also check out Wallenberg Memorial Park (right behind the synagogue) and the nearby Hungarian Jewish Museum.

Dohány u. 2, [phone]. Hours vary from month to month; call ahead for details. Admission is 4,000 HUF for adults and 3,000 HUF for students.

See the Hungarian State Opera House You can go inside this neo-Renaissance masterpiece or just view it from outside. I recommend the latter, as the auditorium is being renovated, and the tour does not cover much of the building. If there are performances while you are in town, try to catch one. It may even cost less than a tour!

Andrássy u. 22, 1061, [phone], opera.hu. Tour admission is 2,900 HUF for adults and 1,900 HUF for students.

Party at the Ruin Bars Ruin bars are all the rage in Budapest and have been around since the 2001 founding of Szimpla Kert, the mecca of all ruin bars. They are in Budapest’s District VII neighborhood (the old Jewish Quarter) in the ruins of abandoned buildings, stores, or lots. This neighborhood was left to decay after World War II, so it was a perfect place to develop an underground bar scene. (Not so underground anymore, though!) From the outside, these bars look like normal homes. They don’t have large signs pointing the way, you don’t hear any loud noise, and there’s no line of people waiting to get in. Here are my favorites:

Szimpla Kert – This is the original and most famous ruin bar and started this trend. Once an abandoned factory, it has a large open courtyard, a top floor with eclectic furniture, cocktail bars, and even an old, stripped-down Trabant (Communist-era car) you can have a drink in. Kazinczy u. 14, [phone], szimpla.hu. Open 12pm-4am on weekdays, 9am-4am on Saturdays, and 9am-5am on Sundays.

Instant – Occupying an entire apartment building, Instant is the biggest ruin bar, with more than 20 rooms. They’ve knocked down many of the walls to connect the apartments and make space for the DJs and dancing. Akácfa u. 49-51, [phone], instant.co.hu/en. Open daily 10pm-6am.

Fogasház – The “House of Teeth” got its name from an old dentist’s office sign they found when they were building the bar. It has bicycles and glasses hanging from the ceiling and is artsier than the other ruin bars. Akácfa u. 49-51, [phone]. Open daily 4pm-6am.

Anker’t – Located in a former factory in downtown Budapest, this minimalist but pretty big space is made up of large, connecting courtyards, a gigantic dance floor to get your party on, and plenty of couches to lounge on if dancing isn’t your thing. Paulay Ede u. 33, [phone]. Open Monday-Wednesday 2pm-12am, Thursday 2pm-1am, Friday-Saturday 2pm-4am, and Sunday 2pm-12am.

For a longer list of the best ruin bars in Budapest, click here.

Visiting Budapest: Day 3

Explore Gellért Hill Start your day back in Buda with a trip to Gellért Hill, south of Castle Hill. This hill offers the best views of Budapest, and it’s a popular spot to watch a sunset from. (If you go for the sunset, take a flashlight for the trip home!) There are several monuments on the hill that you’ll want to stop and appreciate:

Liberty Statue – This bronze statue was erected in 1947 to celebrate the liberating Soviet forces who defeated the Nazis. It’s 14m tall and sits on a 26m pedestal. When Hungary adopted democracy in 1989, the transcription and meaning of the statue was changed to reflect this.

Statue of Queen Elisabeth – This statue is dedicated to the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, Elisabeth, who married Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria.

Statue of King Saint Stephen – This statue is dedicated to Hungary’s first king, who reigned from 1000 to 1038 CE. He helped establish the country as a Christian nation and provided a period of relative peace and stability.

Szent Gellért Monument – This monument is dedicated to Saint Gerard, who was the first Bishop of Csanád in what was the Kingdom of Hungary in 1030 CE. He kicked off the conversion of Hungary to Christianity, and a monument was constructed in his honor in 1904.

See the Cave Church Aside from these picturesque statues and the epic view, Gellért Hill is home to the most unusual church in the city. In the 1920s, monks built this church in a cave that had been previously used by a hermit monk. It was used as a hospital during World War II, and the Communist government covered the entrance in concrete after the war and executed the head monk. There’s a lot more to the history of this church than I have room to cover here, so make sure to use the audio guide.

Sziklatemlom út Gellért Hill, sziklatemplom.hu/web/fooldal.html. Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-7:30pm. Admission is 600 HUF.

Visit the Museum of Terror In this frightening museum, you’ll learn what life was like for Hungarians under the fascist and Communist regimes of the 1900s. The building was used by the ÁVH (Secret Police) and Arrow Cross Party (the Hungarian Nazi party). The permanent exhibits are spread over four floors and house all sorts of old propaganda, weapons, and informative multimedia displays. Over 700,000 Hungarians were killed or imprisoned by the Soviets, and the museum does a good job at illustrating just how dreadful their daily lives were. For information on the temporary exhibits, check the website for the most up-to-date information.

Andrássy út 60, [phone], terrorhaza.hu/en. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm. Admission is 3,000 HUF for adults and 1,500 HUF for students and seniors.

Tour Heroes’ Square At the end of Andrássy Avenue is the largest square in Hungary. Its centerpiece is the Millennial Memorial and the statues of Hungarian kings and other historical figures, including the seven chiefs who led the Magyars (modern-day Hungarians) in the 9th century CE. The monument was built in 1896 to celebrate Hungary’s 1,000th anniversary. At this time, Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled by the Hapsburgs, and space was left for statues of future Hapsburg leaders.

The square is at the entrance to City Park, where you can visit the zoo and the Széchenyi Baths (see below) if there’s time. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Art are located nearby as well, making for interesting stops if you’re interested in art.

Soak at the Baths Hungarians love their thermal spa baths. Budapest has more than 100 mineral hot springs that have been put to good use since Roman times. With 18 pools, the Széchenyi Baths in City Park are the largest and most famous in Europe. The stunning yellow buildings were built in 1913, and it’s a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. If you’re only going to one thermal spa, this is the one!

Állatkerti krt. 9-11, [phone], www.szechenyifurdo.hu. Open daily 6am-10pm. Admission starts at 4,900 HUF (2,000 HUF for a tour) and depends on the day/time of your visit.

These are some other baths around town:

Király Baths – The building was first constructed under Ottoman rule in the 16th century and still retains elements of the traditional Turkish bath, including the large dome roof and octagonal pools. Open daily 9am-9pm. Admission starts at 2,800 HUF without a locker.

Veli Bej Bath – This is another Turkish-style bath, with a luxurious feel. Constructed in 1575, it’s one of the oldest (and arguably most beautiful) in town. Open daily 6am-12pm and 3pm-9pm. Admission starts at 2,800 HUF.

Dandár Bath – This is a no-frills bath that a lot of locals go to. Opened in 1930, it has an art deco style and was recently refurbished. You can also enjoy massages, a diving pool, and a sauna. Open weekdays 6am-9pm and weekends 8am-9pm. Admission starts at 1,500 HUF.

Gellért Baths – Located in Hotel Gellért, this complex was built in the early 1900s and renovated in 2008. There are several indoor and outdoor pools that are great for relaxing and, some say, curing illnesses. The mosaic floors and stained glass windows are beautiful and make for quite the bathing experience! Admission starts at 6,100 HUF for a full-day experience. Guided tours are 2,000 HUF.

Rudas Spa – At the foot of Gellért Hill, this spa’s interior dates back to 1550 and Ottoman rule. There are six therapy pools here as well as a swimming pool, with the water said to cure all sorts of illnesses. Admission varies greatly by day, time, and pool, starting at 1,700 HUF for a weekday evening visit to the swimming pool.

When visiting the baths, don’t forget your bathing suit and flip-flops. You can typically rent towels and lockers.

Other Things to See and Do in Budapest

If you have more than three days in Budapest, you’re in luck. There are plenty of other activities to fill your time.

Visit an Island For a unique experience, visit an island on the Danube. Here are the ones I like best:

Margaret Island – This popular island is smack in the middle of the Danube, connected by the Margaret and Árpád Bridges. Visitors mainly tour the park, visit the swimming pools, and watch the Musical Fountain, which sprays water high into the air in sync with the music. There are also some dance clubs (which are especially busy on the weekends).

Óbuda Island – This island is known for its outdoor activities, including wakeboarding, jet skiing, and golf on the driving range. It comes alive in August when thousands of people visit for the Sziget Festival of music and culture, and a casino will soon open.

Visit the House of Houdini Harry Houdini was one of the most famous and well-known illusionists in the world. He was known of his elaborate escape tricks, and he was actually born in Hungary. This is the only museum in Europe dedicated to the Budapest native. It’s home to quite a few Houdini props and pieces of memorabilia, as well as live magic shows.

11 Dísz Square, [phone], houseofhoudinibudapest.com. Open daily from 10am-7pm Admission is 2,600 HUF per person.

Take a Tour Beyond free walking tours, Budapest has tons of other great walking, food, and historical tours. They aren’t free, but you’ll definitely get your money’s worth! Here are a few worth checking out:

Context: History/culture (18,000 HUF per person)

Taste Hungary: Food tour (25,000 HUF per person)

Pub Crawl Budapest: Free pub crawl

Absolute Tours: Hammer and Sickle Tour: Communist history (17,500 HUF per person)

***

Budapest is a fun city that really does have something for everyone. Don’t let the grim façade fool you. Budapest is vibrant and modern and packed with awesome things to see and do, whether you’re a history buff or night owl looking to party (or both!). It’s one of the best capitals to visit in all of Europe so you better make sure you add this quirky, historic destination to your bucket list!

Book Your Trip to Bangkok: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Get Your Guide Check out my detailed guide to planning a visit to Bangkok with suggested itineraries and information on places to stay, things to do, where to eat, and how to get around. Just click here to get the guide and continue planning today!

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use it all the time. My favorite places to stay in Budapest are:

Retox – A big party hostel located next to Budapest’s biggest nightlife area. This one is for serious partiers!

Carpe Noctem – The staff here will end up feeling like family, and there are organized trips out on the town every night.

Wombats – Another party spot, but it’s clean and comfortable, and one of my all-time favorites.

Hostel One – Great rooms, great staff, and plenty of common space to socialize in. The staff will even cook for you!

Big Fish – This is a new hostel located right on the main boulevard of Budapest. New beds, a huge kitchen, and a cozy common room!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money — and I think they will help you too!

The post Visiting Budapest: Suggested Itinerary, What to See & Do, and Where to Stay appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/budapest-itinerary/

[travelguy4444]

Cartagena: A City of Color, Tourists, and Food

Posted: 3/12/2019 | March 12th, 2019

During the narco heydays, Cartagena was considered the only “safe” spot in Colombia for tourists. It was where foreigners vacationed, cruise ships docked, and rich Colombians built their vacation homes.

Today, this colorful colonial city remains one of the most popular destinations for tourists and Colombians alike. Rich Colombians — and now foreigners — still build vacation homes here, cruise ships still dock, and the influx of tourists has grown with an increasing number of direct flights from North America and Europe.

Out of all the stops on my Colombian tour, Cartagena was the place I was least excited about.

As one of the best-preserved and historic cities in Colombia, I knew I would love its narrow colonial streets, ancient walls, grand plazas, and Spanish-style houses with their giant doors and wooden terraces, not to mention the restaurants whose tables spilled into busy plazas.

But I was not so eager to be in such a touristy, crowded city for five long days. A friend was flying down for a quick vacation and he was not keen to go elsewhere on a long bus. I would be stuck in this tiny, tourist town.

Cartagena turned out to be everything I thought it would be.

It had the kind of heat and humidity that melted you in place, it was very expensive, and it was filled with throngs from cruises, tours, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and gringos trying to score drugs (and shady streetside pushers happy to oblige).

Throw in packed streets and too few “tourist” activities and I was ready to get out of there as soon as I had arrived. (Seriously. After a couple of museums, a walking tour, and a visit to a beach or two, you’ve pretty much seen the city.)

But, when it did come time to leave, I found myself downright crestfallen.

I had grown to really love Cartagena.

In the midst of all those touts and tourists, I found an architecturally beautiful and vibrant city. A place on whose edges the crowds disperse and lovely little Colombian cafés appear. A city with cutting-edge restaurants, lively music, town squares full of life, and funky bars.

Early in the morning, before the heat of the day drove me inside and the cruise ships let their armies loose, I’d wander the empty streets of the old town, taking copious pictures as the light dangled perfectly between streets. I got my tea and breakfast at the same shops. Waved hello to locals sitting in the parks. Busy Cartagena is a quiet little town at 8am.

In Getsemani, the backpacker area, I found colorful homes, squares filled with street vendors, cheap eateries, and heaving bars. I’d sit at night with my street food watching bands and street performers, including a duo who flawlessly reenacted “Thriller.”

And, in Bocagrande, a Miami-style neighborhood for the rich and famous, I saw how the well-to-do lived, enjoyed some of the better beaches in the area, and strolled along its long promenade.

My friend and I dove into the city’s fabulous gastronomy scene and gorged on delicious ceviche, empanadas, brick-oven pizza, and traditional Colombian food. The food scene here was one of the best in Colombia. (It was really impressive for such a small city. See the bottom of the post for recommendations.)

In beautiful colors that must be mandated by the government, the vibrantly painted buildings and heavy doors with shapes and designs that could be their own blog gave Cartagena an upbeat feel to it.

Spending extra time doing nothing allowed me to linger a bit longer, explore some hole-in-the-wall shops, sit along squares with a beer, and head over to the least touristy beach possible:

(It was me, my friend Ryan, and some kids on a boogie board)

I had fallen in love with Cartagena because there wasn’t much to do there. I couldn’t fill my days with activities. All I could was just chill and relax.

Sure, the crowds couldn’t be ignored since I always had to jostle for space, but as I drank tea, ate well, strolled the picturesque city walls, and made a local friend who took me out with his family and friends, I thought about how there’s always another side to a place.

Whenever you visit somewhere, there always seems to be an area that most travelers never go past, as if an invisible barrier keeps them from going just one step farther.

But it’s in that extra step that we find the “local,” non-touristy parts of town, away from the crowds.

So too is there a time barrier. As travelers, we often swoop in, take photos, see the attractions, eat the food, and leave claiming some sort of deeper knowledge. We see a snapshot of life and create a complete history from that one image.

I heard it from many people before I visited:

“Cartagena is an overpriced, touristy city. It’s good for just a few days. See it, leave it.”

On one level, that is true. It is overpriced. It is touristy. And, if you’re in a rush, you don’t need a lot of time to check off the boxes.

But, beneath the layers, like all cities, there was a non-touristy version of Cartagena.

Like the invisible line that keeps tourists in their zone, all I had to do was wait out the invisible time barrier to see it. Suddenly, the switch was flipped, the doors opened, and Cartagena revealed some of its secrets.

Cartagena is not about seeing the sights.

And, when I stopped trying to be a tourist looking for sights and accepted for the city as it was, Cartagena became a place I couldn’t get enough of.

If I had only stayed a few days, I probably would have felt about the city the way everyone else did.

But when you stop putting cities into the pre-framed images you have for them, they tend to surprise. Those extra days just allowed me to enjoy the city for what it was: a place to relax, eat, and slow down.

Recomennded places to eat

Carmen – Very, very high-end gastronomy. This place not cheap but it was the best meal I had in Colombia. I can’t recommend it enough. Come for lunch when you won’t need a reservation.

La Mulata – A nice little cafe for lunch.

Demente – Awesome pizza and cocktails in a rustic setting.

Cafe Stepping Stone – Aussie style cafe. They do a good breakfast and brunch.

El Punto – Across the street from Cafe Stepping Stone, this hole in the wall restaurant serves traditional Colombian food at dirt cheap prices.

Don Juan – Another high-end dinner restaurant. If you’re looking for something classy that serves good, solid food, check this place out.

La Cevichería – Bourdain put this place on the map as having the best ceviche in the city. I don’t know if it’s true but everything here was top notch. Come early as it gets super busy the second they open.

Book Your Trip to Cartagena: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

The post Cartagena: A City of Color, Tourists, and Food appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/surprising-cartagena/

[travelguy4444]

How to Live and Travel Full-Time by RV

Posted: 3/7/2019 | March 7th, 2019

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of people giving up the daily grind to live and travel in vans, RVs, and other nontraditional abodes. While traveling in an RV has been something people have been doing for decades, new sharing economy websites, better resources online, more modern vans, and a growing community that can provide support have made it easier for anyone to travel full-time in an RV.

What used to be traditionally and predominantly an activity for older, retired, or family travelers is now something people of all ages are trying to do.

One just has to look up #vanlife on social media to see!

(An aside: I hate the #vanlife movement. The faux Instagram movement does nothing for me. Just a bunch of millennials searching out that perfect sponsored photo and talking about how woke they are (for the most part)).

But #vanlife aside, RV travel is a wonderful way to see the world.

“How do you travel in an RV?” is one of the questions I’m most asked.

So today, we’re going to the experts and talking full-time RV with nomads Marc and Julie from RV Love. This couple joined my blogging program a few years ago, hoping to find a way to spread the gospel of living and traveling in an RV to the wider world. (Spoiler: they did. And they just published a book with Simon & Schuster about it too!)

They’ve been driving around in their RV for nearly five years and, today, they share their wisdom about how to travel by RV:

Nomadic Matt: Tell us about yourselves! How did you get into this? Marc and Julie: We’re Marc and Julie Bennett, full-time RVers since 2014, living, working, and traveling in our motorhome as we explore North America and the world! We met on the dating website eHarmony while both living in Colorado in 2010, married in 2011, and hit the road three years later!

Why did you pick traveling in an RV as your way to get around? We knew we wanted to do a lot more extended travel while we were still working. We get such little vacation time here in the USA, and we didn’t want that to limit our lives. So we started exploring different ways to bring more travel and adventure into our everyday life without Marc having to give up his job as project manager of operations, which he was able to do from home.

We considered international travel, but there were two main reasons why wasn’t a fit: the challenge of time zones, and more specifically, we wanted to travel with our dog Coda. Plus, we love to drive, so RVing was really the ideal solution for us. We love that wherever we go, we’re always home, and we’re not living out of suitcases.

We’re both passionate about driving, so it makes sense that we would choose to live and travel by RV, although we usually prefer more sporty rides when it comes to entertainment, as we both have a love for sports cars and convertibles.

What’s life like living and traveling around in an RV? We just entered our fifth year on the road full-time as RVers, and we recently changed from a 2012 36’ gas Class A motorhome to a 1999 40’ diesel motorhome! We bucked the trend and went bigger (and older and cheaper, but much higher quality), and we’re actually doing a complete remodel of our RV this summer.

Traditionally, we spend about 80% of our time in campgrounds and about 20% dry camping, but we recently installed a big lithium battery bank and solar system on our RV, so we plan on spending a lot more time camping off the grid out in nature in the coming years. We try to spend 2-3 weeks in each location, but that varies on where we are, the weather, and what projects we have on our plates. We moved pretty fast in our first 3+ years, having visited all 50 states while still working full-time.

This year, we have so many big and exciting projects on our plates, we’re really feeling the need to slow down, catch our breath, and get caught up on our content! We tend to wing our plans a lot more than we used to, as we’re more comfortable and confident RVers now.

An average day depends on whether you have to work or not. We love that we no longer have a commute and that the views outside our windows change every week or so. Nature is a big part of our everyday life, so it can be easier to get in more walking, hiking, biking, or kayaking. We definitely get to see more sunsets — that’s a big thing for a lot of RVers.

RV life is still life. You need to go grocery shopping, make meals, do laundry, pay bills, and do housework. Then there’s RV maintenance and repairs! There’s almost always something to do on an RV — tighten screws, replace parts, troubleshoot issues, check your tire pressure, fix whatever’s broken.

Upon arrival at a destination, it usually takes less than 30 minutes to set up. It may sound like a hassle, but if you’re staying a week or more, it becomes a small percentage of your time. And RV life can be as social as you like. We tend to mostly stay in campgrounds, so it’s not too difficult to meet new people. And we also go to RV rallies to meet up with our RVing friends, who we stay in touch with online. It can take a little time to build your RV community, but if you put yourself out there, it can happen pretty quickly!

Do you need a lot of mechanical skills to do this? When you’re traveling around in an RV, if you aren’t already handy, you’ll learn to be! It’s definitely an advantage to become somewhat mechanical and familiar with simple tools. The RVing community is very helpful and supportive when it comes to finding answers for issues you may have — whether online (in social media groups) or in person. At RV parks and campgrounds, you will usually find someone reasonably experienced and mechanically oriented nearby. If you are not skilled or it’s a complex job, you can usually find a local or mobile repair person to perform needed maintenance or repairs.

We recommend sticking with a less complex RV when starting out. The more simple the RV, the more reliable and easy to fix they are likely to be, and you can tackle many repairs yourself. As full-time RVers driving a Class A motorhome, we only need to take our RV into repair facilities 2-3 times per year on average.

Many RV repairs are fairly simple, and that’s when YouTube and Google are your friends! One of our favorite YouTube channels is the RV Geeks, who make DIY how-to videos to help you make simple repairs and upgrades. It’s often more convenient (and definitely cheaper) to do many RV repairs yourself. And you may even want to consider an extended service contract to cover your RV for repairs outside of the manufacturer’s warranty period and help limit repair costs.

Are there any personality traits you think are necessary for living in an RV? Flexibility, adaptability, resourcefulness, and a sense of humor! Just like any other kind of travel, things don’t always go the way you want, RVs break (or break down), and travel plans go awry when you least expect it, so you need to be able to find a creative solution, often on the fly. It really helps to be handy or at least be willing to have a go at DIY fixes. RVers learn to become much more self-sufficient pretty quickly.

Anyone can RV if they really want to. It doesn’t matter about your age, life stage, relationship status, or financial situation. In our book, we share the inspiring story of 69-year-old Frieda who hit the road solo after her husband passed away and drove to Alaska to celebrate her 70th birthday. She’s been on the road for two years now and is still going strong.

Another great case study from the book is Nik and Allison (31 and 30). They share why they decided to RV and explore the country before they started a family. They follow the FIRE philosophy (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and save more than 50% of their income so Nik can be a stay-at-home dad. RVing for a year and a half while still working allowed them to do a lot of travel affordably while keeping them on track with their financial and life goals. 

There really is no “one way” to RV, just the right way for you. That’s why, when writing our book Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road, we wanted to create a roadmap for people that would help them hit the road and thrive, keeping them on track with their personal goals while they’re doing it. That’s been a big part of our own success. We’re almost five years in now and still living and loving the RV Life. Now we’re showing others how they can do it too.

A lot of people are embracing RV/van life these days. Why do you think that is? We think it’s a perfect storm of several things colliding simultaneously:

A lot of people are questioning the traditional American Dream as a path to success or happiness — the idea of postponing your life, travels, and experiences until retirement just doesn’t really make sense, and of course, the future is promised to no one. Why not travel while you have youth and health on your side?

Technology is enabling us to live and work from pretty much anywhere, and more companies are allowing people to work remotely, and more people are starting their own businesses.

Then there’s social media and FOMO! With the increased awareness that RV or van life is possible through watching people’s YouTube channels, Facebook pages, and Instagram feeds, other people are beginning to realize you can travel and see cool places, and live or work in forests or by lakes — and they want to do it too. America has long been famous for iconic road trips — and RVs and van life offer the ultimate freedom: exploring the country on wheels.

How much money will people need before they dive into RV life? It’s a good idea to pay off as much unsecured debt as possible before hitting the road. Less debt lightens your load and allows you to really enjoy the freedoms of RV life.

It all depends on how you want to RV, and your budget. Generally, we recommend people try to save up a few months of living expenses to get started, and as a backup for unforeseen challenges and expenses. Life happens, and you just never know when you may be hit with an unexpected expense or expensive RV repair.

As a guide, as long as you plan and budget carefully, and make a good RV purchasing decision, it’s possible to RV full-time for about $2,000–$3,000 per month. Some do it for less, and others do it for way more. But across the board, we find most RVers end up spending about the same in their RV life as they did in their regular life.

Just like in traditional life, you just have to plan to live and travel within your means. Plus, your ability to earn an income while you travel is a huge factor. If you can work from the road while you RV — as was the case for us — it can be a pretty simple trade.

For example, we sold our townhome and traded our mortgage payment, HOA, utility bills, and two car payments for:

A used RV, which we financed

A less-expensive car that we paid cash for

Campground and fuel expenses

What we previously spent on home repairs and maintenance for our home is now redirected to our RV. Same goes for RV insurance and roadside assistance. We tend to spend a bit more on eating out and entertainment, as we’re always on the move and experiencing new places. But it’s easy to save money by making meals in your RV, and there’s no shortage of things you can do for free, like hiking, biking, and kayaking.

Many people (like us) are able to work remotely with just an internet connection. Some work seasonally, then take a few months off to travel and explore. Other careers, like nursing, hospitality, agriculture, and construction are highly transferable to new locations, especially for seasonal work. For some lines of work, it can actually be easier to find jobs by having the ability to follow the work around the country.

We have met people who live full-time in vans or RVs frugally, for less than $20,000 per year. And we have seen others who spend well over $60,000 per year. Like all other forms of travel (and life!), expenses are variable, depending on how you do it.

What tips do you have for people who aren’t sure what RV, van, or trailer they should get? Buying an RV can be expensive, and buying the wrong RV can be even more expensive! Like anything with wheels, RVs depreciate (hard), and so doing your research in advance pays off. Before you even set foot on an RV dealer’s lot or go check out the RV you found on Craigslist, ask yourself:

Who is traveling with you? 

How much do you plan to travel? (weekends, part-time, full-time)

Where do you want to go? (campgrounds and RV parks or off-grid camping in national forests?)

Generally speaking, you’ll want to choose the smallest RV that you feel that you can comfortably live in. Smaller RVs offer more flexibility to access more places. Larger RVs are more comfortable for extended travel but will be more limiting in terms of where you can take them, especially if you want to stay in national parks and do off-grid camping.

Don’t overinvest in your first RV — it’s the one that will teach you what is most important to you and your travel style. Start out by buying used. You will avoid the steepest part of the depreciation curve. Plus, you’ll have a much better idea of what’s important to you when it comes time to buy your second RV. It’s possible to nail it with your first RV purchase, but not without a lot of research and clarity around your priorities.

What are some common pitfalls to avoid when starting out? Full-time RVing is not a vacation, it’s a lifestyle. It’s exciting when you start. You want to go everywhere and see and do everything. Try to create a sustainable travel pace from the beginning. Stay longer in an area. It’s cheaper – in terms of fuel and campground fees – and you’ll really be able to immerse yourself, explore, and even feel like a local for a while.

Second, it’s easy for people to think they need a big RV to be comfortable, especially when coming from a bigger home. In the RV lifestyle, your environment and views are constantly changing, so your world feels a lot bigger, even if your living space isn’t. It’s easier to live in a smaller space than you might expect, especially with way less “stuff.” Remember our advice above when it comes to choosing the right RV, so you can avoid that expensive mistake.

And finally, it can be hard to resist buying gadgets and gear before you even buy your RV! Every RV has cupboards and storage of different sizes and shapes, and you won’t know what fits where until you have your RV. Save money by hitting the road with the essentials, then spend some time traveling before investing in too many upgrades or gear. You’ll want to make sure they are going to be a fit for your preferred travel style. You can always buy what you need as you go. Don’t take too much stuff! You need less than you think and can get what you need as you travel.

Do you have any recommended companies for vans/RVs? What about resources for finding where to camp/park? It’s a good idea to consider renting an RV or van first, to see if you even like the lifestyle. You can rent RVs from rental companies and even from private individuals, which gives you more variety in the types of RVs you can choose from. This is really useful for helping you decide what kind of RV is right for you, before buying one. It may seem expensive, but making the wrong decision isn’t cheap either! Many large RV dealerships rent RVs, there are large rental chains like cruiseamerica.com or www.roadbearrv.com, but if you want to rent an RV from individuals for more variety, consider doing so via rvshare.com.

It is difficult to make specific recommendations about buying RVs, as there are hundreds of manufacturers, models, and types, and RVs are not like cars. The options, features, and price range of RVs vary widely. That said, we generally recommend buying a preowned RV, as they are usually more affordable, and, contrary to cars, you will generally experience fewer issues with a well-maintained preowned RV than with a brand-new unit. That’s because every RV — much like building a new house or condo — will have a “punch list” of items that need to be fixed for the first few months (or more) after you drive it off the dealer’s lot.

You can find RVs at RV dealers, on websites like RVTrader.com, as well as on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, and from friends and family. Local RV parks often have a community notice board of RVs for sale, too.

If you want to camp for free on public lands, there are websites like Campendium.com and Frugal Shunpiker’s Guides to find free camping areas. And there are thousands of RV parks and campgrounds around the country, which you can you find online, through apps, and in camping directories.

You can also look into camping memberships that offer discounts on your stays. For example, we spend a lot of time in a campground membership network that literally saves us thousands of dollars per year. Other websites and apps we recommend include CampgroundViews.com, Campendium, and AllStays. There are a ton out there, and you can find many more resources in our book and at our website, RV Love of course! 🙂

***

If you want more information, Marc and Julie Bennett are RVers who live, work, and travel from the road full-time, and since hitting the road in 2014, have visited all 50 USA states, plus Canada and Mexico. They are co-authors of Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road, and you can follow along on their journey via their website RV Love as well as their social media channels!

If you’d like to dive deep and get hands-on help on starting your own RV life, they also run online courses at RVSuccessSchool.com. As a Nomadic Matt reader, you can get 10% off their course with the code NOMADICMATT. Just input the code when you sign up!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld, as it has the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them both all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use when I travel — and they will save you time and money too!

The post How to Live and Travel Full-Time by RV appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/rv-travel-tips/