Some time ago my friend Maruxaina nominated me to one of those blogging chains where you need to do something and then nominate 3 others to do the same thing. I don’t really like that sort of thing, but this one I found funny, so, here are the 9 things I’m pretty bad at when I travel, even though I am a travel blogger:
1. Follow the path or an itinerary
I love to plan and design the route I’ll follow, the places I’ll visit, when why and how… But once I’ve set foot in my destination, I know all of that won’t be accomplished. I’ll find a craft spot or a cafe, a new site or a temporary expo, I’ll ask the locals for their favourite spots and review my travel guide again. That’s why I love all-day pases, open tickets and travel apps that re-arrange your route.
Just one exception: never late to an appointment or reservation.
2. Diet
Ok, this one goes for the travel life and the daily life. I love experiencing new flavours and textures and I’ll try anything at least once, even when I’m not able to pronounce it. I believe that food and travel are deeply connected and what I’ve tasted around the world has taught me many things.
BUT, I don’t like airport food (some exceptions apply like some good restaurants at Mexico DF airport) and I don’t experiment when flying, if I don’t know the food they’ll serve, I just go vegetarian.
3. Calling back home
I might phone my parents, grandma, sister, friends… a couple of times a week. But when I am a couple of miles from my house I just forget about calling. Maybe a whatsapp every once in a while. My mom has even taken my instagram account as a proof of life ;)
4. Bargaining
I simply don’t do it. I know the theory (every time I say I can’t haggle, somebody explains the whole process to me…) but I don’t like it. I believe that everything has two prices: yours and mine. It’s an offer vs demand model, if your pricing matches mine, I’ll buy it, if your price is higher, I won’t.
I don’t have a theory on whether I am a better buyer persona or not because of this, but I don’t have to buy something at every place I visit either, so it doesn’t bother me that much.
5. Run from A to B to C to …
I love to travel, but I don’t like to run from one place to another. Some people call it #slowtravel, or even ageing ;) For me it’s simple: if I don’t get to see it all, more reasons to come back.
Besides, it allows me to discover things I wasn’t planning to visit, like Daisho-in at Miyajima, and stop at a local cafe if I feel like it.
6. Pack my bags (with time)
I hate packing. I didn’t like it as a kid and now it’s still a reason for procrastination. In a perfect world, I would travel around the world luggage-less. But I guess I don’t have enough money for that (yet).
7. Travel without technology
Call me geek, techie or addicted, but I can’t travel without gadgets. Me, who refused to carry a cellphone around when I was 18, now I carry many things around so I don’t feel disconnected.
8. Not asking
Yes, I am a silent traveler when I am in Spain, but just as soon as I cross the border I ask anybody I see about where to eat, what to see and how to get to…. It’s not because of the roaming and the lack of wifi spots, neither because I mistrust travel apps (although some are pretty bad.) It’s about talking to people.
And I prefer to walk around looking to the buildings, the mountains and whatever that’s around, than looking to a gadget that will take me from A to B faster.
9. Unplugging
Yes, I told you before, I’m addicted. I need to check my email at least twice a day, publish on twitter or instagram, read the news… Please tell me how you do it, because I can’t just unplug (unless there’s no signal at all.)
Well, this is my list, what’s in yours?
1 Comments and Questions
I can totally relate to not following an itinerary. I generally have one or two things in mind that I absolutely have to see but other than that, no plans. Drives my partner crazy. I’m also horrible with over packing. Not overpacking my clothes but overpacking my carry on bag. I’m also notorious for forgetting to pack things!
Stephanie
Adventures in Aussieland