That was then, this is now: how we travel
How differently we travelled when we were younger, when we tripped about the planet as 'travellers' rather than as professional travel writers. We've just finished four consecutive days of travel between three countries (we've just finished updating four books), involving four hotel stays, three rental cars, one border crossing, and two (delayed) late night flights. As I've been queuing at X-ray machines and passport control counters I've been thinking about how differently we travel now in terms of the choices we make: * THEN we would pack our backpacks as light as we could, knowing we'd soon be filling them with souvenirs and other bits and pieces, NOW we cram as much into the Samsonite wheelie bags as we can - clothes for all seasons, guides, books and research materials, and every bit of technology imaginable - offloading things when we're done with them, leaving bags about the globe with friends, posting things back to family, and paying excess baggage when we have to;
* THEN we would take overnight buses and trains if we could to avoid forking out the cost of a hotel room for a night, NOW we do anything to avoid the late night trips and (when we have a choice) will happily pay more to travel at a more civilized time;
* THEN we would store our luggage at the hotel and wander around the streets for hours and hours killing time until our departure (and have sponge baths in bus stations if we had to!), NOW we will happily pay extra to get a late check-out so we can make more productive use of our time (and avoid sticky journeys!);
* THEN we would hang out in the departure lounge and read a book if we had a long wait for a connecting flight, NOW if we have to transit we head straight for Information to find out if there's a business lounge we can pay for to work at for the day - with their showers, internet access, complimentary drinks and snacks, and free magazines (hint: just peel off those "don't remove from this lounge" stickers), the lounges can actually be great value;
* THEN we would take public transport from the airport into the city to save money, and explore places by train and bus, NOW we hire a car straight from the airport and explore on our own wheels, purely for the convenience and freedom it allows;
* THEN we would see as much as we could in the time we had available, even if it meant travelling to a different town or city every second day or so (you know, "If it's Tuesday it must be Barcelona"), NOW we stay as long as we can in the one place, preferring to rent apartments over hotels if the project allows, and getting to know one destination more deeply than many places superficially;
* THEN we would get up early, race around and see as much as we possibly could and go to bed as late as we could (not much different to researching a guidebook actually), NOW (when possible, i.e. when we're not researching guidebooks) we prefer to take it easy, only seeing what interests us and instead doing what the locals do, even if it means heading out to eat at 11pm and sleeping in late.
While most of the changes to how we travel now are driven by work - the neverending deadlines, the need to work anywhere anytime, to not waste a second - I wonder if some are also the result of getting older and wanting to take things slower. Have you changed the way you travel?
Cool Travel Guide’s Alternative Holiday Mojo Maintenance Programme
Here's my alternative guide to that top ten list of ways to find and keep your holiday mojo: 1. Immerse yourself in your destination at least a month or so before you leave. Read as much as you can about the history, culture, people, politics, cuisine, etc, watch movies and listen to music about the place. That way, when you arrive your knowledge will be greater and your discoveries will be deeper and will consequently stay with you longer.2. Do plan for your return, but stock the fridge with the food and liquor of the place you’re travelling to. Better yet, buy a local cookbook, some ingredients, and a bottle of the local drink of choice while you’re there, so you can continue to savour your experiences when you return.
3. Don’t arrive back early. Stay away as long as you possibly can and make the most of your trip. Even better, maintain that adventurous spirit and fly in the morning you’re due back and rock straight up to work with your luggage and souvenirs for your boss and colleagues. (Leave a change of clothes at the office on your last day.)
4. Definitely ease back into work gently and answer only important email. Spend the rest of the day emailing friends and family about your vacation or typing up your holiday diary before you forget your experiences.
5. Don’t just keep one reminder of your holiday close to you – create an online shrine of memories and memorabilia, scanning in your ticket stubs, postcards, matchboxes, bottle labels, and coasters, blogging anecdotes and recollections, and posting your photos for everyone to see. Buy souvenirs that you can use – a beautifully designed kitchen item from Scandinavia, clothes from Buenos Aires – and they way the memories will always be with you.
6. Keep your connection to the destination alive by buying CDs, DVDs and books and magazines from the place while you’re there and listening, watching and reading them when you return. If you went to Spain spend have a Pedro Almodovar film festival one weekend. If it was Lebanon, then stick Fayrouz on the stereo and keep her there. Paris or Milan? Send a few hours thumbing through French or Italian Vogue.
7. Don’t just “slip into holiday mode”, stay in holiday mode: take a short walk every evening (just head to the nearby park or around the block), head to a local café every day for an hour, have a candelit meal every night, and spend time reading a book before bed.
8. Do relax every day, but relate your choice of relaxation to your holiday – swim if you went to the Mediterranean, do yoga if you went to India, get Thai massages if you went to Thailand, and so on.
9. Be a tourist in your hometown every week – head to a concert or show once a week, visit a museum or sight on the weekend that you’ve never been to, go on a walking tour or guided visit, and get out of town regularly, even for a day.
10. And when you’re so sick and tired of Fayrouz, you can’t stomach another taco, and you just can’t get into tai chi, apply for leave, start planning your next holiday, and return to #1.
Any other ideas? I'd love to hear your tips.
Maintaining your holiday mojo
Staying in holiday mode once the vacation is over and you’re back at work is something that most travellers find hard to do, especially Australians, according to the Sydney Morning Herald and a swag of other media that recently ran the story ‘Keeping Your Holiday Mojo’. It seems people too easily pick up the habits they left behind, rapidly resume their usual routine and allow themselves to get stressed again, the benefits of the break quickly disappearing. One expert interviewed suggested re-charging your batteries frequently with mini-breaks throughout the year in addition to the annual holiday, more ‘me-time’ generally, stay-at-home holidays where you don’t see anyone and do what you want to do, along with providing a list of 10 ways to find and keep your holiday mojo:1. Be realistic about the lead up to your holiday. Allow plenty of time to pack and be organised so that you're not up to 2am the night before you leave trying to find your sarong/bathers/walking boots.
2. Plan ahead - have enough food in the house so that when you get home you can at least whip up a bowl of pasta without having to rush off out to the supermarket. Better still, set up home delivery of fresh food ahead of time.
3. Plan to arrive home from your holiday at least a day before you return to work. This will allow you time to reflect on your holiday and the experiences you've had. It will give you a chance to get back into your normal routine, and give you time to get your washing done.
4. Ease back into your work gently and prioritise your time. Answer only urgent e-mails on your first day back and make sure you leave on time. Take the time to go for a walk or swim during the day or in the evening to remember how you felt while you were on holidays.
5. Keep your holiday spirit alive by keeping a reminder of your holiday close to you. Create space in your diary to reflect on your experience in the weeks following your holiday.
6. Keep your connection with the great outdoors alive by having lunch in the park or organising a short weekend break or day trip so you can get out of the city.
7. Have a television-free night each week and slip into holiday mode instead - read a book or just turn out the lights and eat by candlelight.
8. Learn to relax everyday. Enrol in yoga, tai chi or meditation class so the practise of unwinding becomes a regular thing.
9. Become a tourist in your own home city or town.
10. Plan your next holiday. All great ideas, don’t you think?
Old doors: a taverna that understands its market (or shares its passion)
These colorful old doors, paint peeling from them beautifully, lean against the stone walls in a charming cobbled backstreet in the Old Town of Chania, Crete. They aren't there by accident. As you can see they're positioned artfully. They belong to the little taverna across the lane, closed for the winter when we visited, sadly. But the taverna is called 'Les Portes' - The Doors! I wonder if they understand a traveller's fascination with the things? Or whether they simply share our passion?
Old doors: wondering what's behind them
Like many travellers I have an obsession with photographing doors. It started in Mexico many years ago and has stayed with me throughout my travels. The more colorful, faded, and older they are the better. If there's paint peeling off them, wonderful. If there are wooden shutters somewhere on the facade that match, perfect. Like the painted blue chairs in Greece, antique wooden doors are something we associate with atmospheric neighborhoods, characterful back streets, ramshackle buildings... it's about having those romantic notions of what an old village should be like satisfied, about having those travel expectations met. But for me, it's something more as well. I also want to take a look behind them. I want my curiosity about what's inside sated. I dream of an amiable little old lady in a headscarf and apron opening the door and inviting me in for tea and showing me around her home. If she offers me her photo album, I'll be in heaven. My ideal 'tour' is one where a guide shows me around a village or town for a day, inviting me into the homes of the locals. I want to be a fly on the wall and see how people live their lives. But then I'll be just as happy to join them for lunch. And I won't mind one bit doing the dishes afterwards.