Rolf Potts's Blog, page 78

Marshall McLuhan on the limitations of air travel

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

“With the plane the cities began to have the same slender relation to human needs that museums do. They became corridors of showcases echoing the departing forms of industrial assembly lines. The road is, then, used less and less for travel, and more and more for recreation. The traveler now turns to the airways, and thereby ceases to experience the act of traveling. As people used to say that an ocean liner might as well be a hotel in a big city, the jet traveler, whether he is over Tokyo or New York, might just as well be in a cocktail lounge so far as travel experience is concerned. He will begin to travel only after he lands.”

–Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964)

Original article can be found here: Marshall McLuhan on the limitations of air travel

Vagabonding Field Report: Visiting the Galapagos islands

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Cost/day: $100 to $150 – There aren’t many cheap ways to see the Galapagos

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

The Galapagos islands are full of some fascinating and beautiful animals. The most striking part of any trip to the Galapagos however, is how absolutely unafraid the animals are of humans. We walked around the islands as blue footed boobies and frigate birds swirled around us and nested in trees no more than a handful of feet from our reach. As we walked about, they did whatever it was they felt like doing while we snapped photos and peered into their daily lives.

In one particular moment, we were sitting no more than four feet away from a blue footed booby as it was trying to feed its young when all of a sudden a frigate bird swooped in to try and snatch the food being exchanged. I felt the rush of the air from the giant bird’s wings as it swooped down on the boobies. The adult booby fought it off and for the next 10 minutes we watched as it alternated from feeding to fending off attacks from above, all while being completely uninterested in the dozen or so humans standing about watching. It was an amazing feeling to watch a day in the life of these birds without seemingly having any impact on their behaviour.

Describe a typical day:

Sailing around the islands can be done in either day trips or as part of a cruise. We opted for the cruise since it allows you to see a lot more of the islands and explore distances you would not be able to do through day trips alone.

A typical day was fantastic and basically heaven. You wake and have breakfast. You’ll grab your sandals or hiking boots and head for shore to explore one of the islands. Usually it’s an hour or two hiking along a well identified path to take in the wildlife before returning to the boat to get ready for your morning snorkel.

Usually mornings were for deep water snorkelling where you’ll see sea lions, sea turtles, schools of fish and, if you’re lucky, a shark or two. Being in the waters in the Galapagos is not like anything you’ve ever tried before however. Sea lions will often swoop by and give a playful toss or roll as they go about their lives. Sea turtles float by with only a casual concern for your presence. It’s incredible.

After lunch, there’s usually a couple of hours sailing before landing on another island where you’ll repeat the process of hiking and snorkelling again. Life is tough.

In the evening, you’re usually pretty exhausted from all the luxury so you’ll head to bed early after dinner or share a few games of cards with your fellow travellers.

Describe an interesting conversation you had with a local:

After the Galapagos, we headed back to Quito and then south to Banos. We met a fellow in Banos who was working on his PhD and was studying the culture and languages of a few tribes in the Amazon region. After a bit of chatting, he told us about the tribe and how a Spanish TV show had setup a Survivor like gameshow in the Amazon and staged the show with the tribe.

He described how the show had paid large amounts of money to the leaders of the tribe and how they staged the show to give the impression of the tribe as being savages that didn’t wear clothes (they did but were asked not to during the filming) or speak Spanish (again, they did speak Spanish but were asked not to during the filming). He described the ways in which the TV executives took advantage of their ignorance and left behind “modern” appliances like washers and dryers and such and how useless they were after the generators ran out of energy.

It reminded me about how often native cultures put on a show for “modern” travellers to give false impressions with the intention of appearing “savage” or “backwards”. It also made me consider the similarities that a TV audience shares with a local travelling audience. I had never considered watching TV to be like travelling (and still don’t) but the effect of the TV on the local tribes was no different than the effect that tourists have in many ways. They both want to see the “true life” experiences in short “authentic” snippets and for the local tribe, I imagine the effect is the same regardless.

What do you like about where you are? Dislike?

Ecuador has some beautiful terrain with the Galapagos being the crown jewel. Inland, away from the coast, the country is extremely mountainous and beautiful. Hiking provides for some stunning scenery and every little town you stop in will have plenty of surrounding beauty to keep you occupied for days.

As for dislikes, Ecuador has not provided much excitement in terms of food selection. Most meals are starch based (rice, potatoes and often both) with some chicken is how you’ll spend most of your meals. There is more to it than that of course, but the food has tended to be bland which was expected but does make one crave for variety, spice and vegetables.

Describe a challenge you faced:

The one challenge that I’m still facing is with the language. My Spanish is weak and in South America, there is little in the way of English speakers. Communicating with locals has been difficult.

What new lesson did you learn?

If you wish to travel through South America, a little bit of Spanish is really helpful. I’m picking it up as I go but slowly. Worth learning a bit before you arrive to help that process along.

Where next?

Continue south through to Peru.

Original article can be found here: Vagabonding Field Report: Visiting the Galapagos islands

Where to Begin When Planning a Round the World Trip?

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

So you’ve made the decision to go on an extended, round the world trip.  You fought through the naysayers and are making your dream come true.

Now what?

Often people get stuck immediately after making that decision.  It all seems so daunting at first.  You have so many questions. Where should you begin when planning your RTW trip?

How am I going to afford this?
How do I figure out how much this will actually cost?
Do I buy a round the world ticket?  From who?
How do I even begin planning my itinerary?
What am I going to pack?
What am I going to do about my job/pet/house/car/stuff?

All are important questions that eventually need answering. But let’s take a step back for a minute and prioritize.  Don’t try to plan everything at once.  If you do, you’ll drive yourself crazy.  Just remember that even though you may not know anyone personally who has done something like this, there are thousands upon thousands of people who have, are currently, or planning a big trip right now.  You are not alone.

The first two things you really need to think about before anything else is your budget and your route.  Each will have the most impact on your trip.

Knowing how much you will have to spend will directly impact where you go and how long you can travel for.  The first step, if you haven’t already, is to start a budget.  Figure out exactly how much you are bringing in versus how much you spend.  If you have some money leftover already at the end of each month, that’s great.  Start putting it away in a separate travel account and don’t touch it.

Regardless of if you’re in the green or red each month, you should always look at ways to save more money.  Do you really need that cup of coffee from the local coffee shop each morning, or can you start making your own?  Do you really need to go out to lunch 3 times a week, or can you start bringing your lunch each day?  Do you really need to go to the bar to watch the game, or can you just have friends over to your place?  All those little things add up over the course of a  year, and you’d be shocked at how much more you can save with a little discipline and change in priority.

Once you can get in the green each month and start putting some cash away, it’s simple math.  How much can you save in 6 months?  A year?  18 months?  2 years?  There is no magic number when it comes to how much you should have before leaving.  Some have taken off with a couple thousand dollars in their pockets and managed to travel for years, picking up jobs along the way.  Some saved $25,000 and traveled for 6 months, living it up and not working a second.  It’s all up to you and what you want out of your trip.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you have the wrong amount – it’s all personal preference.

As you’re figuring out your budget and how much you will be able to save for your round the world trip, you should be thinking about your route.  You certainly don’t have to plan everything out, but you should at least have an idea of where you want to go.  If you’re traveling on a tight budget, then hitting 6 continents, moving fast, and spending time in Western Europe and the US is probably not the smartest decision.

Keep in mind that the faster you move and the more places you go, the more you spend.  The more flights you take, the more you spend.  My biggest suggestion to someone who is just starting to plan their round the world trips is this:  Choose a handful of must-see destinations or activities that you plan your entire trip around.  Always wanted to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, explore Patagonia, see Angkor Wat, and spend some time on a Thai island?  Then plan on spending time in South America and Southeast Asia, start looking at multi-stop international flight prices (as the flights are going to be your biggest expense), and go from there.

Planning a trip around the world doesn’t have to be done at one time.  It’s a long process, sometimes taking years.  Knowing where to begin is half the battle, and once you make a few basic decisions, things will start falling into place.

 

Original article can be found here: Where to Begin When Planning a Round the World Trip?

Vagabonding Field Report: Getting Bubbly in Champagne

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Cost: 80 euros/day

To the casual wine aficiando it may come as a surprise to learn that that most elegant of all wine regions, Champagne, lies only a hour train ride from the Paris city center. In what Hemingway described as “grace under pressure” I took this staggering news in stride, pulled myself together and boarded the Champagne Express which runs like clockwork from Paris to Epernay, the epicenter of bubbly.

Epernay looks exactly as you feel it should, little French houses, quant avenues with wine shops and one enormous boulevard housing almost every major champagne house in France. After touring the catacombs in Paris I was understandably a bit apprehensive regarding underground tunnels, but the champagne caves running under Epernay are truly a thing of wonder. Moet and Chandon alone exists directly above 20 kilometers of tunnels and caves in which they store and age the wine, some decades old. The original Moet was aided in its expansion by none other than everyone’s favorite pint-sized emperor, Napolean Bonaparte. Napolean was a patron and longtime customer of Moet, keeping his court’s enormous thirst at bay. A monument to him still stands below ground in the caves beneath Epernay.

A typical day here would begin on the train ride in, as rolling green foothills pass by the window of the chugging little engine. From there it’s a matter of picking a champagne house or wine shop with which to start. Ten euros will get you three flutes of the good stuff at most smaller shops, and the real magic is sampling wines that cannot be found anywhere outside of France. Lunch spots abound and it’s simply a test of endurance and desire, how many bubbly discoveries do you want to make before the idyllic ride back into Paris. Fear not, there are plenty of grassy parks and flat benches for a short nap to get your strength back up.

Not surprisingly, the locals work in the champagne or hospitality industries for the most part. This means there is never any shortage of good recommendations for wines that one might never know existed. Therein lies the challenge of Champagne…How does one choose?

Really, it’s not necessary. The options are so bountiful and wonderful that most any shot in the dark in your price range will yield a pleasurable experience.

The lesson I learned in Champagne is that regardless of what faults one may find with the way France is governed, the people now how to live and enjoy every second of it.

Original article can be found here: Vagabonding Field Report: Getting Bubbly in Champagne

Travel is not just a multimedia project

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Do we really need to scrupulously record our travels in this decade?  After reading this article on packing a “multimedia backpack,” I am confused: as much as the suggestions are important, do we really need to “go forth and journalize”?  Possibly yes. Most traveler types dream to earn a living by doing what they love: visiting far flung destinations, meeting different people and exploring alien cultures. It is indeed very inspiring to think we may just get out and transform our digital travel memories into first grade – albeit do it yourself – storytelling material. It is exciting to think that low cost, accessible technology may be the key to a “New Wave of Travel Writing” that reminds me of the spontaneity and freshness of the New Wave and Punk music genres when they first came about  in the ‘70s.

There is a catch, tough: as with such music genres, the quantity of the offer surpassed its quality. Furthermore, it eventually attracted the shark’s fangs of the corporate music business, ultimately becoming the new, alternative options of the same business’ corporate offer. Back then, the impulsive virulence of punk rock transformed into another product to be packaged and sold to hordes of angry teenagers. And I think that it would not be too great to see the same happening with travel media, or “journalism”.

photo credit: Flickr/ e_monk

On my most recent travels, I have met more people looking at the world trough their cameras and HD camcorders’ lenses than their own eyes. Places and peoples are now transformed by the deforming quality of polarizers, microphones, quotes, and filtered through other people’s eyes and words. And I fear that by continuously trying to give travel a “journalistic” sense, we may as well lose the actual focus of our own travel experiences.  Why do we travel, after all? To make a movie, or enrich our lives?

During my last long vagabonding from Asia to Europe overland, I had to carry a laptop to be able to write – to me, a very important task – and follow up with my family, friends and “work” contacts, but I voluntarily decided to leave the camera at home.  I delegated my partner and travel companion to the visual part of the trip. I thought that, realistically, there would have been no way I could have written, taken pictures, made videos and recorded audio of my trip altogether. I decided that the one and only recorder I would have always let “turned on” had to be my mind, and my capacity of observation. And for the notes, I scribbled away the essential on some torn pieces of paper that I would have typed later on, in the same or the next evening.

I decided I did not want to be a machine, or become the employee of my own mental employer, for the sake of the “Go Forth and Journalize” God. I wanted to have fewer tasks to worry about, and concentrate on my most successful one only. I wanted to have FUN, and not just transform my trip into workaholic hedonism disguised for travelling.

And now that the trip is over and I am looking back at the while experience, I am glad I decided to disconnect a bit from the wires of electric technology, and connect more to the ones of my own judgment and will. I do not regret any single day, nor any lost picture opportunity: every moment is perfectly vivid in my mind as the most glorious experience I ever had. And at times, there is no real need to record or picture that feeling.  In case I wanted, I can always write… and maybe make it even more glorious.

Original article can be found here: Travel is not just a multimedia project

Don’t be afraid to dream BIG

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Don’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

Seriously, you’ve got what it takes. It will take everything you have, but you’ve got it. Don’t be afraid to dream. Big.

I think we all feel inadequate. We feel like we’re not good enough for our dreams. Dreams are what other people achieve, not me.

Sound familiar?

It won’t be until you take some big hairy audacious action towards your goal that you’ll start to feel like maybe, just maybe, you CAN do this. You have to take those first scary tentative steps into the unknown and trust you’re up to the task before you’ll know you are.

So how, exactly, does one go about taking that big hairy audacious action when you feel smaller than small? You believe in your dream. Then you step over the cliff.

There is no magic pill to give you the courage to overcome those fears and feelings of inadequacy. There is nothing anybody else can give you that will make it disappear. It’s within you, and only you can discover it.

Is it scary? Oh yeah. It’s scary. It’s perhaps the scariest thing you’ll ever do. Many, many thoughts will be racing around your head.

Am I good enough? Will I fail? What if it turns out I don’t like it? Will it be good for my kids?  Do I have enough money? How much time will it take? Am I prepared?

All those questions are perfectly normal. Go anyway. Take a deep breath and step over the cliff.

I think you’ll discover a pleasant surprise. I think you’ll learn quickly that you CAN do it. You are more capable than you thought.

Yes, you might fail. You might not like it and you’ll turn around and go back home. You might run out of money or not have enough time. It’s possible.

But more likely is that none of that will happen. More likely is that you’ll discover, like countless others who have gone before you, that you’ll succeed. You’ll realize you are more capable than you thought; that you can push on long after you thought you couldn’t.

What are you waiting for? Go. Discover. Learn.

Nancy Sathre-Vogel, a long-time classroom teacher, made the decision to quit her teaching job and join the ever-burgeoning ranks of homeschoolers. Together with her husband and children, she cycled the length of the Americas from Alaska to Argentina.  She blogs at www.familyonbikes.org

Original article can be found here: Don’t be afraid to dream BIG

What to bring if you move to China (or anywhere in Asia)

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

“What do I bring?” is a vexing question that most first-time expats face. You don’t want to bring something and carry it when you could just buy it on the ground. On the flip side, you don’t want to be stuck without an item you really need.

Nick and Tim from The Elevator Life, a video blog for young Western expat entrepreneurs in China, made this video:

Some of the advice, especially dealing with banks and smartphones, were very useful. These are the kinds of things that can cause a lot of hassle if you don’t know about them ahead of time.

Have you lived in Asia? What did you wish you had brought when you first moved there?

Original article can be found here: What to bring if you move to China (or anywhere in Asia)

On being home after the adventure: “Crusoe in England”

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

“Now I live here, another island,

that doesn’t seem like one, but who decides?

My blood was full of them; my brain

bred islands. But that archipelago

has petered out. I’m old.

I’m bored, too, drinking my real tea,

surrounded by uninteresting lumber.

The knife there on the shelf —

it reeked of meaning, like a crucifix.

It lived. How many years did I

beg it, implore it, not to break?

I knew each nick and scratch by heart,

the bluish blade, the broken tip,

the lines of wood-grain on the handle…

Now it won’t look at me at all.

The living soul has dribbled away.

My eyes rest on it and pass on.”

–Elizabeth Bishop “Crusoe in England” (1974)

Original article can be found here: On being home after the adventure: “Crusoe in England”

Cynical notes from my European post travel blues

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Although it has been written extensively about at Vagabonding before, now is my turn to bash on the post-travel blues, even if technically I am still travelling. It did not take more than three days into Europe – its Eastern part, possibly the most interesting and culturally diverse – to get “the blues” kicking in. I am almost back “home”, and I already feel like a real tourist pushed onto the umpteenth open roof ride across any of these Europeans capitals. It started in Istanbul and it did not take long for me to realize that Europe, I do not love you at all. For sure, you hosted my birthday parties and taught me how to hate your sophisticated, rich, Lamborghini driving Italian – and surrounding countries – elite, but I am sorry: I cannot stand you anymore.

Please tell me what is so cool about Europe:  it is expensive, ultra conservative in a very “white supremacist” sense, and especially, it starts to get frigging cold just now. What is so cool in all of those people sitting at tiny cafes without an apparent reason? And especially, what is so cool about a place where each time I try to talk to any person involved in the hospitality business I feel like I am having an inverted gastroscopy performed directly from the anus?  It may be that this famous “end of travelling blues” has a deadly effect when applied to me returning to Europe after 5 years.

Of course, it is not ALL so bad: there are still some nice views, interesting buildings and decent people, a general upgrade in the budget end of the accommodation sector – with an obvious killing price increase -, but hey, Asia is not. The costs alone are just crazy: I recently had to pay for a couple bus rides to make it to an important meeting, and I almost broke my personal bank.

The worst is trying to explain Europeans about my overland trip: they just cannot get it.

“Ah ok, so you took a flight from Singapore to here”

“No, I hitched all the way trough”

“You mean, what place? What city?”

“I never took a single flight”

“Oh. Interesting” and here it comes, another sip of Cappuccino, hiding a somewhat amused smile.

I can understand that for many travelers Europe may seem the best, most fun Lilliputian world inhabited by fairy-tale’s castle dwelling elves, but to me, it reeks like the putrefaction that sent me off elsewhere in the first place. And I am just glad this is only a transitory moment of three weeks and not the beginning of a longer nightmare. In three weeks, I will be on a flight – this time, bound “home” for good.

Travelling and living abroad non-stop for five years can definitely change the perception and needs of an individual. Sometimes, it can radically change him or her. It can turn you upside down and inside-out, like a banana. Me, I think I am exactly like that banana: “white” outside, but “yellow” inside. A perfect description of how I am feeling these days. And now there will be no list of how to ease that post-travel blues, because there is no chance to ease anything: the solution is a one way ticket back to the places I love and I really have chosen to be my “home”, for as much as this word means.

Original article can be found here: Cynical notes from my European post travel blues

Send and receive postcards from all over the world

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Who doesn’t like getting a postcard in the mail?

With the overwhelming evolution of technology, the act of putting pen to paper almost seems old-fashion. Words have the same definition whether typed or scrolled by hand. But handwriting can reveal clues about an individuals personality where digital text lacks that touch.

 

Years ago I discovered a site called Postcrossing that links together people who enjoy writing postcards. Once signed up for a free account, you request an address, and can begin exchanging postcards with random people around the world! All cards are assigned an ID that you write along with your message. Once the person receives your card, they register that ID and a map program calculates the distance it traveled. It’s a fun way to learn about other cultures, geography and connect with real people. I’ve received amazing handmade cards and messages that took me a while to translate.

Do you enjoy sending postcards? Have you ever used postcrossing?

Original article can be found here: Send and receive postcards from all over the world