Since man emerged from caves, we have been traveling all over this big blue globe in search of food, love, adventure or inspiration. But today it seems like more and more people are traveling the globe so they can plop themselves in front of a statue, take a picture and stuff it in a photo album to embarrass their kids when they bring their prom date over. Tourists, for better or worse, stick out like a neon pink fanny pack on a beer gut, and are succeptible to fraud, identity theft and just plain embarrassment. For the sake of you, and your offspring, revel in these few tips to be a world traveler, not a gullible tourist.
When in Rome, Do as the Romans
Part of the appeal of traveling to a foreign land is diving headfirst into the local culture and getting lost in the sights, sounds and smells of a whole new world. As American's we love the world of comfort -- comfort food, comfort class, comfort couches. We love getting McDonald's in China and shopping at Wal-Mart in India. Consider for once, taking off your orthotics and running barefoot through the streets of Pamplona, dine on random cast members of Finding Nemo in Japan and work on a farm for a day in Italy.
Ditch your Schedule
When it came to traveling with my parents, my least favorite word of the entire trip was: itinerary. The majority of American's live their lives by the ticking clock, the comfort of the schedule telling them when to wake up, go to work, shove food in their mouth and go to bed. A tourist travels in the exact same fashion. They want their reservations and guided tours and site seeing laid out and planned for them ahead of time. But you can't schedule spontaneity. You can't befriend strangers, find local coffe shop gems, or handmade memories if your eyes are fixed on your itinerary the entire trip. Hotels all booked up? Stay a night in a hostel and argue politics in another language. Can't find a good place to eat on Yelp? Eat at a food cart for a fraction of the price and help feed a poor street vendor's family while you're at it
Put you camera down
There is nothing wrong with a few great photos from your travels to share with your friends and family. But a tourist will walk up to Niagara Falls and photograph to the point that he remembers it more from the tiny screen on the back of his camera than the actual falls themselves. Take a few photos and remember to live in the moment. Photographs capture the past, we live in the now. Want to really remember a scene? Bring a pen and journal the way you feel walking around the streets of Paris at night. Write a postcard to a loved one or a friend who hasn't heard from you in ages.
And your phone
Sometimes it seems that people travel just so they can gloat about it in real time on Facebook, or load their Instagram feed up with images of their feet on the beach. Our travels should take us away from our daily life at home, in every way possible. It should open our eyes to a culture or perspective that we can't get from the glow of an iPhone. The trick to traveling stress-free is to truly disconnect from everything and plug in to the human condition.
Laugh at yourself
Being a traveler means you are outside of your comfort zone, and you're ok with it. You may be confused, lost, hot (or cold), there may be too many bugs and not enough bathrooms and not a moist towelette in sight, but life happens, whether you or not you forgot to pack your toothbrush. Something is bound to go wrong when you're traveling but that's exactly when the adventure begins. No one tells stories of their business trip to Chicago because the difference between a commute and a travel isn't miles, it's inspiration. If you can't laugh at yourself and let yourself go, you may as well stay in the office and watch another season of the Biggest Loser.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
