Those Who Wander #3 - April 2016

Throughout my travelling ?career? (for
want of a better word) I have always
thought that ?be sensible? is by far
the worst and most annoying travel
advice out there. I love travelling to
small leafy corners all of the world.
Crawling through travel blogs and
airline deals to plan my next
adventure is my ideal Friday night.
Travel is my life and I love it.
But it?s not all Mai Thai?s and sleep in?s.
Travel on a budget is hard work, both
physically and emotionally. Carrying around
a backpack for 8 hours straight when trying
to find a place to stay, getting hustled and
bustled the whole time can leave the
unexperienced nomad more than a little
shell-shocked. In fact there is a lot out there
that can scare a traveller into never stepping
out of their front door again. Which is sad
because there is so much to do and see out
there, letting a little bit of fear stop you from
experiencing all of that is heartbreaking.
I have seen riots, been too close to
dangerous animals, bitten by bed bugs,
leered at by strangers, had stomach bugs,
washed my passport, been robbed and
everything else in between. But with every
?challenging? event comes a great story? or
so I keep telling myself. Because I have also
seen the sun rise over ancient ruins, climbed
volcanoes, eaten deep-fried tarantula?s,
danced to the full moon, skied in summer,
swum with Nemo and a hundred other
mind-blowing amazing experiences.
There is a plethora of blogs and books out
there giving you travel advice on how to stay
safe on your trip. Telling you that if you are
sensible no harm will come to you. Just be
sensible, you will be fine.
And it is at this point that I roll my eyes in
annoyance. That is a load of horse dung.
Who doesn?t consider themselves a sensible
traveller? I don?t head off on a vacation and