Just thought I'd write a few thoughts here. I'm certainly not an extensive traveller by any means but I find ways of making things fun and interesting. Bear in mind, I've done most of my travelling in the UK,  Europe, Scandinavia and the States and a couple of trips to China. I'm also more of a 'comfort on a budget traveller' rather than a backpacker (you can't walk everywhere when you have dodgy feet) so some of you might roll your eyes at my advice.

There's no shame being a tourist. 

But it doesn't mean you have to just work off a list of places to visit from a tour guide. I find Churches very dull but I enjoy other experiences. I've really enjoyed a four hour cheese tasting class, some natural beauty classes, a day trip to Monet's garden in Provence,  tours of street art in Amsterdam, arts classes and more. I've used the odd hop on, hop off tour, they're there for a reason and handy to see places which aren't easily accessible by public transport (see dodgy feet above) but they do contain the pain of other tourists.


Once I've worked out my dates of travel (even roughly) I usually have a recce to see what festivals are on during my visit. In this way we've enjoyed the Montreal Jazz Festival, Carnivale in Venice, Berlin Music Festival, various film festivals and celebrations and more. Check out Time Out, the town or city's website  and local press online for more ideas. Blogs are also a great resource with many offering reviews of bars and cafes and places of interest by local and tourists alike.


We also use to internet to source tasty vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Happy Cow is a great resource but blogs again are very useful for finding up to date restaurants and supermarkets.

Stay where you want to visit
If you travel with your partner you'll most likely find it cheaper to stay elsewhere than a backpackers once you work out the cost of a double room in a youth hostel-it's often comparable to the cost of a hotel. The vast majority of the time we preference Airbnb as we like to live in neigbourhoods rather than in tourist centres. They can be accessed very easily by public transport and are in walking distance of local bars, cafes, supermarkets etc rather than expensive soulless, tourist precincts. The owners usually provide loads of knowledge on where to go and what to do. For Melbournians, a comparison would be staying somewhere you'll be keen to visit (say,  Collingwood or Fitzroy) rather than near Southern Cross station.

Pace yourself
We generally find we get tired and annoyed with travelling (and each other) if we get up early, stay out all day and come home late. So we tend to head out after the morning rush hour and go see something, have lunch, go home for a break/siesta then go out again later. Travelling somewhere unfamiliar, particularly in another language) can be quite draining so allow yourself time out. You don't have to do everything! Think quality not quantity.


Download a currency converter on your phone. That Marimekko dress on sale might not be the bargain it appears. But that said, don't stress yourself out with the cost of everyday things, you are on holiday, there's no need to live in noodles and peanut butter sandwiches unless you really want to. We set ourselves a bit of a daily budget with some space for deviation.  Even when staying in dearer places like Copenhagen we usually try and have at least one more expensive meal for the experience. For example, we had an amazing 3 course dinner in Hamburg when we were there last year and the cost wasn't much more than we'd pay in Australia in reality (let's face it, Australia is getting more and more expensive).

Keep your suitcase in mind. 
We usually travel very light in regard to clothing (meaning we often have wear the same stuff in most photos) as we stay in places with bathrooms and laundries for washing. The first time I went to Europe I bought so much stuff I had to buy a second suitcase. But this was long before internet shopping.   Other times I've become very good at making things fit. Put on weight means I tend to buy less clothing as vintage clothes are rarely bigger sizes and most plus sizes are available online anyway. But more space has meant I've been able to buy some great shoes, vintage crockery and bits and pieces over the years. Don't buy posters, they are a pain to travel with and most galleries and museums will post them to you.



Factor in some alone time
Travelling with a partner (or a best friend) can really make or break a relationship so in many ways it's the ultimate challenge. There's another person to lose something or get you lost besides yourself. I'm sure we're not the only ones who've had blazing arguments in public after visiting somewhere only to find it had closed down or was shut for the day due to a strike. But at other times you feel like it's you and them against the world. We particularly found this in Beijing when visiting Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden Garden and having Chinese tourists take photos of us due to our colouring and 'difference'. I like some down time reading books or sitting alone in a coffee shop or sorting through crockery at a vintage shop. Or just watching TV shows on the net.



My travel essentials

• Take extra prescription meds with you. Separate between cabin and stored luggage. It's a bitch when your antidepressants go missing.
• Pain killers
• Bandaids. Impossible to find in China!
• Ear plugs ( I snore so I bring extra for other people)
• Packets of tissues. I usually try and travel sustainably but you'll find public places where you have to pay for toilet paper, if they have any. In Singapore, packets of tissues are used to mark a seat at a food court table whilst it's owner goes to buy their lunch. No one takes the seat. 
• Zip lock bags. Essential for anything you don't want to get wet.
• Books. I tend to buy second hand ones before I travel and leave them in public (or free bookshops if I can find them). I haven't had all that much experience reading books on my IPad, but with moving we've digitized all our cd's and dvd's and will try get digital versions of most books. 
• A laptop with movies/TV on it. Gives you something to do when sitting around waiting for trains etc. 
• A big scarf
• Umbrellas can be a pain to pack so pick up a crappy one if the weather is iffy or in a pinch, a plastic poncho thingie. You'll look ridiculous but dry. 
• USB drive in case you need to print travel documents at a net cafe

Labels: travelling