The Three Questions To Ask Before Traveling

Almost all of the people in our world like to travel. There are people who like it more than others. There are also those, who are obsessed with traveling. This is a post for those of us, who like to see new places, but also don't know what to do when they get there. The Internet is so full of pictures, so it is no problem at all to get familiar with the place you're visiting. There are also a lot of GPS apps, that could help you not to get lost. But in fact there some things you can't do only through your phone. So here is some of my (short) experience on traveling...

Where to get your information?

 Have you ever traveled to a country, where you don't understand even a word on the language? It's kind of scary for me. Of course, nowadays more than a half of the people in the world speak English at an acceptable level, but using English all the time makes you seem distant from the people and kind of robs you from the opportunity to feel the atmosphere of the place. Let me tell you about my little trip to Turkey. I've heard a lot of good stuff about that country, and that going on a trip there is a must, so I decided I'll go to the seaside to see if it really is so beautiful and nice as they said. So, we went there from Bulgaria by bus. It was an exhausting 20 hours ride. I mean, my phone battery couldn't hold on so much even with an external battery and there wasn't anywhere you could plug your phone in on the bus, I forgot my book at home, and to top it all, I just can't sleep on a bus... or a train... or a plane... on any vehicle. So, here I am on the bus, 5 A. M., everyone are sleeping and there's nothing to see through the window. And then an idea hits me: I need to learn some stuff about Turkey. So I go up to the bus driver and start a conversation. After half an hour, I already knew a lot of stuff about the culture there - how people on the eastern and on the western part were completely different from each other, some common habits of the people there, how to shop(that'll come up later) and most importantly - some useful phrases. I actually still have that person on Facebook. So: my first tip, when being on a trip is:

Don't assume you know a lot about a place, just because you read a lot online, ask someone who lives there, or at least has been there a lot.

How a simple "Hello" could be useful?

So, back to my Turkish adventures: And so the bus stops at a typical turkish market and half of the people on the bus, still unprepared for what is expecting them start looking through stuff, and asking the question that all tourist there ask: How much? Where are the prices? According to the bus driver, these are the questions that shouldn't be asked. So I'm completely prepared and fired up to try do some turkish shopping and I go up to one of the stands on the market, I grab a box of dried figs and just start looking at it. And an middle-aged turkish guy(with a fabulous moustache) with a grumpy look on his face, and I confidently say the first word I learned in Turkish: Merhaba! And the grumpy guy just stopped for a second there, staring at me and he gets the biggest smile on his face, and starts to tell me legends about the fruit I'm holding(in English of course). I ended up buying two boxes in the end. So I go back to the bus. The people who knew Turkish looked happy and relaxed. The others were complaining how they got completely ripped off and how the Turkish people were awful. In the end it turned out, that I bought the two boxes of figs, on the price of a half box, just because I said a simple "Hello" and knew I had to listen to the stories of the shopkeeper. So second advice:

Learn a word or two in the local language of the place you are visiting. It's not very hard, but can be really useful.

What to do when you're at a new place?

"So, you shopped in Turkey... Awesome... That's not very helpful for planning a trip" I guess that may be what you're thinking, so it's time for my last tip on what to do when traveling. And it is: My little guide on what to do when you're in a new place:

1. Check the famous tourist sites

What comes to mind, when thinking about Paris? The Eiffel Tower, of course! What comes to mind when thinking about New York? The Statue Of Liberty! The most important thing to do when somewhere, is to see the symbol of the place. Imagine your best friend was in Rome and they didn't visit the Colloseum! "What were you doing there?!?"

2. Eat, drink, repeat

Speaking of Italy, you can't go there, while being on a diet. For me, that is in fact true for wherever I go. Imagine being on the coast of a small town in Italy, it's early in the morning(by italian standarts, it's around 11 AM), you're in one of those small cafes and you're sipping on... tea. Doesn't work really, huh? You don't drink coffee, so what? Maybe those cute small cups with super strong coffee they have in Italy could make you change your mind? You'll never know if you never try. And when you get to lunch, you have a big variety of pasta, and pizza, and seafood and wine... and... It would be just ridiculous to eat a hamburger with fries and a coke! Every time I travel somewhere, I make a list of all the food I need to eat. If you don't know what to eat, just ask. When I went to Greece, I didn't know anything else Greek except Greek Salad and I knew I had to try their sweets. But that wasn't good enough, so I went into the first 'Taverna'(a Greek restaurant) I saw and I asked. Turns out, greeks make thew most amazing fish dishes. 

3. Take a look around

Let's go back to Italy. I was in Venice. There are a lot of churches and museums, and art galleries you could see there. But each one of them takes time. I was there only for a day, so to make the most of it, I went to the main tourist attractions, saw them(it's really beautiful in there, you should go, given the opportunity), took pictures, but I didn't go inside any of them. Instead I went roaming the small streets of that town. You can't imagine how many beautiful places with not a single tourist I found. I'm not saying, that this is what you should do of course, but it is awesome to feel the atmosphere of the "real" part of the town - the part where you're not bumping into someone every two steps, but where the real people live and to see how they interact. To dive into the atmosphere of a city, you need to make little detours around the tourist attractions

4. Make lots and lots of selfies and pictures

Sounds ridiculous for a travel tip, but believe me, it is important. After a year or two you may forget the cute pink cups in the restaurant. or the nice old man, who gave you directions. Pictures are important. I tend to take a picture of every single thing I like - the street lamps in Zagreb, the pavement in Verona, the long, completely straight streets of Barcelona, the little pirate-themed candy shop in Prague. All of them are memories, that are precious for me, but believe me, if there aren't pictures they may fade.


I hope you like my little travel ramblings. If it is kind of boring, sorry, you can leave me a comment to give me some advise. If you have more tips also leave a comment. Cheers!