No matter how often I travel, whenever I am packing up for someplace new, I always get the same questions. Is it safe there? What about kidnapping? Won't you get mugged? etc. I realize now that these are the same questions for people who want to travel, but feel intimidated. So if you're trying to find the correct way to battle other people's questions, or you're battling these questions for yourself, here is a list of 18 things that won't happen while traveling.
1) You're not going to die. You're not going to get stabbed in a back alley, you won't die of food poisoning, you won't get run over. So if you're saying to yourself 'oh, I'd just die if I traveled to India.' you actually wouldn't.
2) Your plane is not going to crash. The likelihood of your plane crashing is ridiculous. 1 in 19.8 million. That's basically one person in the population of Texas. It won't happen. Want to be extra sure? Check out airlines' flight statistics and choose to fly only with the ones that have the best track records.
3) You're not going to get kidnapped. In some countries you may hear warnings about kidnappings and previous occurrences... so don't ignore any serious concerns, but for the most part, going to a different country holds no greater risk of getting kidnapped than in your own country.
4) You're not going to get so lost that no one will ever find you. Nope. Most places in the world don't have the abundance of space that the United States has. This means that towns are closer together, all roads lead somewhere, and there isn't typically that hundred mile gap between civilizations like we can find in the American Midwest sometimes.
5) You're not packing a single thing that you actually need. If you've packed underwear and toothpaste, you're fine. Other things are easy and cheap to get a hold of, and many people travel with only two shirts and two pants and swear by this. Basically, all your other stuff is 'extras' (excluding medications etc, of course). So don't be intimidated about what to pack... and don't over think your suitcase!
6) You won't be able to scream 'HELP' in Cantonese (a.k.a you don't have survival language skills for your destination). People around the world recognize 'help'. More importantly, people around the world recognize someone screaming in fear. If you want directions, hold out a map, if you want food, mimic eating. You won't always look cool, but you'll get answers.
7) You'll lose ALL your travel documents and then be stranded in a strange country forever. Losing all your travel documents isn't a joke... it can happen to anyone, even the most alert of travelers have had things stolen at one point or another. However, this won't leave you stranded forever. I speak from personal experience when I say... you won't be the first person to come to the U.S embassy or consulate identity-less. There is a procedure for this, you'll get an emergency passport, and you'll be on your way. A hassle - definitely. But you won't be stranded forever. Tip: leave photocopies of your passport with a friend or relative before you leave the country.
8) Terrorist attack. You are about twenty times more likely to get hit by lightning. Don't be crazy and go somewhere known and famous for terrorism, and if you avoid those places, you'll be just fine.
9) You won't make friends or connections abroad. Unless you go out of your way to stay in your hotel room/hostel/apartment the entire time you're abroad, you'll make friends just fine. Hostels are an amazing way to meet people. Often, the people staying in hostels are traveling alone or in small groups and are looking for people to meet. Also, these are usually people who are up for an adventure, not matter how big or small.
10) It won't be worth it. Every second of traveling is worth it. No matter if you're interested in sports, cooking, literature, music, cars, films, hiking, you will always find something for you... and if you don't know what you're in to yet, go and find out. There is nothing as amazing as discovering something, even if you're discovering that you don't like tripe. It's an experience completely your own, and it's completely worth it. Every second. Every penny.
That's all for now, happy travels!
1) You're not going to die. You're not going to get stabbed in a back alley, you won't die of food poisoning, you won't get run over. So if you're saying to yourself 'oh, I'd just die if I traveled to India.' you actually wouldn't.
2) Your plane is not going to crash. The likelihood of your plane crashing is ridiculous. 1 in 19.8 million. That's basically one person in the population of Texas. It won't happen. Want to be extra sure? Check out airlines' flight statistics and choose to fly only with the ones that have the best track records.
3) You're not going to get kidnapped. In some countries you may hear warnings about kidnappings and previous occurrences... so don't ignore any serious concerns, but for the most part, going to a different country holds no greater risk of getting kidnapped than in your own country.
4) You're not going to get so lost that no one will ever find you. Nope. Most places in the world don't have the abundance of space that the United States has. This means that towns are closer together, all roads lead somewhere, and there isn't typically that hundred mile gap between civilizations like we can find in the American Midwest sometimes.
5) You're not packing a single thing that you actually need. If you've packed underwear and toothpaste, you're fine. Other things are easy and cheap to get a hold of, and many people travel with only two shirts and two pants and swear by this. Basically, all your other stuff is 'extras' (excluding medications etc, of course). So don't be intimidated about what to pack... and don't over think your suitcase!
6) You won't be able to scream 'HELP' in Cantonese (a.k.a you don't have survival language skills for your destination). People around the world recognize 'help'. More importantly, people around the world recognize someone screaming in fear. If you want directions, hold out a map, if you want food, mimic eating. You won't always look cool, but you'll get answers.
7) You'll lose ALL your travel documents and then be stranded in a strange country forever. Losing all your travel documents isn't a joke... it can happen to anyone, even the most alert of travelers have had things stolen at one point or another. However, this won't leave you stranded forever. I speak from personal experience when I say... you won't be the first person to come to the U.S embassy or consulate identity-less. There is a procedure for this, you'll get an emergency passport, and you'll be on your way. A hassle - definitely. But you won't be stranded forever. Tip: leave photocopies of your passport with a friend or relative before you leave the country.
8) Terrorist attack. You are about twenty times more likely to get hit by lightning. Don't be crazy and go somewhere known and famous for terrorism, and if you avoid those places, you'll be just fine.
9) You won't make friends or connections abroad. Unless you go out of your way to stay in your hotel room/hostel/apartment the entire time you're abroad, you'll make friends just fine. Hostels are an amazing way to meet people. Often, the people staying in hostels are traveling alone or in small groups and are looking for people to meet. Also, these are usually people who are up for an adventure, not matter how big or small.
10) It won't be worth it. Every second of traveling is worth it. No matter if you're interested in sports, cooking, literature, music, cars, films, hiking, you will always find something for you... and if you don't know what you're in to yet, go and find out. There is nothing as amazing as discovering something, even if you're discovering that you don't like tripe. It's an experience completely your own, and it's completely worth it. Every second. Every penny.
That's all for now, happy travels!
No comments:
Post a Comment