How many times have you uttered the words “in retrospect…?” I know I have often. While I abide by a live-life-with-no-regrets philosophy, of course there are things I wish I’d known or done a bit differently throughout the course of my travels!
If now-Kacee could offer words of wisdom to then-Kacee (isn’t it fun talking in third person?), this is what I’d say:
Bali, Indonesia: Don’t trust the monkeys – or the guards! After this seemingly cute monkey stole my sunglasses, I later found out that the guards have trained them to rob tourists. After the monkey has stolen your belongings, the guards swap fruit in return for your prized possessions. The tourist feels so grateful for the guards retrieval, they are practically compelled to tip. See how it works? I didn’t bother alerting a guard as the monkey wasted no time popping the lenses out of my new shades. Not to say all the employees have ganged up with the monkeys, but just be aware that this scam exists. Also note that this happened at Uluwatu and I cannot speak for other parts of the island. Good thing the shades only cost me $5 earlier that day!
Bangkok, Thailand: Don’t overdo it on Khaosan Road. Don’t overdo the drinking while traveling, in general. Khaosan Road is part of the Bangkok experience for tourists. Having heard it was a hot place for New Years Eve, we ended up spending our entire night on this street, bouncing from bar to bar. You may have read about my wild night, which resulted in a wicked hangover. I prefer not to be hungover while traveling (especially with such limited time)! Perhaps next time I’ll take one fewer tequila shot and skip eating a scorpion. However, it’s definitely hard to say ‘no’ when prices are so good and you’re having so much fun!
Barcelona, Spain: You don’t need to wear a money belt under your clothes. Admittedly, this was my first real grown-up trip abroad so I didn’t know any better. My grandmother warned me (and scared me) about pick-pockets on Las Ramblas so I started out the trip by wearing a money belt under my shirt. I cannot explain how embarrassing it was to lift my shirt up to get cash when I went to make my first purchase. Also, if you’re wearing a dress you can imagine how retrieving money could be problematic. I immediately removed the belt and never wore it again. Instead, always practice general street smarts (keep your purse strapped across your body, don’t walk around with it open, don’t wear flashy jewelry, etc.)… but do not resort to wearing a money belt. It just looks silly and you’re cooler than that.
Berlin, Germany: Tone down the enthusiasm. I had serious culture shock upon arrival in Berlin and have to say, it’s the first time I realized just how enthusiastic and optimistic Americans generally are. Not to knock the positivity, but in an effort to semi-blend with my new surroundings, I had to make a conscious effort to act a bit more low key. No more excessive use of “awesome!” and “amazing!” I also had to pull out any pieces of black clothing I had, to fit into the mod scene. I always prefer to detract attention from myself while traveling, so adhering to the darker, hipster culture, was a choice I intentionally made.
El Nido, Philippines: Stick to one accommodation and book it far enough in advance! I had four nights in El Nido and decided during my planning, for some reason, to book my first two nights in a hostel and my second two in an Airbnb. I think my rationale was that I’d make my first two nights social (it fell over New Year’s) and my second two nights private and more low-key. Forget that! I had such a blast at Spin Hostel and made awesome friends, there was no way I was leaving. The only problem was, Spin Hostel was one of the best places to stay in town, and it was almost at max capacity over New Year’s week. I had to pay for a super inflated expensive private room on night 3 and then switch back to a dorm for night 4. Such an inconvenience!
Fajardo, Puerto Rico: If no one is at the restaurant, it’s probably for a good reason. We chose the seafood joint in question because we were hungry and there was no wait. In fact, I don’t recall there being many people there at all. And I ordered ceviche. 30 minutes later I was suffering in the bathroom. And just 30 minutes after that I had to climb into a kayak on a prepaid tour that I’d be on for the next two hours. I was not willing to bail on the journey through the bioluminescent bay, but I’ve certainly had more comfortable experiences. The general rule reigns true: more crowded restaurants will yield a better experience!
Grindavik, Iceland: Don’t get your hair wet in the blue lagoon. It’s hard to keep your head dry while floating in a giant hot spring, so I eventually went under. Big mistake! It took seven more washes to get the sulfur out of my hair and was one of the grossest feelings I’ve experienced! So dunk at your own risk.
Hanoi, Vietnam: If the swelling in your foot hasn’t gone down in 48 hours, go to the hospital. After a friend responded to a snap chat of my foot saying “that looks like blood poisoning,” I decided to take my fat bug-bitten foot more seriously. The icing on the cake was going to the Vietnamese hospital (where they spoke no English) instead of the international hospital that was equally as close. Oops! It was an experience to say the least. In case you are curious, I was treated and back to normal within 24 hours.
Jasper, Canada: Don’t adventure in the woods alone during mating season. Ok, I’m sure the locals do it all the time, but I never expected to run into an entire herd of elk while alone. No one else wanted to bike, so I ventured off by myself. On my back to the lodge, I came face to face with about 12 elk. I don’t think I’d ever felt my heart stop until that moment. I froze in panic and was able to get past a few minutes later using a truck that had just come up the road, as somewhat of a shield. Terrifying – but I survived to tell the tale!
London, England: Avoid RyanAir at all costs. In an effort to reduce expenses, I once booked what I thought would be a quick and easy RT flight from Dublin to London. The initial tickets only cost maybe a whopping total of $45. Score, right? Not if you neglect to check-in ahead of time, print your boarding pass, and bring carry-on only luggage! Fail, fail, and fail. You know what’s even worse? Missing your return flight because Stansted Airport is in the middle of nowhere and has horrendous security wait times. Lessons learned all around. I’d personally rather pay a bit more for a better experience.
Milan, Italy: Don’t let strangers put accessories on your body. They are not free! In Milan, and pretty jet lagged, I wandered to explore the gorgeous Duomo. In a moment of weakness, I let a random man show me a bracelet and as he draped it over my wrist, the next thing I knew, I suddenly owed him 5 Euros. I downright refused although the bracelet was now tied on (remember those “friendship” bracelets you could only remove by cutting them off? Yeah, one of those). He started yelling at me and made quite the scene. I ran away. The same thing happened to me with henna and glitter in Marrakech. Don’t let people put anything on you without your consent; they will attempt to charge you! And certainly don’t let anyone touch you unless you are entirely ok with it.
Montreal, Canada: April does not necessarily correlate to “spring” break. I’m not sure what I was expecting weather-wise, but snow was certainly not in the agenda when I made weekend arrangements to visit the fabulous city of Montreal mid-spring. We had great time but I can only imagine how much more comfortable the experience would’ve been had we not been freezing and shuffling through snow the whole time.
Panama City, Panama: On the flip side, try to avoid booking accommodations without A/C in the dead of summer. It was one night; I figured I could deal because of the perfectly centralized location in Casco Viejo and good reviews. Wrong. I didn’t sleep a wink as temperatures never dropped below mid-80’s overnight. Good thing I had to be up at 6AM to head to the airport – at least I had a nice sunrise view! Note that in developing countries you may not be able to be as picky with some of the things we take for granted in our respective home countries, in this case, air conditioning.
Queenstown, New Zealand: Don’t take taxis, hitch hike! For some reason, I didn’t catch on to the popularity of hitching until my 5th of five days in Queenstown. Because taxi drivers are paid a livable wage, cab fares are extremely high and will quickly rob your bank account. I only wish I’d taken a chance sooner. Hitching is extremely common and safe in New Zealand, which is ranked as the second safest country in the world (Global Peace Index, 2017).
Quito, Ecuador: Always carry ID in a foreign country. It’s true that in developing (and many developed) countries, life is more… laid back. For instance, I can rarely think of times when I’ve been carded going into bars abroad. The US tends to be much stricter with age restriction. For whatever reason, in Quito, my friend and I hastily left for the bars and neither of us brought ID cards. We were surprised to be rejected upon entry, which resulted in us having to taxi back to our accommodation to grab the IDs. I later found out you have to be 18 to enter bars in Quito… thanks for the flattery. But, as rule of thumb, you should always carry identification in case of emergency.
These are all personal lessons learned abroad and should not serve to dissuade you from traveling to foreign destinations. Travel is about challenging yourself and as a result, you learn from your mistakes which only prepare you for handling (and avoiding) future mishaps.
Have you experienced any of the above situations?