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Things I've Learned from Traveling Around the World for Three Years

260 points by ryanricard 16y ago

shralpmeister 16y ago
As a Canadian living in the US, I have to take exception to his remark that Canadian and American cultures are the same. The differences might appear subtle, but I'd say the differences are huge. They just run deeper beneath the superficial similarity. I'm speaking of English Canadians BTW. Vive la difference!
- aplusbi 16y ago
  I'm an American who has never been to Canada, but I think I get what the author meant. He compared the difference between American and Canadian culture to the differences between states or regions. There is a huge difference between Northern US culture and Southern US culture, East Coast and West Coast, etc. But there are a lot of similarities and those similarities make up "American Culture."
- gruseom 16y ago
  An American is proud of what he is: an American. A Canadian is proud of what he is not: an American.
  - neilk 16y ago
    I would amend your statement to say that ignorant Americans believe their country is supreme, because the TV tells them so. Ignorant Canadians receive the same messages, but don't have much to counter them, and thus default to such spite and envy. I'm a Canadian and I've lived in the USA for years. This has made me acutely aware of how different our cultures really are, and how they both have different virtues.
  - mrtron 16y ago
    Ah, a load of shit. Canadians are proud to be Canadian. Traveling around has shown me that people often don't know much about Canada, but they recognize the people are nice. That alone is enough to be proud of. The whole 'Canada identity crisis' is because Canadians are too concerned with their international appearance and place. We need to just embrace the core identity we already have instead of looking for a new one. The Olympics was an example of Canada trying too hard on the international scene. The closing ceremonies had this horrid 'comedy' portion designed to show that we don't take ourselves too seriously. That in itself was just trying too hard - you don't need an intentionally lame comedy sketch to show that. Anyways Daniel - I recommend you travel more. The further I get from Canada the more I realize it is only a few Canadians and Americans that see it as a US vs Canada issue - we already have our own distinct identity.
    - gruseom 16y ago
      it is only a few Canadians and Americans that see it as a US vs Canada issue No Americans see "it" as a "US vs Canada issue" because "it" is an exclusively Canadian concern. What Americans think of Canada is (a) nothing and (b) (when pressed) that big cold-but-friendly blank space at the top of the map. That doesn't stop them from being warm and fuzzy when they find out you're Canadian.
      - arethuza 16y ago
        Could be worse - you could be the "cold-but-unfriendly blank space at the top of the map" which I suspect is how English people see Scotland ;-)
- charleso 16y ago
  As another former Canada / U.S. transplant I agree there is a difference, but it's less extreme. It's almost intra-national, really. The 'culture shock' between Toronto, Ontario -> Montgomery, Alabama won't be much different than if you were moving from Los Angeles instead. In contrast, the culture difference between Toronto, Canada -> Cairo, Egypt or Bangkok, Thailand will be pretty danged huge.
  - theycallmemorty 16y ago
    But doesn't language isolation have a significant impact on culture? It would be more apt to compare the Toronto-Montgomery difference to the difference between Toronto and Glasgow or Toronto and Canberra.
- yardie 16y ago
  To someone in Tanzania or Laos do you think they know what that subtle difference is? Face it, you get lumped in with Americans because the overall culture is similar.
- george_george 16y ago
  I'm an Australian living in a town with a pretty high level of immigrants, including a lot of Americans and Canadians, and I can't tell the difference between an American and a Canadian at all. I'm not entirely convinced the difference between a Canadian and an American would be any bigger than the difference between Texans and Californians, for example.
  - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
    The difference between a Canadian and an American is about the same as the difference between a Kiwi and an Aussie. Likewise, the difference between a Texan and a Californian is similar to the difference between someone from Geelong and someone from Sydney.
    - megablast 16y ago
      As an Australian, the difference between a Canadian, American, Australian, New Zealander and English person is very subtle.
      - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
        That was my point.
- natep 16y ago
  What got me is that his only justification for this (#13) is that our accents are the same. And based on #10 (culture matters) I thought he actually understood what 'culture' meant.
heresy 16y ago
Everyone needs to do something like this at least once. It's a lot harder to believe the bullshit peddled about other nationalities when you've toured through their country and experienced their hospitality. Personally, traveling for a year changed me and the way I approach people...I was and still am an introvert, but I'm a lot more confident in social situations. Also, if you're a Bible belt type, prepare to come back a lot more liberal and tolerant in your outlook, not a bad thing. If nothing else, you'll also discover what the author discovered, how little you actually need to achieve a base level of comfort, and how embarrassingly high your six figure salary actually is, comparatively speaking.
lionhearted 16y ago
Careful, this is one is true until it's not, and then you're fucked: > 7) The rest of the world isn't full of germs. Many people travel with their own supply of water and an industrial vat of hand sanitizer. As a rule, yes, you'll be fine in other countries. But especially in third world countries, only eat food that is served in a sealed package from a trusted company or served hot - food that is served hot will be generally cleaner and safer to eat. The big danger is food that sits around all day half-warm: that's where you get sick from. Also, don't drink the tap water in places the locals don't drink the tap water. Don't worry about ice/teeth brushing/etc, it's incidental, but don't drink tap if the locals won't drink it. /did research on this after getting violently ill in Cambodia, luckily the expired medicine I bought from the untrained pharmacist did the trick.
- aplusbi 16y ago
  Yeah, I'm really glad I brought antibiotics to Peru with me, and Peru isn't even particularly bad. I wouldn't say I got violently ill there, but I did get a case of Gringo's Bane (aka Machu Poopoo) and was moving my bowel 10-15 times a day. Other than that I felt fine, but not being able to leave the proximity of the bathroom cost me two days.
- seven 16y ago
  From my experience, you can not avoid getting ill. Sooner or later (probably sooner) it is going to hit you. Therefore my advice is, to jump right into it. Eat what the locals eat. Do what the locals do. By this you have at least a bit fun until you have to spend your time sitting and sh*ing. The human body is great in adapting to those situation. On my first visit to an development country I took more pictures from the window of my toilet than anything else. But since my body got somehow got used to the new environment, I have not been ill on my last few trips. Final advice for third world travel: Have toilet paper ready. Always!
  - poutine 16y ago
    Bad advice. The body doesn't adapt to hepatitis, salmonella, spoiled meat and the like. Don't think the locals are not getting sick and dying either. They are. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.
acabal 16y ago
I've been long-term traveling and running my startup at the same time for the past few years (in fact just today I set up an incomplete map of my travels for the past few months at my site, turkeysandwichindustries.com), and I can attest that everything in this article is true. What makes me sad sometimes is that traveling the world for a few months to a year doesn't even cross the minds of many of my fellow Americans. But doing just that is extremely common for almost any other wealthy country. The number of Americans I meet in a place can be counted on one hand; the number of English, Australians, Kiwis, Germans, etc. etc. are always huge. After some thought, I think it comes down to the fear that's being slowly baked in to our culture. People (and I mean Americans) are afraid of what happens if they don't work, of finding a new job when they come back, of insurance, of germs and war in foreign countries, of insanely improbable disaster striking, of getting lost, of running out of money, of bed bugs, of missing friends and family, of anything. Some of these are valid worries; most aren't. Having grown up in just such a fear-based culture (and having a worrier gene run in the family), I struggle against those fears myself every day. It isn't easy. But the most important thing that traveling has taught me is this: that everything will be OK. You can be out of a job, get a terrible injury (I myself had an accident requiring surgery while in New Zealand), get lost, miss your flight, have your wallet stolen, lose your passport, or worse, and... everything will be OK. Your family will be there for you, your friends will be there for you, other travelers you've met will be there for you, the locals will be there for you. You'll find a job when you get back, and your old friends won't have forgotten you. As long as you've got the will and the spirit, everything will work out. So get out there. See the world. It's a beautiful, fascinating, scary, wondrous place. Don't be afraid of taking a year off. Everything will be OK, and it will make you a smarter, more even-headed, tolerant, and curious person. And you'll make friends from all over the world that you can visit on your next big trip.
- euroclydon 16y ago
  Sounds good. If the mortgage payment and health insurance were going to be "OK" too, I would already be out there.
  - acabal 16y ago
raju 16y ago
I have lived in 3 continents (Africa [Nigeria], Asia [India], and North America [US]) and vacationed a few times in Europe [mainly England and Switzerland]. This, IMO is good advice. Contrary to popular belief, people around the world are good. They are willing to help you out and are less likely to take advantage of the fact that you are new there. There is also a sense of curiosity - about who you are, where you are from and what you think of their lands of origin. It often gets a little tiring answering all those questions. :) On the other hand, governments and officials especially in third world countries tend to be corrupt and agenda-driven. It's amazing how much money changing hands can do, and this I believe is a big deterrent to foreigners in many lands. You need to be a little street smart and know how to work your way out of a potentially sticky situations. I agree with other comments on HN that you need to be careful of germs. I spent a year in the US before heading back to India to visit family, and I had food off of a street-vendor. I was sick for the next 3 days (God help me now that I have been here for a decade :D). Living in a very sanitary environment like the US can (potentially) weaken your immune system [1]. Ensuring that the food is sealed, or at the very minimum hot is a good way to avoid some of the pitfalls. On the other hand, I have eaten at locals homes in Nigeria, and don't remember having any issues (it's been a while since I was there). This article makes me want to drop everything and take off for a few months. Sadly, that won't be happening anytime soon. But if you were to take away one thing from this article - it is that you should travel. Going to most countries in the world does not have to be expensive, and it will give you a good way to find out about other cultures, and potentially give you a new avenue into your own [2] [1] - I am not a doctor, but this has been my experience. I tend to be susceptible to unclean water and food - even the pollution in big cities like Bombay affects me way more than it did when I lived there. [2] I was raised in a western culture - watching NBA and CNN, listening to pop and rock music, and reading Archie and Mad magazine. But after coming to the US, I have come to realize that there is a lot of things the Indian and American cultures have in common - even more, that there is a lot they can learn from each other.
- rivo 16y ago
  I got sick a few times from street-vendor food in 3rd world countries. It turned out that they often reuse oil for too long. I now avoid deep-fried food, dirty or tap water, and things like ice-cream. I've been fine on my travels since.
elblanco 16y ago
I've had the good fortune to be able to travel quite a bit in both my professional and personal life. And I really have to echo everything the author says. But three points in particular: "The media lies" is something everyone should take to heart. It's an astonishing thing to be in a place where the #1 story of the day is happening and not see anything even remotely representing the reporting on it at ground level. Also, as an American, I can vouch for "people don't hate Americans". Individual people may be rude, or behave poorly, but they're likely rude and poorly behaved to everybody. It's amazing how that one simple act of understanding can completely change the lens you view the world with. There's an old American adage that the French (Parisians) are rude to Americans. Not so! Parisians are rude to everybody, it's just like New York! If you understand that, and get into the vibe, places with rough social interactions like Paris or New York actually become very navigable and pleasant. And finally "Everyone should travel". I can't express this enough. There's absolutely no substitute for actually spending time in a place. Reading about the Urals is one thing, eating dill laced food from local farms everyday is another. Talking about how South Korea is modern but different than the West's version of modern is one thing, taking the Seoul Subway to a Korean bar and meeting up with a dozen friends for a night of laughter, drinking, eating and otherwise having a good time is simply a different kind of experience than doing the same in the states. All the broad brush strokes are the same, but the particulars...the texture of the event...are all different.
- maxawaytoolong 16y ago
  Parisians are rude in the spring and summer, when Paris is overrun by tourists. I can't say I blame them, I found the tourist situation in July insufferable. In the fall I've found Parisians as nice as anyone else in a huge city. I've never found New Yorkers particularly rude, especially nowadays.
  - wizard_2 16y ago
    I'll second that, as a New Yorker who works in midtown I see tourists all the time. Mostly people ignore them, often we give directions or advice (like don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk, don't leave your purse on the subway seat, this train doesn't go west 4th). Most visitors aren't used to having so many people around them. Just be mindful of your surroundings. Probably good advice for any city.
wallflower 16y ago
If you liked this article and it got you wondering why you aren't traveling more, read Brave New Traveler and WorldHum for inspiration. http://bravenewtraveler.com http://bravenewtraveler.com http://worldhum.com http://worldhum.com
- GFischer 16y ago
  Thanks, I liked this article: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2010/08/16/why-goal-based-living-will-ruin-your-life/ http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2010/08/16/why-goal-based-li...
khandelwal 16y ago
I don't get the point of traveling all at once (months at a time or more). It seems to me that most people that do so, visit dozens of countries back-to-back in a relatively short span of time. I would think that everything ends up being rather similar. I travel ten days at a time, with 6 months to a year in between international trips. Most trips only include one or two countries. Anything else would be a cognitive overload.
- ronnier 16y ago
  You are exactly right. Towards the end of 2008 I took off for two months, and traveled to East Africa, Israel, Jordan, East Asia, England, and Hungary, 13 countries in total. Towards the end, I really started to grow tired of the constant moving and need to be out exploring. Being home at my favorite bookstore started to sound better than ever. Even though it did get a little tiring towards the end, it was one of the best things I have ever done, something I'll never forget.
- samfoo 16y ago
  I think you mischaracterize most long term travelers. I've been traveling for a little more than two years and I'd estimate that, unless I don't particularly enjoy a location, I spend closer to a month in most places. I've spent four months in Guatemala and over six in New Zealand. Most of the people I know who travel long term do the same thing. The only time I hear about people going to many countries in a short period is when countries are dense (central america and europe) or when they're only gone for a couple months and trying to get as many stamps (pokémon) as possible.
- dagw 16y ago
  It's a fun thing to have done. The whole travel experience is very different from shorter trips and it becomes at least as much, if not more, about the actual travel experiences as the places you visit. Sure places do get blurred and looking back I often get confused about which events happened in which country, but that's kind of part of the charm. All that being said, I'm really happy to have done it a couple of times, but have no real desire to do it again. Now I much prefer shorter (4-14 days), more frequent, trips within a more limited geographic region and a higher level of comfort.
maxawaytoolong 16y ago
I used to travel. Africa, Australia, Japan, Europe, Mexico, etc. His point about Americans not traveling is valid. I wonder if part of the reason is that North America is so far away from everywhere else. It takes 11 hours to fly from Berlin to Thailand, but it takes 25 hours to fly from NYC to Thailand. Most Americans probably have to get to NYC or LA to get anywhere else in the world, which can be another 3-5 hours of flight time. The long distance is the main reason I don't travel as much as I once did. However, in Mexico, the default foreigners are usually from the US.
- samfoo 16y ago
  Central (in particular) and South America (to a lesser extent) have way more American travelers than anywhere except Europe (at least this has been my anecdotal experience with nearly a year in Mexico/Central America). Costa Rica is practically the 51st state and south Nicaragua is well known for it's cheap land and American surfer ex-pats. Of course, flights to CA are super cheap from the US and this probably explains it. The other thing that I've noticed is that Americans from the West Coast are much more likely to travel (of course, I'm from the west coast so this might be some confirmation bias). (opinions based on a little more than two years or so of ongoing travel and probably something like 30 countries)
  - krschultz 16y ago
    It might be that west coast goes to south/central America more often and ease coast goes to Europe, becuase I know a lot of people who have gone to Europe from here but few that have gone south. It makes sense, if I have a week off getting to Europe is only 5 or 6 hours each way, which is roughly the same as california. Flight time is not the big time suck though, it is waiting in airports for connections. A direct flight to central Europe is a lot shorter than a hop from NYC to LA or TX and then a connection to a flight going to south America.
- run4yourlives 16y ago
  Canadians travel, so you can't excuse the distance. I think the problem is (I say this as a Canadian) that the US has a very insular streak to it's fabric that is manifested in ways such as this. This same streak that caused the US to join both world wars when they were half over. My guess is that it stems from the individual nature of the founders, along with the split from England. This isn't as strong in Canada and Australia because those countries remained extensions of the Empire and thus were automatically and continuously connected to the larger world. The US spent a better part of the 1800's focusing exclusively on North America.
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suthakamal 16y ago
My wife and I took 4 months off to travel around southeast asia (Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand), and had a great time. Managing to stay just connected enough to read and keep up with goings-on back home, and disconnected enough to not worry about our eMail gave us a great change of perspective and energy about coming back to San Francisco, ready to go build something. Favourite travel tips: - Kindle's International Roaming plan is $5/wk for subscriptions, so you can get your NYTimes, FT, Economist, etc. while on the go... even in places w/o paved roads and ATM's - The Kindle is also great generally because you can be less diligent about charging it, and read it anywhere from the beach to an airport lounge without any eyestrain... It also beats a stack of books (but an iPad would do so as well). - Taking Pepto Bismol prophylactically changes the PH of your stomach, making you much less likely to suffer from food-borne illnesses. That said, the effects become detrimental to your body as a whole after a few weeks, so we slowly weaned ourselves off of it, to give our immune system a chance to slowly adjust to the local flora/fauna. - An unlocked iPhone is your best friend... whether it's for maps to find your way, a travel guide for a city, downloading a podcast to teach you the local phrases you need, finding/booking a hotel, or making that Skype call back home.
- Ixiaus 16y ago
  Taking Pepto Bismol prophylactically... Ick! That'll give you all sorts of unpleasant side-effects - it's much better to eat raw garlic or raw onions every morning. You'll adjust to the local organisms better and you won't get sick at all. To each his own on taking electronics/phones/etc... When I go backpacking I prefer to take the "no itinerary" approach, leaving technology at home so I'm not in the Western Bubble wherever I go.
yayitswei 16y ago
"You don't need a lot of stuff" really resonated with me. I'm currently taking this mindset and applying it to my startup lifestyle. That, and learning how to connect with many different kinds of people, were two of the biggest takeaways from my six months of traveling. I personally wouldn't try to run a startup while abroad, since living in a foreign city takes up so much energy (both to enjoy my surroundings and to figure out how to do day-to-day things).
qeorge 16y ago
Mentioned in the article, you can get free room and board in some amazing places in return for your labor. Check out http://www.wwoof.org http://www.wwoof.org if you're interested. My folks have spent a month Italy each of the last 7 years, at virtually no expense beyond the airplane tickets. They work on an olive farm, and stay in buildings constructed in the 1300s.
- DanielStraight 16y ago
  First time I've heard about wwoof. Thanks for the tip. Any tips on how to make the most of it / find the best hosts / etc?
fgf 16y ago
"Three and a half years and 70 countries later, I've gotten the equivalent of a Ph.D in general knowledge about the people and places of Planet Earth." A contradiction in terms.
- ramchip 16y ago
  I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but possibly an explanation to the downvoters: a Ph.D. is a specialization; "specialization in general knowledge" doesn't compute.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
T_S_ 16y ago
Pretty sensible article, except for the health concerns. Don't be afraid, just prepare like you are. Glad the author is in robust health, but be prepared with antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicine and remedies for whatever you are prone to getting, say, allergies. Worst case planning makes the trip more fun. For example, my friend got malaria in Kenya. You just don't know what kind of medicine or care is going to be available.
intranation 16y ago
Just because people use electricity and have running water doesn't mean they are abandoning their culture to embrace western values. Is anyone actually surprised by this? That's some serious western arrogance.
- cryptoz 16y ago
  Slow down now. Aren't (usable) electricity and running water both Western inventions?! I think that it's not so arrogant to suggest that if people adopt those things that they have a bit of Western in their culture. I would equally say that we have some Chinese culture in our fireworks displays. It goes both ways. We are abandoning our non-fireworks culture to embrace theirs, just as others abandon their non-electrical culture to embrace parts of Western culture.
dennisgorelik 16y ago
> Most people have a deep desire to travel around the world. Not exactly. The author forgets that his data set is strongly biased toward travelers and people who dream about travel.
rythie 16y ago
If anything it's the other travellers that are anti-American (but not to their faces). The natives of countries don't seem to have a preference really except some country specific issues (Wars, long standing disputes etc.) As for point #2, the media lies. The point is, really that you can't get a balanced point of view about anything from the news, since it only reports the unusual and abnormal otherwise it's not news and that's typically bad news too. American culture seems to dominate the world particularly in that movies and T.V. seem to be everywhere.
known 16y ago
Traveling != Living

260 points by ryanricard 16y ago

As a Canadian living in the US, I have to take exception to his remark that Canadian and American cultures are the same. The differences might appear subtle, but I'd say the differences are huge. They just run deeper beneath the superficial similarity. I'm speaking of English Canadians BTW. Vive la difference!

aplusbi 16y ago
I'm an American who has never been to Canada, but I think I get what the author meant. He compared the difference between American and Canadian culture to the differences between states or regions. There is a huge difference between Northern US culture and Southern US culture, East Coast and West Coast, etc. But there are a lot of similarities and those similarities make up "American Culture."
gruseom 16y ago
An American is proud of what he is: an American. A Canadian is proud of what he is not: an American.
- neilk 16y ago
  I would amend your statement to say that ignorant Americans believe their country is supreme, because the TV tells them so. Ignorant Canadians receive the same messages, but don't have much to counter them, and thus default to such spite and envy. I'm a Canadian and I've lived in the USA for years. This has made me acutely aware of how different our cultures really are, and how they both have different virtues.
- mrtron 16y ago
  Ah, a load of shit. Canadians are proud to be Canadian. Traveling around has shown me that people often don't know much about Canada, but they recognize the people are nice. That alone is enough to be proud of. The whole 'Canada identity crisis' is because Canadians are too concerned with their international appearance and place. We need to just embrace the core identity we already have instead of looking for a new one. The Olympics was an example of Canada trying too hard on the international scene. The closing ceremonies had this horrid 'comedy' portion designed to show that we don't take ourselves too seriously. That in itself was just trying too hard - you don't need an intentionally lame comedy sketch to show that. Anyways Daniel - I recommend you travel more. The further I get from Canada the more I realize it is only a few Canadians and Americans that see it as a US vs Canada issue - we already have our own distinct identity.
  - gruseom 16y ago
    it is only a few Canadians and Americans that see it as a US vs Canada issue No Americans see "it" as a "US vs Canada issue" because "it" is an exclusively Canadian concern. What Americans think of Canada is (a) nothing and (b) (when pressed) that big cold-but-friendly blank space at the top of the map. That doesn't stop them from being warm and fuzzy when they find out you're Canadian.
    - arethuza 16y ago
      Could be worse - you could be the "cold-but-unfriendly blank space at the top of the map" which I suspect is how English people see Scotland ;-)
charleso 16y ago
As another former Canada / U.S. transplant I agree there is a difference, but it's less extreme. It's almost intra-national, really. The 'culture shock' between Toronto, Ontario -> Montgomery, Alabama won't be much different than if you were moving from Los Angeles instead. In contrast, the culture difference between Toronto, Canada -> Cairo, Egypt or Bangkok, Thailand will be pretty danged huge.
- theycallmemorty 16y ago
  But doesn't language isolation have a significant impact on culture? It would be more apt to compare the Toronto-Montgomery difference to the difference between Toronto and Glasgow or Toronto and Canberra.
yardie 16y ago
To someone in Tanzania or Laos do you think they know what that subtle difference is? Face it, you get lumped in with Americans because the overall culture is similar.
george_george 16y ago
I'm an Australian living in a town with a pretty high level of immigrants, including a lot of Americans and Canadians, and I can't tell the difference between an American and a Canadian at all. I'm not entirely convinced the difference between a Canadian and an American would be any bigger than the difference between Texans and Californians, for example.
- maxawaytoolong 16y ago
  The difference between a Canadian and an American is about the same as the difference between a Kiwi and an Aussie. Likewise, the difference between a Texan and a Californian is similar to the difference between someone from Geelong and someone from Sydney.
  - megablast 16y ago
    As an Australian, the difference between a Canadian, American, Australian, New Zealander and English person is very subtle.
    - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
      That was my point.
natep 16y ago
What got me is that his only justification for this (#13) is that our accents are the same. And based on #10 (culture matters) I thought he actually understood what 'culture' meant.

heresy 16y ago

Everyone needs to do something like this at least once. It's a lot harder to believe the bullshit peddled about other nationalities when you've toured through their country and experienced their hospitality. Personally, traveling for a year changed me and the way I approach people...I was and still am an introvert, but I'm a lot more confident in social situations. Also, if you're a Bible belt type, prepare to come back a lot more liberal and tolerant in your outlook, not a bad thing. If nothing else, you'll also discover what the author discovered, how little you actually need to achieve a base level of comfort, and how embarrassingly high your six figure salary actually is, comparatively speaking.

lionhearted 16y ago

Careful, this is one is true until it's not, and then you're fucked: > 7) The rest of the world isn't full of germs. Many people travel with their own supply of water and an industrial vat of hand sanitizer. As a rule, yes, you'll be fine in other countries. But especially in third world countries, only eat food that is served in a sealed package from a trusted company or served hot - food that is served hot will be generally cleaner and safer to eat. The big danger is food that sits around all day half-warm: that's where you get sick from. Also, don't drink the tap water in places the locals don't drink the tap water. Don't worry about ice/teeth brushing/etc, it's incidental, but don't drink tap if the locals won't drink it. /did research on this after getting violently ill in Cambodia, luckily the expired medicine I bought from the untrained pharmacist did the trick.

aplusbi 16y ago
Yeah, I'm really glad I brought antibiotics to Peru with me, and Peru isn't even particularly bad. I wouldn't say I got violently ill there, but I did get a case of Gringo's Bane (aka Machu Poopoo) and was moving my bowel 10-15 times a day. Other than that I felt fine, but not being able to leave the proximity of the bathroom cost me two days.
seven 16y ago
From my experience, you can not avoid getting ill. Sooner or later (probably sooner) it is going to hit you. Therefore my advice is, to jump right into it. Eat what the locals eat. Do what the locals do. By this you have at least a bit fun until you have to spend your time sitting and sh*ing. The human body is great in adapting to those situation. On my first visit to an development country I took more pictures from the window of my toilet than anything else. But since my body got somehow got used to the new environment, I have not been ill on my last few trips. Final advice for third world travel: Have toilet paper ready. Always!
- poutine 16y ago
  Bad advice. The body doesn't adapt to hepatitis, salmonella, spoiled meat and the like. Don't think the locals are not getting sick and dying either. They are. Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.

acabal 16y ago

I've been long-term traveling and running my startup at the same time for the past few years (in fact just today I set up an incomplete map of my travels for the past few months at my site, turkeysandwichindustries.com), and I can attest that everything in this article is true. What makes me sad sometimes is that traveling the world for a few months to a year doesn't even cross the minds of many of my fellow Americans. But doing just that is extremely common for almost any other wealthy country. The number of Americans I meet in a place can be counted on one hand; the number of English, Australians, Kiwis, Germans, etc. etc. are always huge. After some thought, I think it comes down to the fear that's being slowly baked in to our culture. People (and I mean Americans) are afraid of what happens if they don't work, of finding a new job when they come back, of insurance, of germs and war in foreign countries, of insanely improbable disaster striking, of getting lost, of running out of money, of bed bugs, of missing friends and family, of anything. Some of these are valid worries; most aren't. Having grown up in just such a fear-based culture (and having a worrier gene run in the family), I struggle against those fears myself every day. It isn't easy. But the most important thing that traveling has taught me is this: that everything will be OK. You can be out of a job, get a terrible injury (I myself had an accident requiring surgery while in New Zealand), get lost, miss your flight, have your wallet stolen, lose your passport, or worse, and... everything will be OK. Your family will be there for you, your friends will be there for you, other travelers you've met will be there for you, the locals will be there for you. You'll find a job when you get back, and your old friends won't have forgotten you. As long as you've got the will and the spirit, everything will work out. So get out there. See the world. It's a beautiful, fascinating, scary, wondrous place. Don't be afraid of taking a year off. Everything will be OK, and it will make you a smarter, more even-headed, tolerant, and curious person. And you'll make friends from all over the world that you can visit on your next big trip.

euroclydon 16y ago
Sounds good. If the mortgage payment and health insurance were going to be "OK" too, I would already be out there.
- acabal 16y ago

raju 16y ago

I have lived in 3 continents (Africa [Nigeria], Asia [India], and North America [US]) and vacationed a few times in Europe [mainly England and Switzerland]. This, IMO is good advice. Contrary to popular belief, people around the world are good. They are willing to help you out and are less likely to take advantage of the fact that you are new there. There is also a sense of curiosity - about who you are, where you are from and what you think of their lands of origin. It often gets a little tiring answering all those questions. :) On the other hand, governments and officials especially in third world countries tend to be corrupt and agenda-driven. It's amazing how much money changing hands can do, and this I believe is a big deterrent to foreigners in many lands. You need to be a little street smart and know how to work your way out of a potentially sticky situations. I agree with other comments on HN that you need to be careful of germs. I spent a year in the US before heading back to India to visit family, and I had food off of a street-vendor. I was sick for the next 3 days (God help me now that I have been here for a decade :D). Living in a very sanitary environment like the US can (potentially) weaken your immune system [1]. Ensuring that the food is sealed, or at the very minimum hot is a good way to avoid some of the pitfalls. On the other hand, I have eaten at locals homes in Nigeria, and don't remember having any issues (it's been a while since I was there). This article makes me want to drop everything and take off for a few months. Sadly, that won't be happening anytime soon. But if you were to take away one thing from this article - it is that you should travel. Going to most countries in the world does not have to be expensive, and it will give you a good way to find out about other cultures, and potentially give you a new avenue into your own [2] [1] - I am not a doctor, but this has been my experience. I tend to be susceptible to unclean water and food - even the pollution in big cities like Bombay affects me way more than it did when I lived there. [2] I was raised in a western culture - watching NBA and CNN, listening to pop and rock music, and reading Archie and Mad magazine. But after coming to the US, I have come to realize that there is a lot of things the Indian and American cultures have in common - even more, that there is a lot they can learn from each other.

rivo 16y ago
I got sick a few times from street-vendor food in 3rd world countries. It turned out that they often reuse oil for too long. I now avoid deep-fried food, dirty or tap water, and things like ice-cream. I've been fine on my travels since.

elblanco 16y ago

I've had the good fortune to be able to travel quite a bit in both my professional and personal life. And I really have to echo everything the author says. But three points in particular: "The media lies" is something everyone should take to heart. It's an astonishing thing to be in a place where the #1 story of the day is happening and not see anything even remotely representing the reporting on it at ground level. Also, as an American, I can vouch for "people don't hate Americans". Individual people may be rude, or behave poorly, but they're likely rude and poorly behaved to everybody. It's amazing how that one simple act of understanding can completely change the lens you view the world with. There's an old American adage that the French (Parisians) are rude to Americans. Not so! Parisians are rude to everybody, it's just like New York! If you understand that, and get into the vibe, places with rough social interactions like Paris or New York actually become very navigable and pleasant. And finally "Everyone should travel". I can't express this enough. There's absolutely no substitute for actually spending time in a place. Reading about the Urals is one thing, eating dill laced food from local farms everyday is another. Talking about how South Korea is modern but different than the West's version of modern is one thing, taking the Seoul Subway to a Korean bar and meeting up with a dozen friends for a night of laughter, drinking, eating and otherwise having a good time is simply a different kind of experience than doing the same in the states. All the broad brush strokes are the same, but the particulars...the texture of the event...are all different.

maxawaytoolong 16y ago
Parisians are rude in the spring and summer, when Paris is overrun by tourists. I can't say I blame them, I found the tourist situation in July insufferable. In the fall I've found Parisians as nice as anyone else in a huge city. I've never found New Yorkers particularly rude, especially nowadays.
- wizard_2 16y ago
  I'll second that, as a New Yorker who works in midtown I see tourists all the time. Mostly people ignore them, often we give directions or advice (like don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk, don't leave your purse on the subway seat, this train doesn't go west 4th). Most visitors aren't used to having so many people around them. Just be mindful of your surroundings. Probably good advice for any city.

wallflower 16y ago

If you liked this article and it got you wondering why you aren't traveling more, read Brave New Traveler and WorldHum for inspiration. http://bravenewtraveler.com http://bravenewtraveler.com http://worldhum.com http://worldhum.com

GFischer 16y ago
Thanks, I liked this article: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2010/08/16/why-goal-based-living-will-ruin-your-life/ http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2010/08/16/why-goal-based-li...

khandelwal 16y ago

I don't get the point of traveling all at once (months at a time or more). It seems to me that most people that do so, visit dozens of countries back-to-back in a relatively short span of time. I would think that everything ends up being rather similar. I travel ten days at a time, with 6 months to a year in between international trips. Most trips only include one or two countries. Anything else would be a cognitive overload.

ronnier 16y ago
You are exactly right. Towards the end of 2008 I took off for two months, and traveled to East Africa, Israel, Jordan, East Asia, England, and Hungary, 13 countries in total. Towards the end, I really started to grow tired of the constant moving and need to be out exploring. Being home at my favorite bookstore started to sound better than ever. Even though it did get a little tiring towards the end, it was one of the best things I have ever done, something I'll never forget.
samfoo 16y ago
I think you mischaracterize most long term travelers. I've been traveling for a little more than two years and I'd estimate that, unless I don't particularly enjoy a location, I spend closer to a month in most places. I've spent four months in Guatemala and over six in New Zealand. Most of the people I know who travel long term do the same thing. The only time I hear about people going to many countries in a short period is when countries are dense (central america and europe) or when they're only gone for a couple months and trying to get as many stamps (pokémon) as possible.
dagw 16y ago
It's a fun thing to have done. The whole travel experience is very different from shorter trips and it becomes at least as much, if not more, about the actual travel experiences as the places you visit. Sure places do get blurred and looking back I often get confused about which events happened in which country, but that's kind of part of the charm. All that being said, I'm really happy to have done it a couple of times, but have no real desire to do it again. Now I much prefer shorter (4-14 days), more frequent, trips within a more limited geographic region and a higher level of comfort.

maxawaytoolong 16y ago

I used to travel. Africa, Australia, Japan, Europe, Mexico, etc. His point about Americans not traveling is valid. I wonder if part of the reason is that North America is so far away from everywhere else. It takes 11 hours to fly from Berlin to Thailand, but it takes 25 hours to fly from NYC to Thailand. Most Americans probably have to get to NYC or LA to get anywhere else in the world, which can be another 3-5 hours of flight time. The long distance is the main reason I don't travel as much as I once did. However, in Mexico, the default foreigners are usually from the US.

samfoo 16y ago
Central (in particular) and South America (to a lesser extent) have way more American travelers than anywhere except Europe (at least this has been my anecdotal experience with nearly a year in Mexico/Central America). Costa Rica is practically the 51st state and south Nicaragua is well known for it's cheap land and American surfer ex-pats. Of course, flights to CA are super cheap from the US and this probably explains it. The other thing that I've noticed is that Americans from the West Coast are much more likely to travel (of course, I'm from the west coast so this might be some confirmation bias). (opinions based on a little more than two years or so of ongoing travel and probably something like 30 countries)
- krschultz 16y ago
  It might be that west coast goes to south/central America more often and ease coast goes to Europe, becuase I know a lot of people who have gone to Europe from here but few that have gone south. It makes sense, if I have a week off getting to Europe is only 5 or 6 hours each way, which is roughly the same as california. Flight time is not the big time suck though, it is waiting in airports for connections. A direct flight to central Europe is a lot shorter than a hop from NYC to LA or TX and then a connection to a flight going to south America.
run4yourlives 16y ago
Canadians travel, so you can't excuse the distance. I think the problem is (I say this as a Canadian) that the US has a very insular streak to it's fabric that is manifested in ways such as this. This same streak that caused the US to join both world wars when they were half over. My guess is that it stems from the individual nature of the founders, along with the split from England. This isn't as strong in Canada and Australia because those countries remained extensions of the Empire and thus were automatically and continuously connected to the larger world. The US spent a better part of the 1800's focusing exclusively on North America.

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suthakamal 16y ago

My wife and I took 4 months off to travel around southeast asia (Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand), and had a great time. Managing to stay just connected enough to read and keep up with goings-on back home, and disconnected enough to not worry about our eMail gave us a great change of perspective and energy about coming back to San Francisco, ready to go build something. Favourite travel tips: - Kindle's International Roaming plan is $5/wk for subscriptions, so you can get your NYTimes, FT, Economist, etc. while on the go... even in places w/o paved roads and ATM's - The Kindle is also great generally because you can be less diligent about charging it, and read it anywhere from the beach to an airport lounge without any eyestrain... It also beats a stack of books (but an iPad would do so as well). - Taking Pepto Bismol prophylactically changes the PH of your stomach, making you much less likely to suffer from food-borne illnesses. That said, the effects become detrimental to your body as a whole after a few weeks, so we slowly weaned ourselves off of it, to give our immune system a chance to slowly adjust to the local flora/fauna. - An unlocked iPhone is your best friend... whether it's for maps to find your way, a travel guide for a city, downloading a podcast to teach you the local phrases you need, finding/booking a hotel, or making that Skype call back home.

Ixiaus 16y ago
Taking Pepto Bismol prophylactically... Ick! That'll give you all sorts of unpleasant side-effects - it's much better to eat raw garlic or raw onions every morning. You'll adjust to the local organisms better and you won't get sick at all. To each his own on taking electronics/phones/etc... When I go backpacking I prefer to take the "no itinerary" approach, leaving technology at home so I'm not in the Western Bubble wherever I go.

yayitswei 16y ago

"You don't need a lot of stuff" really resonated with me. I'm currently taking this mindset and applying it to my startup lifestyle. That, and learning how to connect with many different kinds of people, were two of the biggest takeaways from my six months of traveling. I personally wouldn't try to run a startup while abroad, since living in a foreign city takes up so much energy (both to enjoy my surroundings and to figure out how to do day-to-day things).

qeorge 16y ago

Mentioned in the article, you can get free room and board in some amazing places in return for your labor. Check out http://www.wwoof.org http://www.wwoof.org if you're interested. My folks have spent a month Italy each of the last 7 years, at virtually no expense beyond the airplane tickets. They work on an olive farm, and stay in buildings constructed in the 1300s.

DanielStraight 16y ago
First time I've heard about wwoof. Thanks for the tip. Any tips on how to make the most of it / find the best hosts / etc?

fgf 16y ago

"Three and a half years and 70 countries later, I've gotten the equivalent of a Ph.D in general knowledge about the people and places of Planet Earth." A contradiction in terms.

ramchip 16y ago
I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but possibly an explanation to the downvoters: a Ph.D. is a specialization; "specialization in general knowledge" doesn't compute.
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T_S_ 16y ago

Pretty sensible article, except for the health concerns. Don't be afraid, just prepare like you are. Glad the author is in robust health, but be prepared with antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicine and remedies for whatever you are prone to getting, say, allergies. Worst case planning makes the trip more fun. For example, my friend got malaria in Kenya. You just don't know what kind of medicine or care is going to be available.

intranation 16y ago

Just because people use electricity and have running water doesn't mean they are abandoning their culture to embrace western values. Is anyone actually surprised by this? That's some serious western arrogance.

cryptoz 16y ago
Slow down now. Aren't (usable) electricity and running water both Western inventions?! I think that it's not so arrogant to suggest that if people adopt those things that they have a bit of Western in their culture. I would equally say that we have some Chinese culture in our fireworks displays. It goes both ways. We are abandoning our non-fireworks culture to embrace theirs, just as others abandon their non-electrical culture to embrace parts of Western culture.

dennisgorelik 16y ago

> Most people have a deep desire to travel around the world. Not exactly. The author forgets that his data set is strongly biased toward travelers and people who dream about travel.

rythie 16y ago

If anything it's the other travellers that are anti-American (but not to their faces). The natives of countries don't seem to have a preference really except some country specific issues (Wars, long standing disputes etc.) As for point #2, the media lies. The point is, really that you can't get a balanced point of view about anything from the news, since it only reports the unusual and abnormal otherwise it's not news and that's typically bad news too. American culture seems to dominate the world particularly in that movies and T.V. seem to be everywhere.

known 16y ago

Traveling != Living