4 ms·
Well said. The important things that most Americans I meet don't get are these two: - Travel is cheap Americans tend to think of Travel in terms of the Car
by jasonkester 16y ago
Well said. The important things that most Americans I meet don't get are these two:
- Travel is cheap
Americans tend to think of Travel in terms of the Caribbean Cruise. A cruise lasts seven days and costs $5,000. Therefore, traveling costs $5,000 per week. Therefore I must have spent about $250k on my last trip. "How do you afford that?"
No, travel costs $500-$1000 per month unless you go out of your way to make it cost more.
- They're not actually going to kill you for being American
I went through Syria in 2003, and everybody back home thought I was nuts. I had the time of my life. In general, if you want to get killed by crazy middle-eastern terrorists, you're better off staying out of crazy middle-eastern countries. They just don't have the infrastructure for it over there, since the few people who care about that stuff are all in places where westerners actually go.
Even in the "dangerous" places, the odds are generally in your favor. Most days, nobody shows up at the Valley of the Kings with guns. Once every 10 years they do, but still your odds are better than 50/50. I was at that club in Bali a year before it blew up. I was handling chickens in Asia during the Bird Flu scare, having lunch with the dreaded Thai Muslim Separatists, and all of this during Tsunami Season.
If you look at the odds, it's like being afraid to go to Nebraska because of the lightning storms. Relax, and go see some cool stuff!
- retree 16y agoNo, travel costs $500-$1000 per month If you're careful, travelling can be even cheaper. I went travelling through Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Russia on my own this year and probably spent ~$10 a day, and that includes food, accommodation and travel. If you're young, stay in decent hostels and never fly. Take the train everywhere and even if you don't speak the same language, people are incredibly friendly and generous. One of my best memories was drinking vodka with a group of Russian soldiers whilst on the Trans-Siberian. - People don't hate Americans This is totally true, even in some countries you might think differently (e.g. Vietnam). Some of the funniest and best people to be around when I was travelling were from America.
- nakkiel 16y agoJust, what is "Tsunami Season" exactly?
- jasonkester 16y agoThat's actually a quote from a relative. I went to the Indian Ocean side of Thailand the year following the Tsunami. Being December, I was asked if I was worried to be there during Tsunami season, since everybody knows that once-in-500-year random events happen in December over there.
- nakkiel 16y agoRight. Living in Thailand I recognize the kind of confused reasoning people are capable of here. I used to collect them too but there was just too much to keep up with.
- erso 16y agoAlso consider the cost of food in other countries. I lived healthily on about a US$2/day food budget when I spent six weeks in India (Bangalore). This isn't true for all places, of course, but I imagine it holds reasonably true.