Did you know that only five percent of Americans travel abroad each year? Beat the odds, get a passport and go see the world. It's easier than you might think. Here's our starter guide for the new traveler.
I'm an American, but I grew up in England, my family now lives in rural France and I was conceived in Luxembourg. TMI! I haven't kept track of all the countries I've been to, but I think I've probably hit every one in Europe and I've been to every continent but Australia and Antarctica now. Maybe we can fix that this year. I'm also a young guy who doesn't have a ton of money and sucks at languages, two traditional shortcuts to making all this much easier. And I don't really like being a tourist, so I tend to seek out adventures that are, well, actually adventurous rather than just getting all excited that McDonald's serves (shitty) beer here.
First Steps
You're going to need a passport. These aren't hard or expensive to get, just don't wait until the last minute; doing so makes one hard and expensive to get. A new passport will set you back the grand total of $110, with an additional $25 processing fee. To get one, you'll need to find a Passport Acceptance Facility near you; many post offices and similar can do this. You'll need to show them an original, notarized copy of your birth certificate (or similar proof of citizenship) and a photo ID like a driver's license. Make copies of both and take both the copies and originals with you. You'll also need to get a standard passport photo taken ahead of time; many photo shops, copy centers and similar businesses can take one for you. Often, the nearest convenience store to a major passport office will have a side business snapping these. You also need to complete this form, but wait to sign it until you're at the office and they see you do it.
That's it; four to six weeks later you'll be able to travel the world. Passports are good for 10 years.
Pro tip: get a few extra copies of your passport photo and staple them inside the back cover of your passport. Occasionally, a random country might ask you for one at the border and you might need them for visas. Basically, you're doing this once rather than every time you need one.http://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/tools-you-can-...
Do You Need A Visa?
This is where shit gets complicated and weird. Most countries a new traveler might visit won't require a visa. The countries that do tend to make the process as much like a Monty Python sketch as possible. Each has its own bizarre and frustrating process, but in general, if you're doing this far enough in advance, it'll just be a case of collecting documents, sending them in and paying a fee. Make sure you read the instructions on any form through several times, that you understand them clearly and follow them precisely.
Rushed visas are a whole 'nother story. Google is your friend and, if the consulate in question uses a third party processor, Yelp reviews are too. Just try to get an idea of what the process is like before you make an appointment or mail your passport to someone with diplomatic immunity.
Oh yeah, and because you frequently have to mail your passport in, that's just another reason to do this well in advance, so you don't have another trip compete for your passport's time. But that's starting to sound like a Wes problem and we're trying to keep this simple. http://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/tinder-around-...
Choosing A Destination
You probably already have one in mind: some place you saw in a movie once or where your ancestors are from. Hint: they left there for a reason and that reason is likely terrible weather. Or Germans.
The world's a pretty big place and everyone has different desires, tastes and fantasies. So, I can't tell you where to go for your first big trip abroad, but I can help you narrow it down.
Choose somewhere that you won't need to rent or drive a car. Doing so is frequently insanely expensive at best and dangerous or scary at worst. Driving your Canyonero to Costco on the Interstate has not prepared you for driving in a foreign country where a) driving standards tend to either much higher or completely non-existent. And, in many countries, most people don't drive at all, so there's really no need. Public transportation, taxis, tuk tuks, private busses, ride sharing, airplanes (yes, really!) or just fucking walking are not only better ways to see and interact with a new culture, but superior forms of transportation in general.
Visit a city. Even if you want to do outdoors stuff, basing yourself in a city or spending a few days in one is the best way to immerse yourself in foreign food, foreign language, foreign manners and foreign women. Cities in Asia are dirty and loud and crowded. Cities in Europe are pretty and historical and, well, quiet. Cities in South America are vibrant and chaotic and intense. Africa's too freakin' huge and varied to make such a generalization.
Avoid places where the English holiday. I can say this with some authority, Brits abroad are the absolute worst. Basically, just look up the destination cities for Ryanair and avoid those like the plague. Particularly if those cities include a beach. No one wants to see a fat, drunk, pasty english guy with the world's worst sunburn get into a sad fight over football or Agincourt.
Pick a place with goodt food. If the local cuisine is all chilled monkey brains and pregnant snakes, you'll have just as bad a time as you will somewhere that it's spam, peas and boiled potatoes. What do you order for meal deliveries at home? Go there, or, better yet, a country that that country colonized and which now has a hybrid of old and new world eating. Don't visit a city next to the ocean if you don't like fish. Or, better yet, learn to like fish when you visit.
Learn about local tourist seasons and don't visit during them. Prices will be higher, the city will be packed with annoying people and it'll be hard to find and do the fun stuff.
So basically, do go to South America. Don't go to a resort.
No comments:
Post a Comment