Some stuff I've learned about travel.

Being away from home for an extended time with no real schedule or end date or solid future plan can be daunting.  Total self-direction is something that I haven't experienced before, what with the working and the regular-life obligations.  When responsibility comes in the context of a purely selfish pursuit, it can be heavy.  Every day I balance worry that I will squander this opportunity by not doing enough or the right enough with annoyance that I can't just chill out for once and enjoy my time off the grid.  Its a high-class problem to have, but a tightrope still, my friends.

All that is to say that in the 7 weeks since we left the States, I've come to a few conclusions that are shaping my approach to travel and maybe will help other people headed off the reservation.  So, I thought I'd share.

-  Stay in nice places.  I've never cared much about the accommodations on vacation because I'm not one to spend much time in the room.   The difference now is that the where we stay is home while  we're there.  This isn't a quick jaunt from our permanent residence, this is our life.  And besides being the place we sleep, its where we do research, make travel plans, Skype with friends and family, and conduct life business.  So its needs to be better than just inhabitable.  Nice vibes, please. 

-  Stay in hostels, even if you don't have dreadlocks and a backpack.   I think most Americans picture dorm-style flea factories but, infact, a lot of hostels are uber-charming and feel more like B&Bs than freshman bunks.  Most have a common area and/or kitchen, which gives you a spot to hang besides your room and a chance to mix it up with other people.  When we have stayed in hotels we haven't talked to a soul.  Socializing, even for an hour after dinner, with strangers is like an injection of new material into the routine.  We flex our social muscles and remember our couple-y A-game.  Also, we occasionally have something to mock when we retire for the evening. 

-  Figure out how much fun is enough fun.  The amount of stuff we pack into a day varies hugely.  Some mornings, we're breakfasted and traveled to our first destination by 10 and return long after dark.  Other days, after 5 or 6 hours of sightseeing, I want to go to the room and stare at the ceiling.  Being in unfamiliar surroundings, not speaking or reading the language, not knowing where we are, how we'll get to the next place, or even what the next place is, can be tiring.  I think the brain can only take in a certain amount of newness a day.  After that, let it rest.  Sponge full.

-  Research is helpful, but it can become a Sisyphean task.  I mean, thank God for the internet.  At the same time, there is so much information and so many strong opinions, I've found myself in decision paralysis more than once.  The world is our oyster, yes, but its a big-ass shell and I'm bad at geography.  Sometimes just picking the next destination based on weather, affordability, cool accommodations and 1 thing we want to see or do is enough.  Like the place we're headed  tomorrow with the penis-sculpture park.  Good times!

-  Also on the research front, I've sort of crossed over from pulling together lists of restaurants, bars, galleries, etc., to just getting a basic understanding of which neighborhoods to check out, and a map.  The contributing writer for the Lonely Planet doesn't have better taste in boutiques or bars than I do, so I mostly wing it.  We find it more satisfying to make great discoveries ourselves than to spend much time circling the address of a place recommended.  Because, frankly, there's only a 50% chance that its better than the one we would've picked just walking by.


-  And in terms of food/restaurant discoveries?  Our system is pretty much to hang out in non-touristy neighborhoods and eat in crowded restaurants.  In Beijing, in particular, this strategy did not fail.  Most of those joints had Chinese-only menus, so we just pointed at what other people were eating and had some of the best meals of our lives.  
  
I think that was the most serious post I've written since we boarded the plane for Mongolia.  Gravitas exhausted.  Seacrest out.