So far our travel summaries and highlights have been focused on the great experiences and amazing places we have been, and there are many of them. What we have yet to share is some of the down and dirty that comes with extended world travel. Arriving in Egypt has made this post a necessity. Below are some of the things you should be prepared to deal with regularly when traveling on a budget.
Transportation
Our experiences here have already crossed the entire spectrum, from the excellent to the awful. On the awful side be prepared for long, crowded and hot rides on trains and buses. Our last two overnight bus rides in Turkey were on buses that did not have working AC or fans. While it was a very cool 55° Fahrenheit outside it was about 80° on the bus. Keep in mind these are both 11+ hour trips. And I am sure we will see worse. So if the occasional 2-hour plane delay in the US easily upsets you, be prepared for the buses in Turkey. In another example from Egypt our train from Aswan to Luxor, a three-hour ride was over 3 hours late, and we were left waiting on the station platform below. That is not so bad when compared to a fellow traveler coming from Cairo on a different train that took 18 hours to make the trip, which should take only 10. The key is to always have a good book, ear plugs, a bottle of water and some snacks. I am learning what real patience is on this trip while traveling.
Food
Two words: Turkish Ravioli. Amy thought that the description of this dish on the menu one night in Goreme, Turkey sounded appealing. However, when her meal appeared on the table it was lukewarm mushy pasta in a sauce of yogurt and ketchup. Lesson learned, stick to the local cuisine as it will almost always taste better as well as be a better value. A great example of that is the Egyptian fatir, pictured below with is a flaky dough stuffed with Halloumi cheese, green olives, red peppers and tomatoes, delicious, enough food for both Amy and I and it was only 15LE (~$3).
Vendors, Salesmen, Touts, etc.
Called by many names across many countries, they are all people trying like mad to get you to buy their cheap souvenirs and they are universally a real nuisance, especially here in Egypt. It all starts with an innocent enough question such as, “Where are you from.” Which when American is the innocent answer they launch into, “Obama number 1. Take a look in my shop. Great prices, special just for you today.” All while following you down the street. Unfortunately the best way to deal with these guys is to ignore them. What that leads to is you ignoring other people that are genuinely just trying to help or direct you, or even just offering a friendly hello, because you suspect they are trying to sell you something. To those people I have ignored I am sorry.
Being Sick
It will happen and it doesn’t always have to be from bad water or food. For that we have antibiotics. After all in the course of a normal year nearly everyone gets sick for a couple of days. You get a cold, a cough or a stomach bug. No big deal, you take some (beware previous employer plug coming up…)McNeil Brand OTCs like TYLENOL® Cold, IMODIUM® or SUDAFED® Triple Action and in a few days you feel 100%. Now imagine you get a stomach bug while stuck on a 10 hour overnight train. You then have to recuperate in a hostel and your travel partner needs to go out a figure out the local Pharmacy to find medicine for nausea. You feel pretty bad and in the back of your mind you wonder should I call the Travel Insurance Company and see which is the best local hospital just in case it gets worse? Getting sick at home is no big deal because everything is familiar and you have confidence that in the extremely unlikely event things do not get better on their own you can escalate it quickly and be understood by everyone. This is not the case when you are sick while abroad. It all ends up being just fine, as it is just a stomach bug, so you rest and feel better in a day or two but the experience is not fun.
So this is some of the behind-the-scenes of what it is like to be a budget world traveler for a year. As Amy and I like to joke it is clearly not a year long vacation. There are amazing experiences to be had for sure, and it turns out it is not that dissimilar from home. There is a daily grind of getting done what you need to, which for us in priority order is finding a clean place to stay, some relatively cheap but tasty food, and maybe free wi-fi if we are lucky so we can post for our loyal readers. We still think it is completely worth it, and have no plans for changes, but thought we would give a glimpse behind the curtain. What do you think?
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Should have gone to the maldives, suckas!
still beats the hell out of working every day…..if nothing else you get lots of variety…..
still looking for cheap sleep in Jerusalem? The Institute for Foreign Youth Leaders used to be a good place to crash, dormitory style. Don’t know if it is still a good place.
as best we can tell you seem to be having a great time and of course we are very happy for you…we were surprised to find so much info on food. all is well here with amy’s side of the family with the possible exception of my brother fred who is having a hard time of late. Margaret and I are both well, enjoying the somewhat cooler weather especially when we get to put the top down on our little scooter(an01 Z3 BMW). we recently spent a few days in the miami area visiting our daughter katie. we plan to visit them again in early dec. hope you keep on trucking and enjoying; we’ll watch your site…take care david and margaret and go gators1