You get the most out of a trip if you know a couple of things before you hit the ground in a new country – duh. Don’t get me wrong, my favourite trips are the ones with the least planning and greatest spontaneity. I like travelling without a guidebook and having to ask people who I should do, and I love being on the road and not quite knowing where I’ll end up at the end of the day. But just to prevent yourself feeling like a idiot while you figure out the lay of the land, it’s handy to know a few things that can get you started and help you along the way.
While being able to sail or lead a group rock climbing might help win some friends and make the trip a touch more interesting, here are the five key things I think you should know before starting off your adventure:
Current exchange rate and what some simple goods (cheap meal, t-shirt, bottle of water, etc) should cost.
How to say at least a few key things – like hello, goodbye, please, and thank you – in the local language
Popular local scams. From the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris to the Royal Palace in Bangkok, I’ve had scammers try their moves on me, and being aware of the popular local tricks helped me avoid them.
Visa policies for neighbouring countries. You never know where the road may take you, so it’s good to be ready.
The cheapest way to get to and from the airport (or train station). You could end up paying tons for a taxi into town, or wait a little while for a cheap bus. Choice is yours.
Other than that, I say let curiosity fuelled by polite ignorance be your guide.
James Bowthorpe is an adventuring bad-ass. He grew a better beard than Mark Beaumont, and also cycled around the world a good deal faster, besting Mark Beaumont’s record by a solid 20 days. While I’d rather cruise around the world at a good leisurely pace to see the sights and smell the flowers, there is something inspiring about folks challenge themselves to prove just how small our world is.
The Adventurists – the folks behind the Mongol Rally and other awesome adventures – are looking for someone to move to South America to head up their operations there. If you’re really keen on adventure and speak Spanish, this is certainly a chance to explore a bit and have a wild good time. I can’t seem to find anything on their website about the job, but just click ‘more’ to see the email they sent out this AM advertising the position.
After three months on the road with the U2 360 tour, I’m now passing the torch (well, walkie-talkie since we didn’t have a torch) to Matt Higginson.
I’ve had a fantastic time, meeting ONE members around Europe and North America and working with our volunteers to sign up tens of thousands of new folks. But, now Matt is back from leave so I have a chance to head home to London and get back to mobilising our global membership to take action on some key upcoming moments.
Thank you to everyone who helped along the way, especially the hundreds of energetic and passionate volunteers who really did all the hard work of signing up new members. I hope to see you all again soon and that you’ll join me in wishing Matt good luck with the rest of the tour.
If watching this doesn’t scare you off of backcountry skiing for a little while then I don’t know what will. I love cruising around off-piste, but damned if I don’t get myself the best avalanche gear money can buy before I get any more adventurous than I am right now.
This was a decent sized avalanche. 1,500 feet the dude fell in a little over 20 seconds. The crown was about 1 – 1.5m. The chute that he got sucked through to the skier’s right was flanked on either side by cliff bands that were about 30m tall. He luckily didn’t break any bones and obviously didn’t hit anything on the run out.
1,500 feet in 20 seconds? Damn. Read the rest of the description for a bit of background on how he got into the situation and a more words of caution on skiing in avalanche zones.
