Avoiding the East Slavic Jinx
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| In Need of "Cool, Clear Water," Northeast Arizona |
Among the East Slavs there is an old superstition that says
you shouldn’t return home for a forgotten item if you have already begun your
journey. Hence, before setting out on a long trip, Russian travelers sit
quietly for a moment—still inside their front door—which, among other things,
gives them time to ponder if they have everything they need. If you do come
back after having left, you have to look in a mirror (and stick out your tongue
or smile according to Ukrainians) to break the jinx, or you might not complete
your journey! I’m not sure about the whole jinx thing, but I’m all for making
sure I have everything I need before I head out the front door on a trip. The
most important, essential, crucial, vital, critical, central, decisive, key,
fundamental, necessary, imperative, non-trivial thing you NEED to take with you
is…well, money, because without it you can’t eat, which process keeps your body
functioning, sustains your life, etc. BUT, after money, you MUST take
sufficient information!
Information, Information, Infor…mation?
If you read my first two posts (and let’s be honest, why in
the world wouldn’t you have?), you know that I have an incurable addiction to
travel information. Indeed, it could be said that I ‘fetishize’ travel info (I
can’t keep writing “information,” my fingers will get sore from all the extra
typing), or that I’m always ‘jonesing’ for it. I hope my previous posts have
made clear why, because I now want to talk about that holy grail of travel
planning—where to get the best travel info.
Last post I talked about travel goals, and how they can help
you construct an itinerary. Frankly, that is the easy part: Q:“Where do you
want to go?” A: “India.” Simplicity itself, ain’t it? Ah, but besides having
seen the part in Indian Jones and the Temple
of Doom where they eat “chilled monkey brains,” or having heard that the
Beatles studied transcendental meditation at an ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas, what do you know about it
(sadly, I’m speaking about my own experience here)? Maybe more than you think.
After all, something in the destination stirred you imagination. Maybe you saw
pictures of it in National Geographic
or watched a documentary about it on PBS. Those are both great, cheap starting
points for gathering travel info.
Saddle-up for the Travel Info Round-up, Buckaroos!
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| Great Kiva, Casa Rinconada, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico |
If you’ve decide you might want to go somewhere then start
rounding-up some info on the place. You probably shouldn’t begin with
guidebooks, as those tend to be geared to certain regions and have narrow
focuses (more on that below). At first, utilize all the FREE info you have
access to at home. You may have some moldy encyclopedias sitting around that
could tell you what the key sights in Delhi are, for example. You may also have
a treasure trove of old issues of National
Geographic piled up in the basement. These have great visual
representations of travel destinations, and cover pretty much the whole world.
Also, don’t forget that great thing that is somehow magically attached to your
computer—you know, the thing you are using right now?—the internet!
You can
watch travel videos on YOUTUBE, check out travel documentaries on Netflix, read
traveler’s blogs (some are better than others…obviously), see re-runs of PBS
travel shows on HULU and the PBS website, visit a country’s ministry of tourism
website, visit city, state and national park websites (for U.S. travel) and
request free info packages. In fact, if you email a travel destination and ask
for info, you will probably be surprised at how much stuff they send your way.
In the U.S. this might include state maps, travel brochures, restaurant and
hotel guides, etc. These entities, whether domestic or international, are in
the business of getting people to come and visit and spend their hard-earned
dough. Others provide info to foster global understanding of unique local
sights, like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) which maintains a World Heritage portal that gives
information on the 936 places (like the pyramids at Giza or the Grand Canyon)
it has deemed to be of significant importance to the cultural or natural
inheritance of mankind. Finally, never underestimate the amount of info you can
pull off of Wikipedia (don’t forget to look at the “external links” section!).
Once you’ve accomplished what you can do at home, it’s time
to widen the scope of your search. The first, and most important stop, should
be your public library. Even the most anemic library usually has a travel
section, though, depending on the places the library patrons in your area like
to go, you may not find exactly what you’re looking for. In any case, you
should be able to get your hands on some info through interlibrary loans. Public libraries are a great source for
travel documentaries, guidebooks, and sometimes, maps. The great thing is that they often update
their travel guidebook selection every year, so you don’t have to rely on last
year’s book. However, even if you can only get last year’s book, you can always
use it for planning and then go online to figure out the current prices, hours
of operation, etc. of various sights and hotels. I won’t say that you should
NEVER buy a guide book. If you are willing to drop $15-$20 on each one (you can
also pick these up used on Amazon, ABEbooks, etc.), then no problem. But, I
will say that several travel guides, maps and language reference books from my
local library have made many long journeys in my company, and I guarantee that
I’m not the first patron to have thought of this idea.
Guidebook Bingo
Guidebooks…they’re great, but which one should you use? In
my experience, a selection of guidebooks is better than one. Guidebook writers
tend to focus on certain issues that they feel are important for travelers,
while giving less attention to others. For example, Rick Steves’ books are great all-around guides, but their best
feature is the detailed descriptions, including walking tours, they give of top
10 sights (i.e. places like St. Paul’s cathedral or the Residenz in Munich).
His books are also good at letting you know where to find a cozy bed and
breakfast. However, if you want a more comprehensive rundown of eateries and
hotels, and more info about towns outside of his European “back doors,” or
those off the well-worn tourist path—the spa town of Bad Ischl in Austria, for
example—then you should refer to a Fodor’s guide.
When it comes to guidebooks there is also the issue
(mentioned above), of choosing the right one for the region you are visiting.
In Western Europe I’ve used Rick Steves
(both city and country guides, i.e. Vienna and
Austria guide, as they offer different levels of detail), Fodor’s (city and country), Top
10 guides (these are thin, compact, have great pictures of the sights and a
handy fold-up city map—e.g. London, Munich, Moscow—stored in a pocket under the
back cover), and, for road trips, Michelin
Travel Guides. In Eastern Europe, I’ve used Lonely Planet (good all-around guides more geared toward
destinations not usually found on the grand-tour, i.e. Romania, Africa, and the
Middle East) and Let’s Go Europe
(written by a bunch of young Harvard punks focusing on budget travel). For
Central Asia I like Lonely Planet,
supplemented by a Bradt Travel Guide
(these are highly detailed and even more boutique than Lonely Planet) and an Odyssey
Illustrated Guide (the boutiquest of the boutiquest but containing
excellent historical and cultural info). In the US of A I’ve found Fodor’s, Mobil Travel Guides (for road trips), and Insight Guides useful. Eyewitness
Guides are visually stunning and informative, but usually thick as a brick
and, thus, not journey friendly.
Pancho Villa and Portabello Road
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| Torreon, Lincoln, New Mexico |
Finally, you should always look into your favorite movies,
TV series, novels, etc. for travel ideas. Many of the cities/towns/sights I end
up visiting are not featured prominently in travel guides, but are places I’ve
read about in history books (it’s my nerdy thing). For example, I would’ve
never visited Columbus, New Mexico if I had not been interested in the history
of the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa’s raid into the US in 1916. I’m sure
my wife could’ve done without that little jaunt, but I went with her to
Portabello Road market in London, based almost exclusively on its image as
portrayed in Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
It turns out that the street is slightly different in reality—there wasn’t a
dancing cavalcade of subjects from the far-flung corners of the former British
Empire—but we had a good time anyway.
Get on the internet, dig into those copies of National Geographic, and watch old
James’ Bond movies for travel inspiration, and start making a list of your
desired travel destinations.
