On the Run

–Halong Bayis made up of over 10,000 islands, most where people don’t live. It’s a must to boat through these to see a good portion of them. Kayaking through some of the islands, the caves, and pools that have been created by the pressures of the water. Get out during your tour and explore the caves! It’s impressive what the natives did hundreds of years ago. Also don’t forget to try the Ramen. The best tasting Ramen you’ll ever have, native to Vietnam!

-There are too many things to do in Paris. Besides the typical touristy spots; Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and The Palace of Versailles, I wanted to offer some advice to not as well-known spots. Though those places are must sees, I have some other ideas. Go see the Catacombs that are underneath the streets of Paris, a great history lesson! Climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Arc De Triomphe, you get the best view of all of Paris. You can see all the way down the Champs-Elysees and all of the best tourist destinations. Go into Sacré-Cœur and Notre Dame and do rituals. There are amazing religious ceremonies that go on every single day, you’ll get a real Parisian experience. And lastly, don’t forget to try the escargot and macaroons along the Champs-Élysées!

-With how small of a city Venice is, there are many amazing stops that need to be done. It is important that you try their breakfast pastries, there are several only in Venice. And every gelato stop you see, get some! Make sure you get to the Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs. Both have great history and are very picturesque. Spend a moment at Doge’s Palace. However, Saint Mark’s Basilica is one of the most jaw dropping sights in all of Europe. Spend time there and wait in the line to go in. Might be a long wait, but it’s worth it! End your trip with a Gandola ride down the Grand Canal. Such a pretty way to see the whole city, after all…it is the city on water!

–Cairo, Egypt is a city that most people would be afraid to go. Though there are some dangerous parts to the city, aren’t there with every place? This is a remarkable city full of history. The Cairo Citadel is a cathedral in downtown Cairo, a must see. The Khan El Khalili flea market is one of the oldest flea markets, you can find some great things! From jewelry, to costumes, to fruit stands, this market has it all. The Sphinx are also a cool picturesque spot in all of Cairo. However, the main tourist attraction are the Giza Pyramids. One of the seven wonders of the world and the most remarkable places to visit. Ride a camel here around the pyramids, you will have a very memorable experience!

–Tamarindo, Costa Rica is one of the most laid back, relaxed towns you’ll ever find. Little to no tourists, super chill and basically a surf town full of shops and restaurants. You can’t come to Tamarindo without taking surf lessons! There are incredible surfers in the area. Take a kayak tour through the Playa Ventanas and also stop at the monkey jungle on your way. It’s about a 15 minute walk off the river but it is worth it! Take a day and ride razors through the forests. It is beautiful! Before you leave, go turtle hunting. In Costa Rica, they let out more baby turtles into the wild than anywhere I’ve ever heard. There are always locals taking people to beaches to watch momma turtles lay her eggs or watch baby turtle eggs hatch. An experience you’ll probably never have again!

While I have a desire to see every inch of this earth, it is important that I’m doing it in a rational way. I do not get to stay all the Waldorf’s at every destination I stop. Hostel’s and Airbnb’s are a travelers best friends. You’re only there to sleep so it doesn’t really matter where you sleep. Get the idea that public transportation is awful, out of your head! You will be amazed at how great public transportation actually is. The subways, busses, and undergrounds are very effective. This last one is HARD, but very important. There are always so many great restaurants to try in every city. Though I have the ability to eat a full course meal many times a day, don’t do that! Food is expensive! Key word: snack! It is important to realize that you only need to spend on the necessities. It is possible to travel on a budget! I’m a broke college student, if I can make it work, anybody can!

-Hostels/Airbnbs: Forget hotels, they are overrated!! Unless you are in a destination where you will be at your hotel a lot, you don’t need to stay in a hotel. There are few places that require a hotel, but when you go to a beach and you need a pool, fine stay in a hotel. But when you’re traveling through Europe, and you are gone all day long, you don’t need some fancy place to spend 8 hours to sleep. Hostels can be a little uncomfortable if you aren’t used to them, but it ends up not being awful. You share rooms with strangers but you always have your own space. Airbnb’s can be great! You can even have your own house all to yourself. It is like house swapping, but you do not have to give up your own house! This is such a great way to save money. 

-Public Transportation/Walk: No more taxi’s. Public transportation has a bad reputation, but is actually a very cost effective way to travel. A taxi could cost twenty to thirty dollars to get to one destination, where it takes close to fifty cents to get one way on an underground. A lot of cities even have apps to help you navigate the public transportation system. So there is no excuse to not attempting to use it. When saving money, it is important to be patient with the time it takes to do things. It may take you twice as long to get you to a destination, but if it saves you hundreds of dollars by the end of your trip then it is more than worth it! 

-Eat Snacks: Eating is a huge money sucker when traveling. Because you have to eat! Eating is a large part of being immersed in the culture of country though, so there has to be a way to compromise and make it possible. You can go to any restaurant you want to in a city, but don’t get a full course meal. Get an appetizer at each place you go. Share a meal between the three people you are traveling with. If you go to five dessert shops, SHARE. Or get a kids size! When you are trying to travel in a cheap way, you only need to eat a little bit. Eat enough so you are not hungry, and eat enough so you get a feel for the culture, but do not eat more than that. 

WANDRD. The best travel and camera gear you will ever lay eyes on! WANDRD is a relatively new company. They were founded in 2016 by two brothers, Spencer and Ryan Cope. After they struggled to find travel and camera gear for their own travels, they decided making their own was their last resort. They created a campaign and raised over $400,000 on their Kickstarter campaign, exceeding all expectations. They hit the news and started to become a relatively established company. After Austin, a third brother, joined WANDRD’s executive team, they launched another Kickstarter and it also exceeded expectations making the news once again and going viral. Since this time, they have added many new employees and products. They currently have more than ten employees and many products live on their website. WANDRD’s company motto is adventure. They pay their employees a full eight hours to go out and adventure and do something in nature. Explore, learn, create, enjoy. They are all about helping others and making a difference.

I am no camera expert or photographer. I use my phone and that is it. However, their bags are universal. You can take the camera separators and inserts out and use it as a traveling backpack and carryon. They have a duffle bag that can also be carried like a backpack. WANDRD has thought of it all! The bags have enough padding to make them incredibly comfortable for long travels and heavy luggage. But they are not bulky bags. They are thin enough but sturdy enough. They are water proof, making it incredible for outdoor adventures. There is a chest strap and a waist strap (if you choose to use them) that helps support the heavy weight if intended to be carried for a long period of time. This backpack is the ultimate “backpacking through Europe” or “backpacking through the jungle” bag. It has so many different capabilities for an innumerous amount of plans. Whether you’re looking to go camping for the weekend, or spend two weeks island hopping in Vietnam, or even just needing a carry on backpack for your family trip, this bag can do it. It is so versatile and comfortable, you truly can’t go wrong for any occasion.

The Hexad Carryall Duffel happens to be my favorite travel bag they have produced. It is as large as a regular duffle bag but it can be carried on your back like a backpack. I do not have to haul it around the airport, truck it around a city with a huge duffle bag, just a huge backpack! It is fashionable and I don’t feel like I’m carrying a dad backpack around! It has separating compartments (that can be removed if desired) but that helps me to stay organized when I pack, and to fit more things in it than I could have in a regular duffel bag. I spent three and a half weeks in Asia last year with only this duffle bag. I packed all of my stuff for three weeks in this one bag, and was able to carry it around and country hop for that entire time. We spent many hours on planes, in customs lines, on scooters and trains, walking, and going from place to place. And I came out of that trip with no back or shoulder problems! It is a miracle. Go get your WANDRD products immediately!!!!!

If you are trying to save money, there is a whole different way to go about traveling at certain times. Flights are cheaper in the off season, while you are in the country, it is cheaper in the off season. However, you give up good weather or certain tourist attractions being open. But you also miss the crowds! Depending on where you are going, is when the best time to travel is. When you travel to Europe, it is going to be a lot different than when traveling to Australia. Depending on the weather, the crowds, tourist attractions, etc is when I will suggest when to travel.

If you are going to travel to Europe, go in the off season. You will not miss out on anything by going in the off season, everything is still open. Though the weather is much colder during the winter months, you will beat so many lines and it is SO worth it. Traveling to Europe between October-February is the best time to miss these crowds. The weather is not that important in Europe unless you go to a beach town. Unless you are going to Barcelona, The Amalfi Coast, or Greece, go in the winter time!

If you plan to island hop in Australia, Figi, New Zealand, the winter months for us are the summer months for them. The crowds on these little islands are very minimal so going in the main traveling season is not a huge deal. You want warm weather when you are on the beach or in the ocean all day long. For these types of countries, go in January or February. These are the warmest months of the year and it will be the best time to see and do what you want to.

If you travel to the Caribbean or Hawaii or on a beach vacation, the best time to go is during their summer time, which is usually our summer time as well. It is the hottest time and that is what beach vacations are for. You do not want to risk it raining every day and you have to stay inside for your entire beach vacation.

The timing of traveling is so important. It can make or break an entire vacation. You will have two completely different travel experiences if you go in different seasons. There are different things to do and see depending on when you visit a country. It can make a big difference to your travels if you decide to go when I suggest. Traveling to Rome in June when it is warm, and half of the world is there, you will spend seven hours waiting in line to see the Colosseum, or the Vatican Museum. For certain destinations it is extremely important, and some it is not as crucial. Though it might not be as crucial to visit certain destinations during the off season, you will get more out of your vacation.

Oh how I have mastered the art of getting my way! A very convenient thing to understand. It is an art. While visiting Edinburgh, Scotland with some of my very best friends, we decided to do what most people do not do in that city. We were there during their rainy and cold season. The weather was not ideal, but it sure made it interesting. One friend we were traveling with had heard there was a great hike in the city, Arthur’s Seat. In hindsight, it sounded like the hike had a great view, was not extremely difficult, and something very different to experience in Edinburgh. In reality, it was freezing, monsoon rain, and we would all much rather sit in a book store or the famous castle than stand outside and get soaked.

Except, I am the friend that is always game to do the craziest, most random things. I do the dumbest things, but I’m also FUN. I always want to be different and if hiking Arthur’s seat is something few people do, then of course I am there. So we put on our rain boots and our rain coats and started on what we thought was the path. It was a lot harder than we expected but we were not wimps and we could do hard things. The rain was coming down so hard that the mountain was not grass anymore, it was mud. We were slipping and sliding every which way. After a couple hours of not making much progress to what others said was “an incredible view” we stopped. We looked around at each other and broke out into the most gut-wrenching laughter. We were more than soaked, we were freezing, and annoyed about not finding the great view but it was too funny not to laugh. We started on our trek downward and it was muddy. We were slipping and sliding and not making progress. We would slide and grab onto a near plant or branch. We found it was easier to just prepare ourselves, sit down, and slide all the way down the mountain. While doing this, one of us peed our pants, two of us ripped our pants, and all of us had rashes. By the end of the hill, we realized the plants we were holding onto was poison ivy and our hands were swollen, bloody and itchy.

The moral of this story is to do the random things! Do the things that not many people have done. Don’t sit in the book store all day waiting for the rain to stop, because you could miss out on a lot of fun things. Do what is not comfortable. Brave the rain and the cold instead of sitting in a coffee shop. Most people probably have not ever heard of the hike we attempted, but we have the best story to tell. You will NEVER regret the sporadic, adventurous things you did when you were young and had the opportunity.

I went straight out of high school on a study abroad across the world. I felt I was not ready to go on this adventure, and begged my dad not to make me go. In high school, I was much less of a socialite, and much more of a head down in school and extremely cautious. This was a huge leap of faith, to go completely out of my comfort zone and move to a different country by myself. I didn’t know anybody going, and had absolutely no idea what I was in for. I came from being such a home body, and loving what was familiar to really blossoming and finding a real passion for traveling.

I had traveled a lot growing up, but never alone. I was always with my family, following their itinerary and going where they went, opposed to doing it all myself. During study abroad, it really opened my eyes to what was out there and what was possible. There was so much I could learn and discover through different countries and cultures and I really thrived in that environment.

I moved across the world by myself, with no familiarity. Though this could sound fun to some, it could not have been more terrifying for me. The first month I wanted America, my family, Chic fil a, my car! However, I got over my homesickness and had the best four months of my life. We were there to study, but why would we take the time to do homework while in one of the coolest cities in the world? We would skip class and attend London Fashion Week. We would sacrifice an entire night of sleep to attend a One Direction concert and follow them around all night long. We went to the best Shakespeare plays, concerts, amazing Broadway plays, and events. Why sit and write a paper in our flat when we could go meet Prince Will and Kate? We went to every Christmas market in the city, every restaurant that had decent reviews, we hopped on trains anytime the destination sounded appealing. What was supposed to be a mind stretching, growing, and real learning experience, definitely was so. But not in the way that most people would have expected. I did not spend more than five minutes focusing on school and spent time exploring the coolest parts of the city.

I discovered more about myself in those four months than I did the first eighteen years of my life. Hands down. I met the most incredible people, found things I never thought I was capable of doing, saw places and cultures that I never dreamed of visiting, and experienced the best of memories. Most people do not have to go on an extravagant study abroad to gain this type of realization. However, for me, it took throwing me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to immerse in a whole new culture, to really help me blossom and find what life was really all about.