Independent Travelling.
- Annie Mason
- Feb 10, 2023
- 9 min read
Independent Travelling: The best way to see the world.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the Trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream”.Twain
When we first started travelling we called ourselves backpackers. But today we have probably out-grown that term. When a 55-year-old tells someone they are a backpacker, it doesn’t seem to work so well. There are two key words that best describe the type of travel that so many people today are adopting:
Independent: Not all people would feel comfortable to plan and manage the trip on their own. It takes a lot of time and a real desire to engage in all aspects of the trip. For us the learning and engagement that takes place before you even leave home, is as much fun as the trip itself. To travel with a flexible schedule , to arrange individual transport and accommodation, to stay as little or as long as you choose is what an independent traveller craves. Independent travellers have their own personal travel goals and agendas, travel at their own pace and are as social or as reclusive as they choose.
Traveller: Not all the people you meet on the road are travellers. Many are tourists. A tourist goes to ‘do’ something. The culture that they may experience or the people they meet are a bi-product of the trip, almost accidental. The experience is about them getting something in an environment that is as comfortable and similar to home as possible. What they see is a bonus rather than the purpose. It does not make them work too hard, think too deeply or question themselves. They see the world through the ‘rose coloured glasses’ of large hotels and tour groups. They watch the world from the outside. Travellers are different. They make a conscious decision to see the world in a different way. They travel so that they can be changed! They do not look for things to be like home but for them to be as different as possible. They want to know and understand the local people. They want life-long friendships with people who share their passion. They want their souls to be changed not to get a sun tan. Travel is not something you do for a holiday once a year- travel is who you are. Travel is not what you see but what your experiences have stirred in you. Does an amazing volcano make you driven to learn more about nature? Does a beautiful beach help you take a stance on global warming? Does the poverty in India make you fight against multi-national company domination? Does the small child in Somalia make you fight against child slavery? For a traveller your journey must change you- or it has served no purpose. It becomes the way in which you grow and learn – it becomes your mentor. It becomes your teacher.
“The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”
So, if you are an independent traveller this web site is designed for you , based upon 35 years as independent travellers. Once you decide you have a heart for independent travelling, you then have to get you “head” in gear as well. There are some things you are going to have to do as an independent traveller if you are going to make the most of the learning and opportunities that will present themselves.
Stop Making excuses: Face your fears if that is what’s stopping you. Fear stops too many people from tasting what the world has to offer. Trust me, it is not a bad as the TV makes it look! If you’re a bit sensible, you’ll avoid the .01% of situations that are unsafe. Remember – you have more chance of being hurt in a car accident at home than you have of being hurt overseas. So, keep it in perspective. Don’t let money be the excuse. This web site will help you recognise travel is possible in nearly all budgets as long as you are determined and creative. So many people say “I can’t afford it. I would love to do what you do”. They can- the money is an excuse because they are afraid. To be afraid is too miss too much!
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”.Lao Tzu
Choose your own path: Guidebooks are good for an overview and maps, but you’ll never find the best stuff in there. They often have the well know , standard (crowded and over touristy areas). Not to say that you don’t see these places, they are after all treasures not to be missed, but don’t make them the mainstay of your travel. Make your own list of the things you love and are passionate about. Read and read and talk to other people at home and along the way. They tell you what to see but sometimes you just have to wander. People are your best resource for information. Ask your fellow travellers. Websites often have a broader range of ideas to ‘catch your eye’ (like we have given) but don’t be drawn into going to the ‘trendy’ places- find you own path. The most interesting and memorable days will be in the places you never expected them to be.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trial”.Emerson
You will grow into travelling and work out what it means to you. Ignore other opinions of what you should do and don’t get caught up in the cool ideas or places. The speed you travel depends on you. Some people can sit around on beaches for months and others (like me) would be bored silly. Travel as hard or fast as you like, just don't set too many rigid expectations in your planning stage at home - things change.
Savour every moment of freedom: Freedom means different things to different people. To us it is to be able to move as you choose, not bound by expectations, debt or obligations. It is liberating and exhilarating knowing that you carry with you all that you need. You are in ultimate control of your journey and choices. Some people would see that as frightening and irresponsible, a traveller sees it as a gift and longs for it when it is gone.
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Make time to rest: Independent travel is often no “holiday”. You spend time every day planning the next leg of the journey, finding places to eat and stay, arranging accommodation and reading up on the places to go. You seem to be very busy. Sometimes you come back from travelling and need a holiday! So, rest on a long trip (we have Sunday off every week), stop when you grow complacent, make a home when you tire of hostels and most of all know a pace of travel that allows you to see and do what your priorities are as you will never be able to do it all.
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
Have an open and respectful mind:If you do not want to understand others and honour their lives than you should not travel. You will be frustrated, and you will take little from the experience. Open your mind to different cultures and perspectives. Seek to understand and take every opportunity to learn. Celebrate local customs and festivals with the local culture in their traditional manners. Seek to understand before you judge. Learn about other religions, not necessarily to believe something new, but to understand and perhaps to bring light into your own beliefs. Do as much local as you can: local food, local transport, local accommodation.
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Take time:Sometimes we do only have limited time; but when you have a choice slow down. We know it can be tempting to try to see it all. Who knows when you’ll get another chance? But DON’T! When you travel, less is more. It allows you time drink deep from each culture and soak it all up. Go slow, and you’ll experience more.
With a little effort, faith and know-how, world travel can be cheap, easy and fun. If you chose to stop it is because you chose to stop. You can find work anywhere in the world if you chose it.
“I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen”. Disraeli
Put yourself out there:It takes a lot of courage to talk to strangers. Remember, most people are travelling because they want to meet new people. Say “hello” and it will all unfold. No one ever said no when they were asked “Can I join you?”.
The other important decision you will have time to think about when on the road is, what sort of person you want to be remember as? Will they say, “I remember travelling with the great Aussie guy Brett, he was so funny and so helpful, he knew so much about Namibia”. You have 1000 first impressions a day- make them all count!
You will make a lot of great friends on the road. Some will be life-long friends. If you don’t get their contact information and you regret it forever. With Facebook, it is easy to stay in touch with people for years after your trip. You may grow apart, you may never see them again but what will haunt you the most is that you never got that person’s email just in case…. To find friends who share your passion is a great gift.
“Some roads are not meant to be travelled alone”.
Take calculated risks. Now don’t you quote me and say it is Ok to take risks. Some risks are worth taking and mixed with common sense are the only way to achieve your goals and dreams. Travel in itself is a risk but have a level head and challenge yourself. Do one thing each day that scares you and push those comfort barriers a little further out each time. Try new adventures. You may only ever do it once but at least you did it.
“Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel”. De Castro
Never lose the wonder:Never lose the wonder of amazing people in amazing places. Close your eyes and listen and smell. Sit in silence and think. When a wonderful mountain or an amazing market no longer fills you with anticipation it is time to rest a while. We promise that the joy will return. And remember sometimestravellers get bored with the routine and work of travel- so take a rest, change your focus or ‘regroup’ if the feeling of awe is lost.
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places that take our breath away”.
Let go of home: Do not take this as permission not to keep in touch with your mother.!!!! The people at home (and other travellers and friends) want to be a part of your life. But they are not your only life. Have an emergency contact system but outside that ignore your emails for a week! Enjoy the time to focus on the travel and don’t waste the whole time thinking about home!
“Sometimes in life you lose sight of things-of yourself and who you should be - when you travel, everything balances out”.
Be prepared to change and grow: Look for opportunities around every corner. Listen, question, read, debate and have you mind and heart open to what you see and experience.The biggest and potentially most rewarding travel risk you can take is to use the new experience as a lens to re-examine your basic beliefs and assumptions. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable, it is how you grow. Travel is an opportunity to gain perspective, not only about the world at large, but also about your life back home. Ask yourself questions. Re-evaluate your lifestyle in light of new experience. Be honest with yourself and stay open to the possibility that your travels will change you in profound ways.
“A traveller who does not watch and listen is a bird without wings”. Saadi
Be flexible: Go with the flow. Change plans when you get a better idea. If you are really hating it, then change direction.
Trust in the kindness of strangers: Almost all people you will meet in your travels are just like you. Most are kind and just trying to make a life for themselves and their family.
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