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Travelling Tips, vol.1: Before the Trip

If you’re anything like me, it rubs you the wrong way to be called a tourist

when you identify more as a traveller.


When venturing abroad, us travellers wander the streets with our instincts to guide us, following local tips, soaking up the uniqueness of the place with all our senses - all the while learning to mispronounce a few words in the native language around tasty food & drink.


As a traveller, I cringe at the thought of being a tourist -

overtourism santorini greece

glued to a cellphone screen, depending on apps to suggest where to eat, rushing around and missing the charm, being herded like a sheep on large tours, paying way too much for bad quality food and drinking cheap macro beer.

Most importantly, I refuse to be part of the mass-tourism wave, which holds no interest in protecting the beauty & resources and support a viable long-term economy for the local population. Non merci!


“To travel is to live” – Hans Christian Anderson

Travellers seek the true experience of a place. We LIVE for incredible fleeting moments which can completely take our breath away. The magic of travelling is in the details, the frame of mind in which we make decisions & key factors that ensure that you are ready for terrific moments to happen to you.

Call us old-school or even hipsters; it doesn't matter.

We want to know the place, in our bones. We want the real deal!


Travel has the potential to cultivate one's character, to open one's mind to possibilities, to connect people in unexpected ways, to boost courage and wisdom and to shape individuals into stellar human beings.



Here are tried and tested tips to get your travel-ready

for some of the best moments of your life.



 

TIPS FOR AUTHENTIC TRAVELS


PART 1: BEFORE THE TRIP


The key is to allow yourself to engage your senses in the real-time moments.

Smell. See. Touch. Taste. Hear. Feel.

These, thankfully, can not be replicated digitally.



1. Get a disposable film camera (or two!)


disposable film camera travel

  • Pictures are indisputably one of the most effective ways to keep memories alive.

  • Photo albums, framed pictures and stacks of pictures are some of the most cherished possessions one keeps throughout their life.

  • It blew my mind, once I started using disposable film cameras, how much more relaxed I became about capturing the moment.

  • With disposable film cameras, we shift the focus away from being perfectionists & adopt a more soulful approach to keeping a memory of a time and place.

  • In the end, you’ll have 24+ poses of treasured moments not because you posted them online, but because you hold them in your hands.

  • Another great thing? The actual film of the camera gives an aesthetic that can not be replicated digitally. It’s analog, a real physical element. It's timeless.



2. Bring a travel notebook

travel notebook journal

  • Like many travellers, I like writing down a few notes along the way.

  • I use mine to write down places I visited, people I meet's contact info, bars & restaurants I loved, the name of the excellent beers I drank, etc. Practical things.

  • I also record ideas of the mind and soul: inspirations, random thoughts, musings, sketches, things of little or big importance.

  • Your notebook may become a logbook, a journal or simply a paper companion.

  • This may also help recount your travel tales factually.


3. Leave the laptop at home

  • Pretty self-explanatory.

  • Benefits:

  • Stress-free about your prized belongings being damaged or stolen.

  • Lighter weight for bags & luggage.

  • Keeps you out of non-work mode & out of your daily routine.


4. Collect mailing address

  • Now, no need to get everyone's address. A handful of close friends &family will do.

  • Get the full mailing address (postal code and all).

  • Compile them in a safe place such as your travel notebook or your phone notes.