Countries Visited

    Australia
    Austria
    Bahamas
    Belgium
    Belize
    Bermuda
    Cambodia
    Canada
    Cayman Islands
    Costa Rica
    Czech Republic
    England
    Greece
    Guatemala
    Italy
    Japan
    Laos
    Malaysia
    Mexico
    The Netherlands
    Norway
    Singapore
    Spain
    Thailand
    United States
    The Holy See
    Vietnam

    Travel Goals

    1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
    2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
    3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
    4. Visit every continent.
    5. See the Galapagos Islands.
    6. Sail down the Amazon River.
    7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
    8. Travel on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
    9. Go into space.
    10. Throw tomatos at La Tomintina in Spain.
    11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
    12. Try to figure out the Buddhist messages at Borobudor in Indonesia.
    13. Visit the Pyramids
    14. Safari in East Africa for 3 months.
    15. Go to the World Cup!
    16. See Macchu Picchu.
    17. Join the Century Club. (100 countries visited)
    18. Join the Mile High Club. (Hey why not?)
    19. Do development work in a 3rd world country.
    20. See Petra Jordan.
    21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
    22. Go back to Alaska and see the Northern Lights.
    23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
    24. Greek Island hop.
    25. Cycle Tuscany.
    26. Visit India.
    27. Lounge forever in the Seychelles.
    28. See Morocco.
    29. Oktoberfest!
    30. Caravan across the Sahara.
    31. Visit Tibet.
    32. Go to the Cannes Film Festival.
    33. Go to the Sundance Film Festival.
    34. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
    35. Pacific Island hop.
    36. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel in Sweden.
    37. Go to Israel.
    38. Carnival!!!!
    39. and it's slightly less cool cousin, Mardi Gras!
    40. See Glacier National Park before the glaciers melt.
    41. Fly first class on some long international flight!
    No Service Fees! Promo Code: NOFEE

Seeing the old and the new

August 6, 2008

Couch sleepingOn my first round the world trip, most of my time was spent socializing in hostels and guesthouses, meeting five hour friends, drinking, and living everyday like Saturday. There was always something going on and a constant stream of bodies in and out of the hostels. It was pretty hard to get bored but sometimes it became sensory overload. This trip I am reaping the benefits of all those meetings by staying with friends instead of in hostels. I’ve been on the road for a month now and, except for one night in Salisbury, I haven’t stayed in a hostel.

By traveling two totally completely different ways, you get two totally different experiences. When you travel and stay in hostels, you meet people everyday. Everyday new people come in, old ones go out. I can’t even begin to count how many people I met while I was away. Moreover, many hostels have bars and organize activities. There is always a party going on, there is always some activity to do. It’s never boring in a hostel.

Yet when you stay with friends, there aren’t wild crazy nights all the time, a constant stream of drunken debauchery or a stream of people. It’s more like visiting a friend’s house for the weekend. You spend most of the time hanging out and doing a few things. It’s quieter and more relaxed. You get to “live like a local.” The biggest catch-22 in traveling is that everyone wants to live like a local but few ever do. No one really stays around long enough in one place to do so. When you stay with locals, you see the world through their eyes. I got taken to places I’d never would have found in a guidebook or through wandering on my own. It’s a great way experience to see a city from the inside out instead of the outside in.

It has been great bouncing around England this way. The setting and tone is different but I’m having just as much fun. It’s different seeing friends in their own environment, away from the hustle and bustle of the road where I last saw them. I can’t say anyone is really any different than I remember, though the working world has toned down their partying. When you stay at hostels, you rarely get to met locals so it’s nice to be able to “live” somewhere and get exposed to England as the English know it.

However, going from house to house has taught me that I don’t like doing it for such a long time. I love seeing my friends but the social butterfly in me yearns for more excitement, more people, and a few more parties. A month has been long enough for me. It’s now time to mix it up with a few hostels just to meet new faces. I’ll always be bouncing between friend’s couches so long as I have friends where I travel too. One of the greatest things about traveling is meeting people you can visit- people who will open up their home to you. However, in the future, I’ll break up these visits more so I can balance my twin desires- seeing old faces while meeting new ones.

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Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Europe 

Comments

8 Responses to “Seeing the old and the new”

  1. Anthony on August 6th, 2008 6:34 pm

    That sounds like a very cool plan, Matt. Looks like what I’ll be doing one week from now ;)

  2. Christy on August 6th, 2008 7:11 pm

    Oh you should totally mix it up!

  3. Quickroute on August 6th, 2008 8:52 pm

    I’m have quite a few ‘party animal’ friends but if I’m on a trip and visiting people I sometimes need a quiet night at a hostel to recuperate!

  4. Jessica on August 7th, 2008 8:06 pm

    Hey Matt!

    Greetings from your home town!

    How are the travels going so far???

    You are such a bravel traveler! We could all learn something about just going ahead and seeing another country- whether we have a set plan, want a random trip, or anywhwere in between. Just think of all the things we WOULDN’T have seen without our awesome international friends- for example, my aunt took me to some small towns when I visited her back when I was studying in Spain, and we even ended up running into a Flamenco wedding while we sat high up on a cliff overlooking Malaga! It was great, and I would have NEVER gone there, or to some of the ports that she brought me to. If you don’t have family abroad, it’s really easy to meet new people, and if you aren’t close enough/ comfortable with them, to travel with them, they’ll most likely tell you all about these hidden places, and you can go on your own :)

    Keep up the travels!

    Looking forward to your posts-

  5. zac on August 8th, 2008 3:20 am

    Yes! gota agree with Anthony, that’s what i’ll be doing in 10 days from now, doign it the cheap way, visiting friends, sure I’ve got a long time ahead of me being only 18, but I don’t intend on wasting too much from the get-go as a tourist!!! keep it up

  6. Pokin on August 8th, 2008 5:15 am

    I agree. Mixing things up is the way to go. Hostel it up when you’re just getting into the area and want to get a sense of what’s happening in town, and then towards the end of a visit in a place, couchsurf with friends to recharge for the next locale. That, and depending on the buddy, there’s nothing like good home cooked local food while abroad. :)

  7. Karie on August 8th, 2008 10:47 am

    I like the idea of mixing it up. Have you used CouchSurfing.com at all? Maybe a good way to both meet new people AND get the local perspective! We’ve only done it once so far but it was great.

  8. NomadicMatt on August 9th, 2008 9:14 pm

    @jessica: I didn’t even think you read this. hehe. I’m totally appreciative of my international friends. They’ve shown me a lot of great things but sometimes, it’s good to mix it up

    @pokin: yes i love having access to a kitchen…a fully stocked kitchen…all the time!

    @karie: yes, i’ve been couchsuring a bit! it’s fun!!

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