What I have learned during my 200 days abroad
200 days ago, I left my home for an indefinite trip around the world. During my days abroad, I learned many valuable lessons. Some lessons are cliches, some are unique insights, some are live changing thoughts, some are obvious, some are minor thoughts and some are huge insights. But all of these lessons became part of my ever expanding travel encyclopedia. These are 50 lessons I have learned during my ongoing travels.
Bangkok and Thailand
1. Bangkok is quickly changing into a commercialized jungle. Huge screens with advertisements are popping up everywhere
2. The food quality in Thailand is often very bad and unhealthy
3. The food in Thailand often tastes great, which probably explains why it is so unhealthy..
4. The Central Plaza Ladprao Shopping Mall in Bangkok has an awesome supermarket with many healthy and organic foods
5. Vegetarian food is sometimes hard to find in Bangkok
7. Vegetarian Indian food is widely available in Bangkok. It is delicious and often more healthy than Thai food
8. Bangkok is very expensive compared to the countryside of Thailand
9. House rental prices in the countryside of Thailand are extremely cheap. Villas are easily affordable
11. Big cities like Bangkok are very unhealthy places to live in
12. Wearing a mouth cap is recommendable in Bangkok because of the pollution problems in this city
13. The best time to visit Bangkok/Thailand is during the short winter period in January/February
14. The Flower Market (Pak Khlong Talat) is the best place to buy Dutch tulips in Bangkok
Laos
15. When in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, visit the banks of the Mekong river
16. Vientiane did not change much since my last visit 3 years ago
17. Beerlao is the best beer in the region
18. People in Lao speak the same language/dialect as Thai people who are living in the Eastern part of Thailand
Malaysia
19. Many people in Malaysia speak really good English
20. KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) in Malaysia is a very suitable airport to spend the night
21. The Reggae Mansion Hostel in Kuala Lumpur is an excellent and clean hostel
22. Penang is a great travel destination if you like nature and food
General travel lessons
23. Hot climates make you lazy
24. Twitter is an excellent social media platform to connect with other travelers
25. A healthy traveler is a wealthy traveler
26. Travelling is all about leaving your comfort zone
27. When traveling, have the courage to open doors. Every opened door can provide a life changing opportunity
28. Travel light
29. Travel slow
30. The service of Singapore Airlines is great
31. The service of Lufthansa is sometimes questionable
32. Frequent flyer cards are very useful when it comes to saving money
33. You have to visit a place before you can form a good opinion about it
32. The news reports often do not give proper views about some places
33. Motivation is fueled by excitement
34. There is no perfect destination. Every place has its flaws
35. The grass is always greener on the other side
36. There is no place like home
37. The life of a permanent traveler is an ongoing adventure, every day
38. Unexpected must see travel recommendations like Columbia, Iran and Georgia
39. Professional travel writers have to defend themselves against distractions but also conquer motivation and inspiration
40. What is crazy on one side of the world is normal on the other side and vice-versa. Normal does not exist
41. People should never detach themselves from nature. Always include nature sights in your travel plans
42. Friendships and encounters are short for long term travelers. Treasure your long term friends and family members back home
43. A few bad people do not represent a complete country
44. Traveling teaches you to be patient
45. Travelling teaches you to be humble
46. Traveling teaches you to be open minded
47. Learning the local language is extremely important if you stay at a place for a long time
48. Problems are no more than positive challenges which help you improve your life
49. There will always be bad people and problems on your route
50. There will always be good people and positive experiences on your route
200 days abroad. It seems like ages for me already, but really, my quest just started. There are many more places that need to be visited and many more lessons that need to be learned. I hope to continue learning and I will continue sharing my knowledge for another 200 days.
What are the most valuable lessons that you learned during your trip?
Useful Links
- 50 Essential Travel Tips: On this website page from Time magazine, you will find 50 more useful travel tips. The list includes some tips about different subjects like planning, booking and flying.
- 55 Best Travel Tips: 55 awesome and humorous travel tips from fellow travel blogger, Geraldine
- Back to the Home Page