Travel Lists

When I was a kid I would love to see the earth move passed me. The blotches of brown and white, floating amidst the varied shades of green squares that make up the countryside grid. And I would wonder who lived in that brown or white house; and what were the names of their kids; and if they had a dog like the one I said bye to only a few hours ago.

Did those people know I was flying overhead, wondering about their names? …but that thought would pass as another terrain came into view.

If you enjoy the idea of intermingling travel and lounging around in a bathing suit, excessive gambling, drinking till you’re blindly slamming into walls, frequent promiscuity or enjoy eating yourself to burst – then a cruise is the best environment to explore all human desires and vices.

Some things in life aren’t free, but in some cases they are! We live in a digital world. 1’s and 0’s are streaming across bandwidth to who knows where and what…We live in the era where free things come to those who seek them. The guilt of stealing is erased; now all you have to do is just finger several mouse clicks and that’s it – there’s no blood on your hands. Which makes travel entertainment a great thing for those travelers wanting to bring several movies with them while they are…well, traveling.

If you’ve never been on a road trip, you’re missing out. It’s nothing like waiting thirty minutes for traffic to move an inch on your local highway. It’s a constant, ever flowing, and yes, a slow mode of travel – but it’s a load of fun! You get to see the countryside, city side, road kill, and the colorful rest stops that bless the road and its riders. And if you are going on long stretches then this list should be part of the must-haves to bring along with you. They may be subjective but these are pretty much universal things that should entertain and succor the driver and passengers.

This travel list may be a paradox but there are some things to look at when you’re pondering, “Should I go or shouldn’t I go”. The clear answer is Yes, you should! Though with spontaneity there’s another side that should be factored in, i.e., your life, work, family and friends…all those boring things. Hopefully you will find some validity in this preparation list to make spontaneous travel a less burdensome act.

Traveling and dating share several commonalities. They are both always evolving, ever-curious, and never boring. They both are bounded by nature; i.e., humans, because of want and necessity, can never stray from them. Without these two necessities, humanity will cease to exist, growth in community will be stunted, resources exhausted, creativity blackened-out, love shelfed for urges, emotional solace ignored and boredom all the time.

For the next 2-13 hours you will be surrounded by a mess of strangers. You will witness what only their husbands, wives, mothers or fathers can attest to every night: dribbles of spit, a cacophony of rhythmic snores, irrational mumbles, violent muscle spasms, and nose-burning gases. The means to an end always has its downsides – this is what travel is about. But this list contains a few items that will give solace during your time of need.

A gift can be a hard thing to buy. It says so much about you and how you feel for that person. But if you notice, the travel world has made it easy on the traveler when it comes to buying a gift. They have made it their livelihood to hawk the only things that should be given to a loved one from a traveler…listen to the vendor they know what makes the heart rejoice.

In any human interaction there are certain words that make a person feel at ease. With that said, the language barrier presents just that, a barrier. And it makes introductions / formalities even doubly as hard to be displayed. But to break the barrier of language and culture, I’d suggest a traveler to learn a few simple phrases in the language of the country that they’ll be visiting. These words open doors, and it broadens your lingual vocabulary – which is a great device to impress old and newfound friends. Also you don’t want to be seen as a bad tourist, right? Or maybe you do…

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not taking aim at a certain nationality when writing this list. Yes, I know that the individuals’ education, customs, and culture comes into play when dealing with others from another country. But because there are recurring themes from particular countrymen, it kind of makes it easy to stereotype (such a bad word, but very useful – please don’t hit me!).