Travel is easier than you think
I started writing this blog a million years ago because people keep asking me “how do you travel so much.” People were asking 10 years ago and they’re still asking now, and my answer is always the same. “Traveling is easier than you think.”
I grew up near Detroit and loved urban exploring through abandoned buildings, I also grew up on the Great Lakes which are as large as seas and I would stand and stare watching the sun rise on the east coast and set in the west over a different country on one side and a different state on the other. I think this is what began my insatiable urge to see the world, the knowing of the unknown on the other side of the water.
This blog is 2 parts. 1. Travel is easy 2. Listen to your Intuition.
Travel is easy
Step 1: Pick a place you want to go. This might be a place that you’ve always been curious, or seen on TikTok, or feel a pull, or just close your eyes and place your finger on a spinning globe and go there. I’m serious - just pick a location.
Step 2: this is my blog so it will be tips on how I travel - I like to travel in circles to see the maximum amount of places which means I land in Bangkok - I travel through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and back down through Thailand to the airport in Bangkok. Or I fly to Ireland and work my way through England, Scotland and France or Spain. Or I fly to Korea and do Japan, Thailand, the Philippines. Just make a circle and maximize your locations. If you don’t want to go to a bunch of places - than don’t do this and just make up your mind. Easy peasy.
Step 3: stay in hostels and maximize the people you meet. The more people you meet, the more you LEARN. You learn about their culture, their food, their country. You learn about cool things they’ve seen that you didn’t know about; you make new friends that you can now visit in other places. Several of my besties are people I met while traveling and we still travel together to this day and meet up in our respective countries.
Step 4: join an online program life WOOfing, Workaway, Worldpackers, Housesitters.com - anything to maximize your stay in a more expensive or exclusive country. The more you work, the more references you have, the wider your reach.
Step 5: now you’ve learned some things 1. Everyone is kind 2. The world is smaller than you think 3. You have friends everywhere.
I am very okay with the unknown, and in fact, prefer it. I have the ability to get to a country with no plan and feel completely at ease because my trust in my intuition and the universe is huge. This might sound naive to tourists, but travelers know that no plan can be the best plan.
Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.
~ Anthony Bourdain
The other side note is I have taught sound healing all over the world for 8 years and have students in every corner of the globe. This definitely gives me a leg up.
Travel tips
Learn how to say “hello,” “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome,” in the local language. It goes a looooong way, people are grateful you care enough to consider their language.
English is pretty much spoken everywhere, but still considerate (the highest form of love) to learn bits of another language
Be polite to everyone.
Discuss / haggle money before you get into a taxi / Tuktuk. The price will be way higher if you wait til the end.
Share your location with friends you trust.
Keep 2 wallets. One that you use and one that you hide.
Never let your phone or drink out of your sight.
REALLY IMPORTANT - travel with someone who travels like you. If you like to see a million places do NOT travel with a friend who wants to sit on a beach all day. Even though you love each other this will start to bother you both. Ask clarifying questions: what kind of traveler are you? Do you want to see 5 places or happier with 1? Do you want luxury or hostels? Do you want lazy or active? Do you want mountains or beach?
Listen to intuition NO MATTER WHAT. It doesn’t matter if someone is really nice, if your gut says no, than it’s a FUCK NO.
These are all tips I learned through experience and I’ve saved the most important tip for a whole section of itself.
Intuition is key
People stare at me blankly when I say I’ve traveled the world by myself. “What do you mean?” They ask.
“I mean I literally have traveled, solo, by myself, to new places, across countries, up mountains, around, the world and back again.” I say.
* Cue a different incredulous stare *
My ‘secret’ is I use, and have always used, my intuition. Your intuition is a muscle, just like all your other senses. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Something can sound good on paper but in-person the vibes can be completely 100% off. I have solo traveled all over the world and this is my main rule - and probably why I’m still alive - if it doesn’t feel good, DO NOT DO IT.
If that familiar alleyway - the same one you always take home but for some reason it seems scary tonight - YOU ARE RIGHT. IT IS. Trust your gut & pick a new way home.
If a person seems so sweet but there’s something about them you can’t place, set a boundary immediately and see how they react. If they react poorly this isn’t great, make sure friends have locations or walk up to another girl and pretend to know her. Keep yourself safe and in public until you have a safe and accessible out.
Intuition is not just a spiritual thing - your gut is literally alive and made up of billions of bacteria, that I assume, also want to live. If you die, they die. There are many different ‘antennae’ including your nervous system, the sense of being stared at that makes the back of your neck prickle - that all let your mind know you are in danger. LISTEN TO IT.
I have run into some scary situations, and have survived 100% of them. Why? This ones for the girls:
If you feel threatened, do NOT act like prey: I mean this with my whole heart. It depends on the situation but in my experience: dangerous men are cowards. If you square up to them, they have all backed down.
And of course disclaimer: this is not one-size-fits-all - if someone is acting violent or scaring you - then of course, find a friend, or a person and make sure you are safe and then leave.
Intuition key points
One time I was in an alley buying weed during a rainstorm and my poncho was not working with me, I started to get a bad feeling, told my (ex) boyfriend as the guy grabbed my money and ran. My ex chased him down.
So many times men have come up to me in dark corners of roads or hallways and I make my energy really big and stare at them directly in the eyes - they hate that!
I’ve been places where my body has not let me walk further into the cave / forest / building. I don’t push it, I trust my intuition with my life - literally.
Your stomach is called the second brain for a reason (although technically in my opinion its brain #1) your body doesn’t want to die. Your body will send signals to the brain. Listen to them.
If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
~ Anthony Bourdain
Go, explore, wander, immerse yourself in other experiences and you will gain so much.
Xoxo
Jess
