Travel

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind”

I love traveling!

The only problem is: I am a fussy traveler! Backpacking, shared rooms, low-budget everything and such are not things I’m very keen on. They must be great for students and hippies, but not for people who pack matching clothes, abhor long walks or hiking and consider hot showers, clean linen and air conditioning as basic a need as water. And there’s a huge dichotomy that just rips me apart: being the penny pincher that I am, there is no way to stop my desire for the finest experiences, which usually just happen to also be the most expensive. So, I have developed a personal strategy to ensure my usual level of comfort and to allow me to live the good life, without spending a fortune (or at least not a large one :).

Dragos Roua, a good friend, advised me that people are interested in reading travel logs. It seems a good enough excuse for me to brag whenever possible, so I decided to write about it regularly when traveling to new destinations. Plus, it might be helpful for the other fussy travelers. They are people that I hope really exist and share my pain when it comes to travel advice, which seems to be either for hikers or sheiks, not for real, lazy, fussy people.

Mixing pleasure with business is a must. There is so much business to be done all around the world. It has to be mixed with something, otherwise it gets boring and depressing. That’s why I will always cover the fun part, but throw in some business related info.

Rating places is also very important, so I’ll start working on a complex system to paint a clear image of the possible destinations. I’ll also drop some budgeting hints from time to time, so you can make sure you have enough cash to keep you from walking back home barefoot and from washing dishes in a Mexican restaurant for the next 5 years to buy a plane ticket.

One common thing for people all around the world: they want to travel and they think life is better somewhere else. As we all know, the grass is always greener on the other side, because it’s fertilized with bullshit. So I’ll keep the fertilizer at a minimum. Coming from an average country I’ll be a pretty good judge of what’s OK and what’s not.

Oh, and one last thing: Cigar friendliness and availability will always be a criterion. It’s a pity to visit a great place and not be able to buy and smoke a good cigar.

I strongly believe that people should buy experiences, not things. Traveling allows you to meet different cultures, to learn and understand the world surrounding you. It might appear expensive or hard to do, but it usually is cheaper than you think and makes for a much better investment than a car, a large house or some other useless things we are forced to buy as status symbols or just to keep up with the Joneses. So, as Puff Daddy said, F the Joneses, try to keep up with the Combses – and adopt an international lifestyle :)

February 18 2011, Christchurch NEW ZEALAND