• You’ve thought about running away from home and you are not nine years old
• You find yourself eavesdropping when strangers are discussing their last holiday
• You can’t remember the last time you were excited about something other than the latest reality show
• You are ready to step (or leap) outside your comfort zone
• You can’t remember when you last learned something new
• It has been ages since you laughed until you cried or your sides hurt
• Your spouse thinks they know everything there is to know about you
• You think you know everything there is to know about you
• You find yourself window shopping at luggage stores
• Your default webpage is Expedia or Travelocity
• You visit the weather channel to check out the weather in Madrid (and you don’t live there)
• You wish you had written this book

Travel Tips


Building Your Reinventure™
Looking to rediscover yourself through a trip? Maybe you want the chance to explore a new interest or rediscover an activity you enjoyed as a youngster.

If it has been awhile since you planned a trip with only your interests in mind, you might find the following questions helpful in creating the right tour. If you answer them before you hit the Internet or call your travel agent you will have a better idea of the type of holiday you are looking for.

The best trip I’ve ever taken was ____________________________

I liked it because ____________________________

What travel writer or travel explorer do you admire?  ________________________

My favorite way to spend my free time is ____________________________

I’ve always wanted to visit ____________________________

If I won $100,000 I’d use it to visit ____________________________

On my dream trip, I’d take along ____________________ for company.

I like the weather to be ____________________ when traveling or who cares? It’s not about climate.

I want to arrive at my destination by ____________________________

If I died a year from now, I would be disappointed that I didn’t visit _______

I want to learn _____________________ on my next trip

I’d like to meet _________________ when I travel (It’s okay to say nobody if your idea of bliss is solitude)

In an ideal world, I’d want my trip to help ________________________


Do you have a better idea now of the trip you need in your life?

Check out some websites or ask friends for further suggestions.

Once you’ve picked an activity or a destination, pick a specific date to keep you committed. Then make tracks for the exit. And be sure to drop me a line when you get back. I’d love to hear how your trip went.

- Carol


Getting to Your Destination as a Human Being and Not Road Kill
The glamorous era of air travel is long dead. To think people once dressed up for air travel evokes snickers now.

Over a quarter of U.S. flights arrived late in 2007 meaning that getting to your destination is no longer fun; it requires tenacity and luck. And late flights aren’t the only problem; many of the planes are dirty.

U.S. airlines used to ‘detail’ (detail means clean for the non-automotive readers) their planes every thirty days, now American Airlines details their planes every 18 months. Dark colored clothes are a smart fashion choice in these conditions. You may be wearing them much longer than you thought, and who knows what you might be sitting in.

I’ve come up with my own travel survival tips to help you on your next Reinventure™. For long haul flights, I find that an altered consciousness can be helpful. Talk to your doctor to see if you are a candidate for sleeping pills. Many international flights include overnight flights so getting a good night’s sleep while in the air can make the difference between starting your trip healthy or hallucinating!

On the flight, you will find yourself spending much of your time confined to your seat. Like your pay check, you may find airline seats are shrinking; riding in one for hours with your neighbor’s elbow digging into your ribs can make you cramped and uncomfortable.

So let go of your fashion rules. Pick clothes that are comfortable for long periods of time and can be washed easily. If you end up wearing your neighbor’s red wine during turbulence, you have a better chance of spot cleaning it in the airport bathroom.  I’m a huge fan of Mountain Equipment Coop or Tilley gear but LL Bean and Ex-Officio also make wonderful travel clothes.

Remember that less is more. This is especially true when packing. It IS possible to travel with a couple of changes of clothes. Not only can you avoid extra luggage charges, it simplifies your life. No more agonizing over what to wear. You can wear the clothes you wore yesterday or the other set. And when you get home? I feel like I’ve won the lottery when I see the fashion choices sitting in my closet.

Packing light also means that you don’t need to check luggage, a huge advantage in today’s travel world. Several million pieces of luggage are lost or delayed each year and that figure is expected to rise. There is a certain charm in creating a new wardrobe from airport gift shops, but carrying what you need is far better.

Make sure you pack a neck pillow, ear plugs and a sleeping mask. When you get on board, take your sleeping pill, eat a snack (bring your own so can control timing and nutrition), read a few minutes, and settle in for a long nap. You will arrive feeling much better and can avoid the ‘dead man walking’ imitation as you navigate customs.

Hopefully, you’ll find the whole process so easy you’ll start planning your next trip as soon as you get home.

Shopping for a Better Planet
My mom is a keen shopper and the trait didn’t skip a generation. I love shopping and looking for that perfect trip memento. Today most goods are manufactured offshore. Finding a handcrafted takes a little extra time, but I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of an explorer, so let the games begin!

When shopping for that perfect souvenir, ask yourself what art or handicrafts are made locally? Stay away from anything that contains animal products. You might be buying something from an endangered species and you don’t want to encourage the harvesting of wildlife in any form.

Buy direct from the artist wherever possible or as a next-best alternative, buy from a local business. Don’t get caught up in haggling over the price unless that is expected by the vendor. If you’re in a Turkish bazaar they have adjusted the price to allow for bargaining so give it your best shot.

If you are buying in North America the artist likely labored for less than the minimum wage and the love of their craft. Before you ask them for a special price, ask yourself if you would be willing to work for that rate.

The answer is probably no, so pay the price and enjoy your unique souvenir. You can pat yourself on the back for helping to build a stronger community. A wise pastor once told me “As a form of tithing buy locally and pay the higher price the merchant charges; it will build a better world for you to live in”. Not a bad accomplishment for time spent on one of the world’s favorite leisure activities.

Reentry Suggestions
Often the big changes that come from travel don’t happen on the trip. You take the holiday, have fun (or not) and come home. That’s when the real personal growth starts. You find your old lifestyle doesn’t fit anymore.

Maybe your house looks better than ever, but you realize your well-paying job is making you sick. Or that ‘friend’ who constantly regales you with another tale of woe isn’t just going through a difficult time, but is just plain selfish. It’s time to kick them to the curb and focus on the activities and people that replenish you, renew you and are just plain fun!

Just back from a big trip, you may be tempted to quit your job before lunch on the first day, but don’t! You might need that pay cheque to pay for your next trip, but something more important is going on. Those feelings of dissatisfaction are precious jewels, glimmers of light in the darkness.

Reentry to your life after a vacation is often uncomfortable, but exploring your feelings for at least for a day or two will show you where the tension points are in your life. Like a pair of shoes that pinch or rub, coming back from a trip will show you where your life has gotten too small or where you have settled for the cheap, knock-off experiences.
 
Keep track of your first day grumblings. I’ve learned to fly a plane, rock climb and drum as a result of those gritty Monday mornings after a great trip.

You will not make tough decisions when you’re feeling good so remember pain can be your friend. I doubt anyone has started a career change while swilling Mai Tai’s on a South Pacific beach. But I know more than one person, myself included, has changed careers when holiday experiences were compared to everyday realities and found lacking.

To get the most out of your Reinventure™, embrace the re-entry process and look for new ideas during this fertile time. Don’t start a trip thinking you’ll come home a better, fitter, kinder person after a week away. You are probably too sleep deprived to do more than try a new item on the dinner menu while on holiday.

Relax, enjoy your trip while you become a slug on the beach or the mountain, and give your inner wisdom a chance to be heard. Deep down, each of has the answers, we just need time for solutions to percolate to the top, and the sanity to recognize them.

Travel gives you time and space to create these changes; going home to your ‘real life’ reveals them. Think of it like baking a cake. The trip is the shopping and mixing of the ingredients. Your creation forms while you travel and when you get home, you reveal the finished product. It isn’t a cake, but a better version of you. Travel isn’t the only way to know yourself better, but its one of the most fun. Enjoy your Reinventure™!

Help Along The Way
 
Attractions
The Gopher Hole Museum, Torrington, Alberta
The  Icelandic Museum of and Sorcery and Witchcraft
Iceland Seal Museum

Contributors
Kelly Bricker, Rivers Fiji
Bill Bryan, Off The Beaten Path
Kevin Crockett, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation
Keith Dewing Geological Survey of Canada
John Hull, John S. Hull and Associates
Kirk Hoessle, Alaska Wildland Adventures
Brian Keating, Calgary Zoological Society
Carol Kline
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jan Negrijn, Coastal Connections
Carol Petersen, Nature Encounters Tours and Travel
Miles Phillips, Texas A& M, Extension Department Nature Tourism Program


Resources
Ecoclub
The International Ecotourism Society
Lonely Planet


Activities
Borneo Eco Tours
Fit Frog

Bridge to Bhutan

Full Circle Adventures

Gavia Travel
Inside Out Experiences
Sukau Rainforest Lodge
Tuckamore Lodge


Destinations
Canadian Badlands
Down East Destinations
Northern Iceland  

Stories

Submit your story of a travel Reinventure to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we may feature it on our website. Check back for new stories.