From the “Indian Archipelago” to the “People of the Indus” – Some Travel Musings

Today I take a break from Indonesia to begin a series of tales on India, and outline my general approach to travel.  This seems particularly à propos as the very name Indonesia derives from two Greek words — Indós and nèsos — the Indian archipelago.  (Fun fact told to me by Vire A. D’Sa — the Experiences Manager of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.  He is worthy of his own post — which will come later — for now you can find some of his own musings about life and travel here.)

I had always dreamed of going to India, but as a solo, woman traveler, was slightly hesitant.  Some were typically cited reasons (safety, harassment, etc.) and some uniquely “me” (reassurance that someone would take care of me when I was inevitably struck by “Delhi Belly”).  When P, a British friend/colleague was transferred there — and the end of Ramadan provided a nice long holiday here in Indonesia — it was  the perfect opportunity.  Which leads me to my own travel manifesto.

Always go somewhere you might never visit but for having a friend there.

The nice thing about being an expat brat, and then a halfpat (an expat without the hefty salary package and perks) is that  I always knew people living in the most interesting places — both at home and abroad.  I couldn’t believe how few of my friends took me up on the chance to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta.  (I did, however, get a lot of visitors to Chicago when I lived there!)  For me it’s a no brainer.  You get to catch up with an old friend.  You get personalized travel ideas from someone who actually knows you.  And frequently you can save on lodging costs.  Never in a million years would I have thought about going to Malta, which ended up being one of my top 10 all time trips.  As did India.

Try to tack on a few days of work (in a local office) to your vacation.

On this trip to India, I was fortunate enough to be working for a company not only with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, but also amazing colleagues.  So I squatted in the office for a few days which was amazing because a) i met some really cool people who gave me great travel advice; b)  i strengthened my professional network; and c)  i got to deduct the vacation days I spent working, and could take a longer trip as a result.  Now I recognize that not all workplaces are this flexible, and not all corporate cultures are welcoming to outsiders.  And many people value the ability to shut off completely.  But even on trips where I wasn’t working (Rome, Istanbul, Paris) — just popping in and saying hello made a world of difference (and got me a few great meals and new friends as a result!)  I also found that I vastly preferred going to the office a few times to being glued to my BlackBerry while ostensibly relaxing.

Try to tack on a few days of vacation to your business trip.

The whole idea for this blog came from the last few years of my career which involved significant amounts of regional travel.   You may recognize some of these symptoms:

• Waking up in a Marriott in North America and momentarily forgetting  what city you’re in;
• Going to the wrong floor because you’ve stayed in 3-4 different hotels in the space of a week and can’t remember your  room number;
• Boasting about having been to a number of exotic locales, only to confess sheepishly that the road between the airport and your hotel was all you saw;
• Having to tell your friends and family when you’re IN town rather than when you’re OUT because it is the rarity, not the norm;
• Realizing that your status updates revolve around which airline lounge you’re in at any given time.

Adding 2-3 days to a business trip either to properly explore the city you’re in, or travel to a nearby destination can be re-energizing and make you feel like you’ve seized a bit of control back over your life.  And hey — when the flight’s already covered, why not splurge for a weekend at a nice hotel?

Consider mixing things up rather than staying middle of the road the entire trip.

I’ve written in several places about “low brow high brow” travel, or roughing it on some legs of your trip to enable a once-in-a-lifetime blowout experience.  I spent more at the Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur than on all other hotels on this trip combined.  But I didn’t regret it for  a SECOND.  For the same amount of money, I could have stayed at a nice array of 4-5 star hotels for the duration of the trip.  But I wouldn’t have the same memories.  When I had a much lower budget early on in my career, I stayed at a couple of $7 hotels in Hanoi and ended my trip at the Park Hyatt in Saigon.  And staying at a place aptly called The Backpack in Cape Town allowed my friend C and me to splurge on a private safari in Kruger National Park.

Sometimes it’s OK NOT to Listen to People. . .

As I planned out my trip to India, most people “helpfully” told me that it is a big country.  The typical rule of thumb is to pick an adjacent area (e.g., Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan).  This, combined with the fact that I wanted to hit a few places that P had not yet visited, led me to plan an itinerary that was a complete mess — but also gave me a nice sampling of both North and South.  I also specifically traveled midweek to places I felt would be relatively less stressful (e.g.. Udaipur), while enlisting P’s company for more adventurous places (e.g., Amritsar and the Wagah Border).  And Kerala and Tamil Nadu were far more fun with a companion.

. . .But Sometimes It’s Critical.

When my friend C and I went to South Africa, we decided that we did not want to be fraidy cats and the typical dumb American tourists scared of our own shadows.  In Joburg, we were quickly disabused of this notion by EVERY LOCAL WE MET.  When we met a colleague of his for drinks one night, and he told us that he’d been shot twice — it really struck home.  We saved our aimless roaming for Cape Town and Stellenbosch, and only went around Joburg with recommended drivers.  And the Apartheid Museum alone made this well worth it!

Do you have any travel principles of your own?  Let me know!