July 15, 2018 - I thought I would share some of the more mundane day to day things when you travel a lot. One of the more exciting things about coming to a new place is learning how to live locally. How do you take care of daily necessities like food, laundry, shelter, hygiene etc.
An easy solution is to always stay at western hotels that cater to Americans and never venture out to the local area. However, if you take that approach you will spend far too much money and what’s the point of going anyway? You might as well save your money and stay home.
So in steps Air BNB. This method of travel allows for a diverse experience, lets you stay in the community with the locals and have a far more immersive and affordable experience. We have found this to be true for us and we have stayed in some truly memorable places.
But...there is another side
You never really know what you are going to get until you arrive and that can be an adventure itself.
Some examples -
COOKING - having to prepare meals in kitchens the size of a pantry on a hot plate. Colleen is a genius at this.
TRASH - From throwing it on the side of the road (We did not) to recycling everything. Separate containers for paper, glass, food, cans, unwanted magazines, magazines that are wanted - but not read, and “Are you sure you want to throw that away?” Bin
TRUMP - Trying to explain...in 8 different countries (Nothing has worked so far)
APPLIANCES - We are told “The microwave and the oven are built together”. (They are not)
LAUNDRY - Straight forward laundry mats, to Thai women who offer to beat it on a rock for you, to European machines that clean, dry, fold, iron, all in the same unit and take over 3 hours
BEDS - Some, as in Vietnam, that are essentially concrete blocks with a thin blanket on top - The owner told us “But that is the soft bed”. To beds that are so soft that they are essentially hammocks. It makes getting up to do your business at night a scene from an old Peter Sellers movie.
SLEEPING - (See Above). Trying to sleep with the sounds of lonely frogs out your window so deafening that it makes a Bon Jovi concert seem tame. — To our current situation with the blinding light of the never setting sun reminiscent of the torture scene from ‘A Clockwork Orange’
TOILETS - Ah here we see the spectrum of the human experience. From holes in the ground with only a hose attached (You pay extra for paper - and it gives a whole new meaning to ‘Did you wash your hands’). —- To Tokyo where you get a personal “Hello Kitty” who cleans and perfumes your bottom after each visit. Our current one is a western throne but will not stop cycling. It is quite noisy and the water is constantly flowing with occasional expulsions of gas like some overly flatulent Labrador.
Still, despite this rant we wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Our next stop is Sweden where we will stay in the guest ‘Cabin” of the owner. The facilities are minimal. Colleen tells me to think of it as “Glamping”.
However, the only thing I could think of was Ted Kaczynski’s cabin.
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