Tag: tips

What They Don’t​ Tell You About Traveling

This shit is exhausting. Like, seriously. You don’t hear that though. You just hear about the places and the cool things that happened there. What travelers don’t tell you is that the actual traveling part sucks. It’s time to call BS.

I travel for work and leisure. My job is sending me to 5 different states all within the span of 1 week, that’s only 7 days! You do that math. I love my job but after this contract is up, consider me Houdini because I’m disappearing. Actually, consider me Nefertiti because I’m a Queen. ha.

I’m asked so many times “how I get to travel so often”, and how people would love to trade places with me. No baby, you don’t want to.

There was a trip where I went from Chicago, IL, USA – Bonn, Germany – Milan, Italy – Marrakech, Morrocco – Agadir, Morocco – Essaouira, Morocco – Marrakech, Morocco – Madrid, Spain – Bonn, Germany – Chicago, IL, USA-  Miami, FL – The Bahamas – St. Thomas – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Grand Turks – Miami, FL – Chicago for a week & a half  then back to Bonn, Germany.

Sounds like a lot, right? But on Instagram it looked like I was living the dream. A little like this :

 

 

But I wasn’t.  I can’t even begin to tell you how tired I was after that month. I was sluggish. I just wanted to sleep, every day, all the time. Your body needs time to heal after all of that. Honestly, I still haven’t really sat down since then, and that’s my own fault. It illustrates so differently on social media, but if you were to bump into me after any of my extensive trips you would see the bags under my eyes and how I turn every outing into something I can walk into with yoga pants and t-shirt.

It illustrates so differently on social media, but if you were to bump into me after any of my extensive trips you would see the bags under my eyes and how I turn every outing into something I can walk into with yoga pants and t-shirt.

And when I’m traveling for leisure, I usually need a vacation from my vacation. Ha. I’m not even joking.

It’s just funny that I write for a travel blog, I travel for work, I travel for fun, yet I only share the surface about traveling. I want when I write to feel like I’m talking to Muneek, Dean or one of my other close friends. I want it to be candid and raw and real.

And all my friends know that I’m a bit of a drama queen, so sometimes when I talk I just go a little overboard then dial it back down and say ” I still wouldn’t trade it anything else” and that’s true.

Yeah, I’m tired as hell, I don’t feel like unpacking, don’t feel like packing, don’t feel like taking a taxi to the freaking airport, don’t feel like paying for an upgrade to get out of sitting in that damn middle seat, don’t feel like putting my phone on airplane mode, and I don’t feel like searching for wifi so I can use WhatsApp.

But as soon as I step off that plane I go from DRAMA QUEEN to Woman of the The World, and I am so grateful for every opportunity and every piece of land that I get to walk on. I just had to complain a little before.

All jokes aside, I do realize how blessed and favored I am to be in this situation. Which is why you don’t hear me complain about it. I don’t take any of this for granted, at all. I just wanted to make light of the situation and tell you ( my readers) that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

 

 

Ci sentiamo, Ciao ❤

Wednesday Women: Isabel

isabel-leong-ghent-belgium-street-artMeet Isabel.

I’m Isabel and I’m a freelance travel writer and travel blogger at Bel Around The World. I work full time at a digital agency specializing in social media. Pulling from my own world travels and lessons, I give tips on Bel Around The World about how to make use of student travel perks and stretch every penny while traveling experientially. 🙂

What inspired/inspires you to travel? 

I got inspired when I set off on a one-way ticket to Europe through my school’s international exchange in 2015. This program allows university students to do a semester of classes abroad in any host country.  Through exploring Europe on my own for 6 months, I’ve grown to love the idea of exploring the unknown and discovering new places.

Since then, I’ve only taken traveling in my own hands and begun seriously pursuing it, both with my blog and setting time and money aside to do it throughout the year.

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Where is your favorite destination to date?

I usually go for scenic destinations since I’m based in a city. My favourite city is New York, beach destination is Maldives, and the best place I’ve been for a road trip is New Zealand!

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How do you prefer to travel? 

I love experiential traveling – trying new things and pushing my limits. This includes bungee jumping in Phuket, watching hot air balloons at sunrise in Cappadocia and trying out Couchsurfing in Europe.

 

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Solo or With a group? Why?

Everyone should have an experience doing both. I enjoyed solo travel for the freedom it gives and how it opens more doors to making new friends. It’s an experience you will not get so readily if you are traveling with a partner. Traveling alone also builds your resilience and independence – both of which are very essential qualities in a person!

Yet, traveling with a partner or a group injects more fun in the trip. You would dare to do more things than if you were to travel alone, like going to a pub for instance. I wouldn’t dare to visit a pub alone in a foreign country, especially since I’m a girl! Having a companion also means an extra pair of eyes to watch out for you.

Do you think there is a difference traveling as a woman? 

It definitely is much more dangerous especially if you’re traveling alone. That said, it can sometimes be easier also – you get accepted by hosts more readily on Couchsurfing and you receive help more readily by passers-by!

How do you plan your trips?

I will Google the places not to be missed for that particular area, and map it on Google Maps. Further to that, I will export it to an app called Maps.me so that I have easy access to it through my phone and offline when I’m on the go! More on this feature in How To Export Your Google Map Itinerary To Your Phone & Use It Offline!

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When is your next one? 

Bali in April and Hokkaido in May to catch the cherry blossoms.

Any advice you would like to give to your fellow travelers? 

Yes! One of it is to be bold and never do anything (or the lack of) you would regret – you may only have that one chance to visit a place or try something foreign. More tips for first-time travelers in this post: 10 Tips For New Travellers.

 

Want to know more about Isabel?

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How to survive being the traveling friend

You see the inside of airport terminals more than you’ve seen your friend’s (not-so) new apartment. You feel like an outsider at brunch because “you should’ve been there last Sunday to see blah do blah blah & blah”. You’ve had layovers that lasted longer than girls’ night.IMG_9646And while you love your friends, you love exploring new soils more. I’ve noticed that the more trips I go on, the more distance there is between my friends and I. This recent trip has brought more light to my eyes than any other. When I first came back from my move to Milan, they were excited to have me back but of course I was greeted with the famous question “So when do you leave again?”. That’s also my family’s number one topic! “What?! You’re in town? Must not be for long, when do you leave? When is your next trip?” While I would love to say that there is a loving tone when asked but more often than not its more a tone of resentment. Towards me, or the fact that I’m always on the go. At first, I was sad about it. I should be able to travel and have friends, right? I mean it makes no sense that I can make and keep in touch with friends from all over the world but I’m not even be able to connect with my friends from back home. I think its more of a travelers woe. After talking with a friend  (she gets me, she’s a traveler too) she let me know that it happens to the best of us, and I’m not alone.

Of course you can’t help but wonder though, is there a remedy? Even if there is, is the relationship worth fixing? I think with many test and trials, the strong will survive. I may lose friends to traveling, but its shown me friends that I should value a lot more. Muneek said it best “Not everyone signs up to be a long distance friend”.

While any departure is typically sad, these lost friendships haven’t been. People come and people go, myself included. But what makes this sorrow a little sweet, is that I am a traveler, I’m an expert at moving on. That’s how you’ll survive.

Traveling with Scoliosis

Ciao,

Before I dive into the tips about traveling with scoliosis. I feel as though I should tell you a bit more about me and my health. I was diagnosed with scoliosis about 11 years ago and had two high degree curves which resulted in me needing to have a corrective surgery. While my posture and overall health benefited greatly from the surgery, my spine is not 100% straight and often when traveling I host moderate level pain in my back. I can’t always fly first class ( sucks, I know) but I have found a few airlines that have comfortable seating which allow my pain to lessen, especially for long hauls from US to Europe. Below you will find my favorite airlines for long hauls ( over 4 hours) and tips while in flight that helps me with my pain. I hope it helps you as well!

My Favorite Long Haul Airlines 

  1. Turkish Airline: I flew from Turkey to Chicago, an 11 hour flight, and was amazed at how comfortable the seating was. It also helps that they provide you with blankets and a pillow, since I forgot mine! Often when I am flying I have to position myself in the most awkward position because after the third hour my back cramps heavily. With TA, the seats in economy are extremely spacious and I had enough space to move around in my seat and not disturb my neighbor.
  2. AirEuropa: I love flying AirEuropa but ONLY when its an AirEuropa plane. You know how you can book a flight, but its serviced by a different plane? This can happen on an AirEuropa flight, so make sure to check your itinerary! Once, my flight was serviced by a LOT! plane, and while the service was great, the plane was not so comfortable. The reason why I love AirEuropa’s fleet is because even in economy the seats are extremely spacious and allow you to recline your back and legs… Turning your seat into a little bed for your travel.
  3. AirBerlin: The seats are okay, the food is pretty good, the service is great and the isles are big!

 

Tips to make the best of your flight

I am not a doctor! But these tips have worked for me and I noticed a difference in the amount of pain that I experience when traveling. Feel free to try them at your own risk.

 

  1. BRING A SMALL PILLOW – I usually place the pillow in between my seat and the middle part of my back. It helps because my ribs are twisted from the scoliosis, so I still have a slight hump in my back. The pillow helps me fill in the gap on the rib that is normal.
  2. DRINK LOTS OF WATER – Water will help alleviate the cramping in your back and muscle tension.
  3. STRETCH!!! – I know you don’t want to be that awkward person walking up and down the aisle, but you have to be. I usually try to stretch at least once every hour, if you experience more cramping than normal I would say stretch every 30 minutes.
  4. BRING TYLENOL – Or whatever pain reliever that you use. Sometimes even with the mentioned tips I still have a lot of pain, and I have to bring in extra help.
  5.  NO HEELS –  I’m guilty of wearing heels on shorter hauls but never a long one. We need ALL the support we can get, and while I’m not trying to lug around a fancy pair of orthopedic shoes,  I will wear my comfiest sneakers. Heels are cute, but they don’t help us in this case.

 

I will continue to update this list as much as possible! If you have any tips that you would like to share feel free to comment or you can email me at she@shewentwear.com.

 

Best,