How NOT to Plan
by Lena
19 years old –> Moscow, Russia –> no plans or bookings — > $1000 –> 1 suitcase –> Los Angeles, USA …
… Yes, I actually just got a visa, bought a ticket and left …
Moved to a different continent, alone, as a teenager, with no plans, no help, no family and no friends waiting for me in US… but managed to survive & succeed.
If I could do that, trust me, so can you! Age, time and money should never be an excuse.
For me, “Planning” takes life out of living …
No matter how long you have been planning for or how “perfect” your planned trip is in your head…. Life will happen to it …
Why stand in the way of LIFE with it’s stunning beauty & glorious imperfections and suffocate it with our own FEAR ? …
~
I travel independently, meaning, buying all my plane tickets, hotels, adventures myself or those trips are SPONSORED. I use public transport and spend 99% of my time with locals.
I try to not only visit a country, but actually LIVE there, be it for a few years, a month or for several days…
Wouldn’t trade my time in a crowded Kenyan Matatu or Ugandan Boda-Boda, even for a ride in a limo or on a private jet!
It takes courage and fearlessness to travel our amazing planet solo, but it’s worth every lost nerve cell…
Actually, it’s worth way more than that…
It’s priceless.
~
Google is truly an incredible thing … just search “how to travel the world cheap” and you’ll be able to find tons of useful information on this topic.
~
And remember, Life & Travel is only as expensive or inexpensive as you make it…
___________________________
The woman behind no plans …
And this matatu part in kenya cracked me up, it’s one of the best experiences to do in Africa, I took the ferry boat as well, ever tried it? Did u go to Mombasa?
I wish! : )
I do exactly the same although everyone thinks I am insane, but who cares, this is how I enjoy my travels ;)…
Keep it up!
I’d rather live only a moment in “madness” than spend it in a “5 star” anything..
Well said :)))…
But you know, I spent 2 months spending every weekend in hostels, then i decided to go to a 3 stars hotel for a change, it was HEAVENLYYYYYY, to have ur own bathroom, towels,tv…but the next weekend i went back to hostels again :))))
It is true, after months in hostels in peru and bolivia, my appreciation of the nice things was so much greater. I think thats why roughing it a bit is so valuable, because you can’t understand the benefit of the one hour flight from lima to cusco unless you know the feeling of the 3 hour bus, with cross river boat ride, then the 7 hour bus and the final 14 hour bus to get back. After that an international flight is a breeze.
cannot agree more :)
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awesome advices, hopefully I’ll used them someday
Doing it! Thank you, this is just what we need to get back in the groove of international travel.
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My kinda gal! Maybe we’ll cross paths someday – in a hostel or at a campground. Follow us on our Kabul to Cork trip and see if you can meet us along the way. We’ll make space in the tent for you!
Thank you for kind words! I hope we do! You’re always welcome in my tent too! : )
love & light
el
So glad to find your blog! What an awesome post… I’ve going to check out those flight deals and see what I can get away with! lol :)
PS: Agreed… why plan it out when you’ll have more fun winging it?! Looking forward to checking out your other posts. :)
Bettina
Thank you for all the information and great tips! Time to plan my next one!
Love your blog, it’s so insightful and I love you attitude to travel, which I would imagine translate into your life.
Colleen
I love this! Your blog is gorgeous and I love your attitude! Great tips, it’s so cool to read stuff like this from someone who has actually lived it!
Likewise Bella!
from one daredevil to the other — you are one hell of a lady! I’d go climbing mountains with you any day!
love & light
el
This is nice! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.. and visiting my blog!
I dont like to plan either. I still don’tm know where I will go tomorrow, even less next week and Im confortble that way. My friends cannot understand and sometimes ask me to plan some vacation for 4 months later!!!!!!!! Who knows where I will be in 4 months?
Well said. I stayed at a $300 hotel in Luxor (on points) one night and $4 for a hostel. I preferred the hostel and spent the remaining nights there. The difference was the people, the interactions, and they were rich. I would have missed out on meeting young couple from Singapore, a young girl and her mother from Malaysia, and a Candanian Syrian college girl who all had incredible tips and stories that filled my head. I felt very safe and among friends and family that night.
I rarely make reservations ahead of time. Some would say it’s not possible, but we flew into Bangkok with a family of 5 at midnight with no reservations. Stayed at a great place.
In contrast, made a reservation for a 3 star hotel in Egypt on Expedia on the Nile. Had a horrible time, tried cancelling the reservation unsuccessfully at 2am, and spent the night in a bed with ripped up sheets and a hard foam mattress that was prepaid and wasn’t actually on the river.
Hi this is such a cool blog! And a really useful post. I’ve never really put all those ideas together although staying with locals is something quite popular, the hammok idea is really lovely, will have to try it
I love to travel like you did. I don’t know if I can do it, though. I could start Cairo and wind down through Addis, Nairobi to Botswana and South Africa. That would be one circuit. Another could be China, East Europe, etc. I am hoping to find the opportunity to do so. I will take your advice.
Thanks for great tips ….
I love traveling and adventure. I always say that I want to go to a random country, work there for awhile doing a random job until I have enough money to go somewhere else. How safe do you think this will be? It’s hard enough for me to make enough $ and get a job in the U.S. and I don’t want to get stuck somewhere being a young female. What are your thoughts?
Every journey is different and so is approach.. but I would suggest you ask this young man advice… because he is fluent in these questions.. and he’s my good friend, whom you can trust.
You can do anything anywhere, especially as a young woman! Diplomas will never be able to teach you survival skills.. life does that.. don’t be afraid to live the life you want! I came to US at 19 and didn’t have a plan or a friend here.. but that didn’t stop me.
Trust your instincts.. always! Stop thinking and start FEELING the world.. if it doesn’t FEEL right, don’t do it..
If you think that something bad will happen to you.. it will.. but if you learn to trust the moment and people around you.. the world will answer in the same way..
Learn to really hear your voice and soul… Understand what brings your soul true joy and feed it daily… everything else is background music..
ps – if you ever get “stuck” anywhere in the world and don’t know what to do .. please contact me .. I will do my best to help you.
listen to your heart, not your mind..
love & light
el
Thank you so much! Your words are very encouraging and make me want to jump on a plane tonight. I want to stop dreaming and do something. I have always been impulsive and just gone out and taken hold of what I wanted and now I think it might be time to take hold of this.
Thank you again!
Aimee
Thanks for pointing me back to this site. Have used most of your tips. Even hitch hikingin 2005 when I was 63… Can absolutely recommend couch surfing
Miss,
you rock! : )
love
el
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Great thoughts
Admire your courage! I wish I could have some of that courage too but I’m a compulsive planner myself and also scared to travel alone. Actually, I’ve never had a thought of going alone on a holiday – may be something to consider :)
You should try it ; )
I love and share your view on travel and your writing is very captivating! Thank you for brightening my day through your blog. :)
Thank you for stopping by, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! : )
love & light
el
So agree with you! One thing I learned while traveling solo one year was: have a plan and then change it almost daily and prepared to be surprised and flexible at every turn & twist. I like your blog
I agree completely, planning extensively for a trip creates expectations, and expectations are always bad because they put experiences into a big and heavy cage. They create boundaries, if it doesn’t meet your expectations then it sucks, if it surpasses your expectations then it’s great, but no where near as great as if you had ‘zero’ expectations.
What is the point of planning for a trip, you have a much greater time if you let go and go with the flow of everything, after all we travel to free ourselves from the routine and structure of our responsible lives back home. Traveling the world is the one time when we can, without negative consequence, let go and do what you want, when you want and live completely in the present.
Last year I had planned to go to Thailand for a 3 month SE Asia trip, I took a year off uni and worked full time to save up an exact sum of money I thought I needed, and I had planned the trip from start to finish. The second day I was there I had a terrible motorcycle accident and couldn’t walk for 2 weeks, I certainly didn’t plan for that! After I was up and walking I had the best time as I went my own way, and didn’t consult my original plan, I floated through the country one day at a time and I loved it. The only way to travel!
Wonderful comment and a story! wow! Thank you for sharing! I absolutely agree!
Wishing you many more magical unplanned adventures in your life… minus the injury ..
love & light
el
This entry is great – I’m hoping to do a safari in April. Did you say you’re visiting Egypt? It’s certainly well worth it! Keep up the writing, your travels are so interesting!
Have fun! : ) Yep, will be in Egypt in April. Thank you!
el
I’ll be in Egypt through July. In Cairo right now. Will be at an organic farm the rest of the time, in the Sinai, but wanting to travel. Do let me know if you’d like some company.
Cheers,
Jared
I’ll hopefully be in Kenya very soon. I’m not exactly sure if I’ll get down there, but I sure as hell would like to.
Cheers,
Jared
You will love it there Jared! It’s a beautiful country with the kindest people!
el
Us Canadians envy you folks south of our border for such great airfares to world destinations. I wonder how the Aussies manage to travel so much though.
Inspiring post! Have always been fascinated by Africa. Only been to Egypt so far. Admire the way you travel, I on the other hand am a compulsive planner:-)
nothing wrong with that either!… you can only be you.. everyone else is taken.. ; )
I’ll be in Egypt for the first time in April.
happy travels,
el
Love your blog.. so inspiring to a young traveler like myself! I am hoping Africa will happen soon enough for me! any feedback of tip about Africa are always welcomed! i myself am not a planner and prefer traveling by the seat of my panties
; )
Happy trails
: )) I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say by the seat of my “panties” before..
Africa will steal your heart.. you’ve been warned !
Africa is the most beautiful place in the world..it’s a place that moves the soul.It’s a place where the heart truly beats :) Tanzania is gorgeous and after reading your blog on Zambia ..I have to do it too now :)
Great thoughts! Still hoping to get to Africa! Maybe I should just be getting those shots now – they are good for 10 years I believe!!! Then i can up and go when ready! Can’t wait to go to Africa!
Anita, thank you for your comment. I trust that your African adventure will be amazing! It’s hard not to fall in love with that beautiful continent.. you will see! Yep, you should get the shots.. however I only got 2 out of possible 7 or 10 I think .. Good luck with all your adventures!
bon voyage to a fellow free spirit,
el
Looks awesome! I took a very similar route (pushing west into rwanda and then back through to egypt) this summer. What a wonderful experience- Africa is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. Thank goodness my family lives in RSA so it gives me reason to go back! great photos, I’m definitely going to check out your future posts- they seem pretty intense!
Oh wow! I really want to go to Rwanda and do Gorilla trekking or in Uganda. I’m thinking of going to Egypt in April.
Safe travels,
EL
Ahh it was a wonderful experience, prepare yourself to get stung by everything you touch when you’re in the jungle heading to the Gorillas. They recommend you wear long sleeves, gloves, pants- which is of course everything that I didn’t show up with!! It was worth 250 $$ though….but worth it. I’m jealous about Egypt, AWESOME culture.
– Dirk B
Oh wow! Thanks for the advice! I’m sure it was worth it! Had a chuckle about not showing up with what’s needed .. cause that sounds exactly like me : ))
EL