I realised very early on that, for me, travelling was the best way of learning. I still have a pilgrim soul, and I thought that I would use this blog to pass on some of the lessons I have learned, in the hope that they might prove useful to other pilgrims like me.
1. Avoid museums. This might seem to be absurd advice, but let’s just think about it a little: if you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than of the past? It’s just that people feel obliged to go to museums because they learned as children that travelling was about seeking out that kind of culture. Obviously museums are important, but they require time and objectivity – you need to know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, except that you can’t remember what they were.
2. Hang out in bars. Bars are the places where life in the city reveals itself, not in museums. By bars I don’t mean nightclubs, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. If someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in: you cannot judge the beauty of a particular path just by looking at the gate.
3. Be open. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work for any agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). If nothing comes of it, try someone else – I guarantee that at the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.
4. Try to travel alone or – if you are married – with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Traveling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country while speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.
5. Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything – prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people – your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.
6. Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid: I’ve been in lots of places where I could not communicate with words at all, and I always found support, guidance, useful advice, and even girlfriends. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost for ever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket and – if the worst comes to the worst – flag down a taxi and show the card to the driver.
7. Don’t buy too much. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips. Nowadays, with the global economy and the Internet, you can buy anything you want without having to pay excess baggage.
8. Don’t try to see the world in a month. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than to visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.
9. A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller used to say that it is far more important to discover a church that no one else has ever heard of than to go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel with two hundred thousand other tourists bellowing in your ear. By all means go to the Sistine Chapel, but wander the streets too, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something – quite what you don’t know – but which, if you find it, will – you can be sure – change your life.
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It’s funny how the more we travel the less we take with us…enjoy knowing if ever I am without something on a trip I can get something locally which will serve as a reminder of that place in the future.
Once when travelling in the south of France by motorbike, my husband and I discovered some lovely watercolours of the area and decided to buy and post them home ahead of our return. Wonderful when we got back to have them arrive at home in rainy Britain, they served as a reminder of the golden sun days we had just lived.
Love feeling the fluidity of travel; it awakens my spirit too…and now dear Paulo, as I write this I’m recollecting so many moments of places that I had the luxury of time to wander in. Thank you xx
That’s what I call really enjoying a good trip!
:)))
Hello;
I love their Arqueological places in the Perú, exactly in the of city Cusco. Peru is very pretty and their people is very friendly, because have differents places beautifull, if you wanted more information as to hotels, tour places here I found a very good page that talks about the city of Cusco and The Cusco Tours.
http://www.aboutcusco.com/
Blessings.
I’ve always loved this text. Whenever I’m going to travel, this is going to be on my mind.
Muchas gracias por los tips! Algunos, hasta ahorita, he ido aplicando al viajar. Lo que me gusta comparar es el cielo, a pesar de compartir el mismo planeta cada lugar tiene su pedacito de cielo que lo hace único, lo han observado?
Un abrazo=)
Pues yo me estoy pegando un cacho de rulo por el inframundo que te cagas… Perdón por la forma de expresar lo que pienso, pero es que tengo una sensación de pesadez… pues eso, como si llevara unos 18-19 años fuera del mi hogar, y todavía no he llegado, aunque se ven las luces del puerto.
Ayer estuve el el gimnasio bastante tiempo, a un ritmo soportable si no no aguanto ni 5 minutos, lo bueno, es que se me llenó la cabeza de endorfinas y no veas que sensación de plenitud y de paz, por la tarde quedé con unos amigos y echamos una partida al parchis… joer, menudas risas, además es curioso como puede simbolizar el camino de la vida, puede pasar cualquier cosa en cualquier momento, mis dos amigos sacaron tres seises seguidos justo antes de meter una de la últimas fichas, yo había metido dos y tenía dos en casa, pero no se como terminé el primero, me reí un montón, fue muy divertido, hacía tiempo que no me lo pasaba tan bien. Hoy creo que como estoy cansado de ayer y no he ido al gimnasio estoy como más espeso, pero bueno, “solvet et coagula”, ying-yang, las espadas se templan con frío y calor, yo no soy una espada, pero estoy trabajando para serlo.
Un saludo, tengo más ganas de llegar a casa que ET el extraterrestre, joder, ¿falta mucho?
Hasta pronto, “mi casa…”
i have unwittingly followed a few of the tips mentioned and i truly had memorable experiences, the most important thing is to be open, cos if u arnt, u will never understand their culture..
Thanks for the tips Paulo. I love to travel and discover places. And for the first time i wrote a short memoir of my last trip to Tibet on request of my friends. That’s a big step for me.
Recuerdo el museo de Londres con las joyas de la corona y unos trozos de Parthenon con triglifos y metopas, recuerdo los sarcófagos egipcios y una estatua gigante que parecía de babilonia, también recuerdo la pedazo de piedra escrita en tres idiomas antiguos. Sali muy enfadada del museo porque consideraba que todo aquello había sido usurpado de sus lugares de origen, a pesar de que era miércoles y la entrada al museo era gratis. Sin embargo estuve paseando en el mercadillo de Portobello y un indio me pidió un cigarrillo, y una chica me gravó mi nombre en un grano de arroz, ese momento fue muy feliz para mi. Lo más divertido es que yo no hablo inglés. Entré en un bar que se suponía que servían comida española y hablaban en español. Me hablaron en español y me sirvieron una paella que resultó ser arroz con guindillas picantes, cuando llegué a España todavía tenía los labios llenos de llagas. Estuve sólo una semana en Londres y no he vuelto a ir nunca más. Toñi.
Pues yo llevo de viaje media vida, ¿quién me lo iba a decir, cuando era un jovencito lleno de vitalidad y sueños?, pero bueno, al fin y al cabo es lo que siempre deseé lo que pasa es que no imaginaba que fuese de esta manera. La verdad es que aunque ahora estoy un poco cansado principalmente porque estoy en una especie de punto muerto, estoy más o menos contento, porque tengo la sensación de que esto se acerca a su fin.
Voy a ver si me hago una paella de esas con guindillas y espabilo un poco, porque estoy cansado de esta situación, pero bueno, es lo que toca ahora y ya está, mañana seguro que todo es diferente.
Un saludo, que ganas de volver a casa, llevo ya casi 20 años fuera, menudo tostón, en fin, a caminar…
Hola Empie!
La verdad lo pasé mal en Londres porque a mi siempre me pasan cosas raras. Cogí un avión y me planté en el aeropuerto de Heathrom (o algo así), le preguntaba a todo el mundo por la salida de pasajeros europeos y me vino una azafata que decía hablar español y se me puso a hablar en italiano (sobre este tema de lo italiano sin comentarios), al final apareció un señor que me abrió una puerta metálica y me empujó hacia allí, después llegó “mi salvador” (un señor indio con un turbante en la cabeza). Después descubrí por mis amigos que había huelga de aviones por un tema de la gasolina y la gente estaban desesperados utilizando el transporte público porque las gasolineras estaban sin suministro. Y yo allí sin saber si podría volver a casa. Encima no dejaba de llover. Me quedé con las ganas de visitar la iglesia de San Paul (donde se casó la Diana de Gales) pero bueno. Además Londres es carísimo, en una semana me gasté todo mi sueldo de un mes entero y suerte que dormía en casa de mis amigos, una casa antigua de estudiantes de tres plantas. En fin, una experiencia más.
Hoy he tenido un día normal, trabajo, y casa, me he imaginado planificando mi vida, ahorrando para tener una vivienda, entreteniéndome los fines de semana o descansando, en fin, la vida que tenía. Supongo que algún día volverá, pero si no hubiese salido a “viajar” no conocería todas las realidades y los mudos que he visitado.
Bueno, curioso, he tenido la vida de siempre, y me ha parecido una bendición.
Un saludo Toñi, debe de haber un hogar al que poder regresar algún día, seguro que sí.
This year we will not travel much because Im unemployed right now … so we will try to find out places nearby to visit :-)
Love Jessica
Viajar é sempre uma aventura, cada um como pode, aprendi a viajar sozinha, mas não gosto, só não me sinto sozinha, quando tenho alguma coisa para fazer que gosto.
Não comparar, é para vida.
Bj e obrigada pelas didicas.
Muito obrigada pelas dicas! Super legal.
It was really nice to see that some other traveller does exactly what I am doin’. At the begining I have done trips and only look for museums but until the day when i have been in Amsterdam with my brother. We have spend a lots of days and do not care so much about museums and just start to live in this city as it is ours. Than the things started to be clear and clear. We have started to know people and also started to know ourselves.
After that I have started to do trips alone in all Europe. At the begining it was more difficult but after a few ones it becomes more and more interesting. Each time I have started to make new friends, discover smt. new about myself and also started to be a more happy person. Of course I am still passing from museums cause I like them too but I am not spending all of my days inside of them.
Btw, Paulo, you are right. If a person really wants to know the city, the time limit should be around 4 days. So you really start to live in it.
Anyway, that was really nice to see someone who is thinking in the same way as me. I am not sure that you are gonna read this one (cause there is many other comments) but there is one life so we should try to get our chance.
I have been traveling now for almost one year across South America, from my own personal experience, this has to be the best 9 tips ever! I got the best value from the people. You can learn so much about the history and culture of a country from pretty much anywhere: a book, a museum, a library, but, I got the best value from how the people live given each country’s history, that is priceless! I agree, the worst thing anyone can do, is to start comparing. Some people actually feel the need to tell these people how they should or should not be doing things. Traveling should be a growing experience, learning about others, not about telling them that we know is the best way to do things. This is not helping anyone. When you truly live the way people from other countries live, you gain so much more knowledge.
Yes, I LOVE your tips and totally agree! I can’t get enough of travel. Only, I wouldn’t say avoid museums – I would change it to “don’t spend all your time chasing museums and monuments – a bit of variety is always a good thing”.
I always find so much inspiration in your books and have read The Alchemist so many times, usually picking it up again when I go on a long journey.
I’ve just finished reading a great book which kind of reminded me of a modern day female equivalent. It’s about a woman with an adventure spirit who travels alone through Latin America, but a very unusual journey in her style of travel – it’s about love, lust, people, places, humour, survival, and just finding her space in this world, which is pretty much what we are all looking for, isn’t it?
I don’t know if I am allowed to mention the name of a book here which is not yours. If not, then I’m sure your blog editors will remove it, and I apologise for that. However, if it’s ok, then check out Freedom Express by Laura Morena.
Thanks for the inspiration always!!!
Loved it :)
I recently went to Hyderabad(India) and didnt visit a famous museum. But, truly speaking i regret it. I dont believe that a culture can be learnt only by the present. You wouldnt understand the present, if you dont know your past. But of course, choices differ.
I loved the way you compared a city to a capricious woman :)
Stay blessed.
Its everything Ive wanted to say about travel and more. On point 9, I just got back from Rome and this was my comment to friends on the Vatican and other nondescript churches in Rome.
Exactly the way I travel, down to the details!
excellent tips!!! :)
I first read this in a Magazine here in the Philippines.
:)
Now that was something else. Even though you said everything that was against my likes,after reading it I think I made your likes mine too. I do like travelling a lot but I have not done much myself. Thanks for you advise .
excellent thoughts, but for #1, The reason I have gone to many places was and will be for a particular museum. For example, I will see Pompeii and seeking it out I will discover so much about the region and other things to see. I’d also like to see the Prado and so doing see Madrid. …..itchy feet!
Snails and turtles have a lot in common. When they travel, they are always at home. Maybe you should put it poetically. If you want to travel, learn to look out the of the window and to open it.
I wish you all a wonderful day
you mention a window… a good idea is not to use a car… better to get lost in the new city:) use your feet (for those who love walking… or not…)
Have a great day! x
Love and Gratitude
Annie
You are right, travel by car is not my favorite art of traveling. But there are travelers and travelers. I do not criticize. Snails and turtles do not drive. They walk. There is one thing you take always with you when you travel. Yourself. You are always at home when who travel. Maybe one could open the door not just the window. I do not know.
Much love Annie and a wonderful day
Que hermosa coincidencia, recién me levanto de soñar que viajaba por un país que era muy diferente a lo que es en la realidad hoy, pero la sensación de estar viajando fue bellísima.
Muchas gracias por sus consejos, como siempre, no tienen una palabra de desperdicio.
Tuve la gracia de viajar solo de mochilero por Europa en el 99 y no podria hacerlo de otra manera que solo, el único error que cometí fue visitar los museos, que como bien dice usted, cuando llegue a Argentina y vi las fotos, no recordaba de que museos se trataban……
Los demás puntos los cumplí como usted aconseja.
Gracias por recordarnos cual es la mejor manera de descubrir nuevos horizontes.
Sigo ahorrando y vendiendo mi tiempo para ahorrar dinero y cumplir mi sueño de peregrinar a Compostella el año que viene.
Paz y Amor
I have a secret. I started reading your blog just before I took off for two years travelling around different countries. It wasn’t quite planned trip but it happened. For two year I was only a traveller. I stayed in each country at least a month. Didn’t learn any language though yet I understood everything and everyone were great people. I did all the things that Paulo is saying. To add to it, I never stayed in a hotel. I rented a room with locals. It was a wonderful experience. Now I need to go back to what they call real life. I really would rather not but it seems that this is what mature people do. They go to work, save money for retirement, sleep, eat and go to work again. I was this person so I know. I travelled to all these places alone, mostly around Europe. I feel these countries are my home too. People they welcomed me as if I was one of them. Now I can’t leave the area. It is like they are part of me now. They taught me so many things about life and how to deal with things. Oh, how many people I stopped in the streets and now even I have friends from different places around the world. Any time I would like to visit again I bet I can find a host easily. Technically I was homeless but the reality I have so many homes now.
Now anyone can help me get back to work again…..Or Force me for that matter:-)
The whole trip has taught me things I wouldn’t even learned it in decade of studying.
Just right now Paulo is writing these instruction on his blog when I need to come back from my travel. I feel like gypsy. How can a gypsy go back now to live in one place? Any ideas? Help! Becuause if I couldn’t decide where to live I will keep travelling forever.
LOVE!
LOVE
Great message, Brave Soul. ,o)
Ooh! I wanted to object to something, but words freeze in my lips. You’re so DAMN PERFECT! :)
I’ve just printed it and hung on my little crazy wall :)
Want to read it again and again..
Thank you
Have a shiny day
With Love
Elena
Tengo ganas de volver al camino de Santiago, me gustaba esa sensación de libertad, de levantarte sin saber que va a ocurrir y sin embargo estar tranquilo y feliz, de depender de lo que Dios te ponga en tu camino.
Se sentía felicidad y alegría. Volveré.
Cheeeers live is all about adventure
and traveling is a HUGE portion of that adventure :)
Thanks Paulo , you’re my inspiration :)
every time i read your post, your novel, your write, i just wondering about how can you write with every quotation in each your words..
“traveling is the best way of learning..”
(◦ “̮ ◦) (◦ “̮ ◦)
I like walking
I am also a nomad
:)
X
book you are :)
with love
This is excellent advice! I can say I’ve done everything advised against and can see why many of my trips were unfulfilling. The only thing I must correct is the traveling alone part. Yes it’s best to avoid tour groups. But traveling alone can be very lonely. :( I like to be able to share an experience with someone.
When you travel alone then only you tend to experience intensely. That is the only time you meet new friends or you can say souls.
So agree with this all.
Let intuition be your very special guide… learn to trust it, and it will trust you.
And don’t forget to be an explorer in your won city, your own street. If you’re open to surprises, surprises WILL find you.
Your OWN city
(See? I WON my own city & she WON me, haha! ^^)
Discoveries are everywhere & in every “whatnot”…
i am not very sure weather you might get time to read this comment but still…i am a huge fan of your and i read all the artcles that come on newspapers by you…. :)
there is this chapter on our school book (i’m a student) which is actully this “travelling differently” by (you) Paulo Coelho… and i tottaly agree but i think what’s the use to go to Agra(india) and not see taj mahal…
just a thought :)
yours…
:) just a fan
profoundly true and valuable…group travel is a way of deflecting discomfort when discomfort is the exact experience one should be seeking by traveling! My wife and I are selling everything we own and moving to Shanghai, China in 33 days. It has been a scary and liberating experience thus far…attachments to material goods and familiarity is an unbreakable tether for many…the more of my possessions I get rid of, the more empowered I feel…
Thank you
You are really great people. You are brave and spiritually healed .
[...] to me from a friend I was abroad with. For those of you embarking on an adventure, I hope these words help you to explore and fall in [...]
dear Paulo,
I always like & read your books,
more your advice about traveling :)
I’ve just visited Andalucia & Portugal last month.. the Alchemist quite inspiring me to visit the mountains…
currently I’m in love with spanish & portuguese people, bless them
Obrigada
xxx
Ps. but I really love Louvre & I’m kinda museum freak thou’
Hey Paulo Coelho…
great job…good writings. I agreed everything u wrote in your blog.
cheers!
Hi Paulo,
Im glad I find this blog, i read some of your book
Anyway back to the article you discuss here, I almost agree with you, except for point 1, for someone who love art, I never skip my destination to a museum.
But yes like what you advise, of course i should know well about the museum before i visit it.
SO when in Paris i visited Musee Louvre and d’orsay, in amsterdam i visited van gogh museum…
cheers,
sari musdar
[...] http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2008/02/07/travelling-differently/ [...]
….remember “La Joconde”
I dont go to Museum don’t know enough about it.
I like to talk with my hands and feet
Very well said, thank you for that! I myself never could have said it this way but these are the reasons for the way I travel I travel. I was so free and translated it into german on my little site. It is slightly different – after the version written down in “Like the flowing river”
2. That’s true. Magic meetings live there.
I remember one day on the pavement with a friend I told I wish to eat a couscous.
He did not know, but I sallowed only bread and water for one week; in the situation I was.
I knew that friend not for so long, but I didn’t ask to him. I said it. My belly was really empty. :)
Then, maybe 3 minutes after. I entered into a bar, and the waitress came to my friend, and I. She said in a smile: “Do you want to eat couscous, the boss offers!”
I explained her I made the wish, and that it was a Grace.
Now I don’t want to eat meat anymore, but that time was a rejoice for all.
Thanks
Viagens!!!! Travel!!! my favourite thing!!!
I have to write in portuguese sorry :)
Quase sempre viajei assim!!! Mas nestes tópicos o que me fez sorrir ao ler foi o 6!!
Vou contar porquê:
Estava eu a apanhar o ferry de Atenas para Mikonos e tive que ir ao wc, entrei e encontrei um senhor que cobrava para a utilização do WC.
Tentei falar com ele em inglês e ele sempre a falar em grego, ás tantas fartei-me e comecei a falar em português (entretanto entra um Inglês que viu o decorrer da conversa), foi o suficiente para nos entendermos!!! Ainda me virei para trás a pedir papel ao que ele me atira o rolo!!!! quando olhei para o inglês estava desmanchado em riso sem perceber como nos tinhamos entendido! :)
You know I was thinking how when you travel you tend to take more of an interest in the people around you and wondered why I don’t do that at home so much but then I remembered a couple of weeks back.
I held a stall at a Trash n’ Treasure market and sold little but enjoyed myself immensely because I just find people so funny, interesting to watch and heartwarming. One quite elderly gentleman was seriously considering one of the bargain rings I had on offer and told me in earnest how he was planning to propose to his lady love. He asked me how much the ring was and then proceeded to look at the few coins he had in his hand which came to the exact amount. His face brightened as he felt this was a good omen!
Another customer was after a particular book, I watched him wander off, do the rounds of the market and return to my table asking me the exact same question. He repeated this process about 3-4 times.
Kathleen xx
Excellent advice.
Even though I like to be able to see the famous places of history I think what makes most of an impression when you travel are the people. The way they live their life, the foods they eat, the music they listen to, their warmth and hospitality and also their interest in you.
Variety really is the spice of life.
Kathleen xx
I have learned some tips from travelling my self while in Figi and New Guinea .
1- People often see things totally different ,in a foreign place .But they need to at least see it first in order to then remember if they will visit it again.
2Hang out in Bars- couldn’t agree with you more,as silly as it is to join in ,you could though misinterpret the wrong information because you are not in with the language ,and they could have been talking about all sorts of things before you joined in. conversations can lead u the garden path sometimes..
3 Be open -ask for directions WHY! or Why Not ?? its good to ask with passion ask with heart , if u dont ask u are left in the dark…
4-Every one knows leos are leaders..lol but group gossip is best left between friends as some conversations are like stories and are made up….by the story teller ..
5 The thought that you think,you think ,which attracts to it;so you think it some more,which attracts to it;so you think some more.In other words when you have an expectation,you;ve got a dominant thought going on,and the law of attraction is going to deliver that to you,again and again and again.And you say “THE reason that I believe this,is because it is true”.And we say the reason that you believe it,is because you’ve practiced the thought.All that a belief is a thought that you keep practicing. -Abraham-hicks
6- Understand what you think you know ,isnt always what it seems.
7-Fully agree. baggage is a drag, but some love to shop !!
8-If we all where u then we could just take off,but some have important commitments and responsibility , men are from mars and woman are from venus ..
9-I do not go on any journey to seek,I go for inspiration because I firmly feel that if something is to be found it will find me. .
Blessings Tania .
Thank you Paulo !!!!!!!!!!!!!
i thought i was crazy but now i know am not the only one jajajaja.
POINT # 1 AVOID MUSEUMS ! Of course theres a lot to see and learn in them but please, Dont visit museums! I like to travel, I love it, but no, POINT # 4, i dont travel by myself, sooo, the first thing everyone thinks about when going somewhere is… “Lets Visit a museum” :( I find it so unatractive when theres nothing i need 2 know.
But well, am happy because am not the only one who thinks that way. :D jaja
Thank you Paulo :D ill try to follow your advice. Sometime soon ill travel by myself jajaja.
“A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.”
Blessings.
thanks for the precious info…i did travel once on my own…eventhough i’ve been to the same country with my sister, strangely, i enjoyed more being on my own…it gave me a feeling of self-control…and yes, i saw the city differently !!! i was more open to people…their attitudes and so to the culture… XXXXX
So true!
Travel with your soul, see with your heart,
feel the rhythm of the place you in, the heartbeat.
That’s why I almost never go with the group, especially if I want to see something I haven’t seen before.
You just cannot concentrate on where you are, discover things, enjoy the moments.
You cannot pay attention to every detail passing by.
The problem is, if you different, you don’t want to travel in the group, your friends think you are strange, weird, you can become the outsider.
Sometimes it’s hard to balance it all.
love
Agnieszka
Estoy de acuerdo con todo excepto con lo de los museos y la capilla Sistina.
Tomo nota de todo.
Un beso.