we don’t backpack

i think a lot of people perceive international travel as being too far out of their reach for one main reason: they think it’s too expensive. of course there are some places where travel is quite astronomical (yes, i’m looking at you, japan!) but there are many many more countries and cities that - if you plan it right - don’t present insurmountable costs.

we debated for quite a while before finally biting the bullet and investing in our BA trip. we had a lot of things to weigh: although i work on the road, i  end up billing fewer hours when i’m traveling.  ryan’s been bootstrapping his startup which means long hours and less cash flow. and we have the dogs - finding a time when my parents are in town and then getting the beagles there is no easy task. but in the end i view travel as an investment - something i’d much rather do than, say, get a bigger apartment or buy some new furniture (who needs anything more than ikea when you’re just living a glorified college existence anyway?!). i grew up gallivanting across the world but doing without things like cable and video games (and not really missing out at all). so, when given the choice between world travel and, well, pretty much anything else, i’ll likely always choose travel.

that still leaves the little problem of how to pay for it. fortunately right now airfare is lower than i’ve ever seen it before - two tickets to BA ran us about $1600. beyond taking advantage of super cheap flights, researching cost of living at various locations is key. the euro, for example, has flipped in value from when i lived and traveled there (you get much less than a dollar to each euro, whereas a few years ago it was reversed!) but the currency in buenos aires crashed recently meaning a better exchange rate.

but here’s my key to actually making money - though it will probably only work well if you’re coming from somewhere with a high cost of living and going somewhere where the cost of living is much lower: sublet your place and rent a flat in your destination city. avoiding hotels will likely save you money, get you out of the touristy areas and give you a much more authentic experience. subletting your home/apartment/condo while you’re away will not only off-set the cost of your flat at your destination city but will also provide you with quite a bit of walking around money! for example, we rented our place out for about a quarter of the cost of the flat we’re staying in. that’s a LOT of cafes and media lunas!

of course, coordinating this all required a bit of leg-work but i can’t think of many circumstances under which i’d rather be typing from my apartment in SF vs. a funky flat in a new, unique and lively city! (except i DO really miss my puppies …)

one of the things i enjoy most about foreign countries is the food. hell, one of the things i enjoy most about LIFE is the food! and i am a huge fan in particular of just about any type of ethnic food. the other night at home ryan and i were trying to think of the last time we’d eaten american food (besides things like sandwhiches, soup, etc), and we came up empty. unfortunately, over the past several nights in buenos aires, i’ve been a bit disappointed. and it’s because i try to eat mostly produce.

portenos apparently don’t do produce, at least not with their meals. if you order chicken, you get a chicken. if you order beef, you get a piece of meat. no side salad. no veggies. nada. this is especially problematic because, in addition to focusing heavily on grilled meats, their diet has a lot of starch. pastas. empanadas. pastries. bread. all things that are delicious, but all things that don’t really constitute a meal for me.  i need an inordinate amount of fruits and veggies at least as a PART of my meal, if not the meal entirely. apple filling in croissants doesn’t count. neither does the orange wedge garnishing ryan’s giant steak.

so i’ve been trying to eat a lot of salad which aren’t super ethnic, but still has somewhat of a local interpretation. and then tonight i got the ULTIMATE local interpretation: mayo. as salad dressing. slathered all over the top of my lettuce!! what’s a not-too-much-meat-eating, veggie-loving, produce-obsessed girl to do?! i scraped off the entire top half of the salad (taking with it all the tasty toppings: crutons, tomatoes, cheese), doused the remaining with oil and vinegar and plowed my way through.

it’s unlikely that i’ll order salad again. so i’m not sure what my solution is. i’ve been buying fruit at the market, so maybe i’ll just go with that … but i’m spoiled by the great local produce we have in SF and the apples and oranges i’ve had so far here aren’t cutting it. i’m tempted to do one big, traditional argentine meal, and then go more fusion or opt for a different cuisine altogether. as much as i love the food of other cultures i can’t see how eating empenadas for the next ten days would be a great decision …

I was thinking today (yesterday? Somewhere over the international dateline?) about how much work international travel really is – you have the airport shenanigans, the long flights (usually more than one), connections, layovers, the impossibility of sleep, time changes, luggage … and that’s all just to get you to your final destination. As we were speeding over the atlantic ocean today, and I was unable to sleep (in spite of my economy plus accommodations and the empty seat next to me), I wished I could just go back home and curl up in my own bed.

And then we touched down, got a taxi and hit the open roads of buenos aires, snaking our way further into the gritty, vibrant, uniqueness that I’ve experienced in nearly international city i’ve been to. And I got The Feeling. The feeling that hits me every time I go somewhere new, overwhelming and unexplored. The feeling other travelers can surely identify with. The energy of the moment. The overwhelming sense that you are at the most important place in the world at the best possible time and you never want to leave. “The Feeling” feeds your soul yet leaves you insatiably longing for more. The unknown is scary and enticing and you can’t get enough.

Describe it however you will or marvel at its inability to be put into words … The Feeling is what puts me onto another plane. Forces me to give up another chunk of my hard-earned cash. Draws me into street markets and corner bars and into conversations in odd corners of this expansive planet. If you’ve never felt it, it’s hard to describe, but if you’re a fellow vagabond it’s a familiar sensation. And – if you’re like me - one that makes up an increasingly large portion of who you are.

(pics are on facebook and more to come once i update this OLD version of wordpress!)