15 things we learnt from our first month of travel

Photo of 15 things we learnt from our first month of travel 3/9 by Gayathri Setty — A group of cheerful teachers we bumped into i

So it’s been one month into our six month backpacking trip. We are loving it so far!

We think traveling is great. It has expanded our minds with new experiences. We have learnt a few lessons on the road and would love to share them with you.

Strangers are nice and helpful. If anyone tells you otherwise, ignore them.
Feeling comfortable about meeting and speaking to new people is an essential skill.
Saying bye to your newly made awesome friends is not easy. We never thought it can be that difficult to part ways with someone you have only met for a couple of hours!
You will slowly learn to deal with the fear of unfamiliar – new place, people, food and language. None of these will bother you after some time.

Sign board in Bulgaria. Decoding Cyrillic alphabet can be fun! :)
Don’t hesitate to ask questions and for help. Ask the locals, it is their turf. This can save you a lot of time and effort.
Learn to say ‘no’. That $50 meal in an expensive restaurant is not going to enrich your experience any better than a delicious local snack in the same area. (of course, there are exceptions)
Learning some words/phrases in the local language always helps. Showing that you have taken that extra effort to learn their language will let the other person go that extra mile for you.
Swiss knife is amazing. Just buy it! Has helped us in a variety of situations from cutting fruits to removing glass splinters stuck in our hand.
Google translate offline version can really save your day! Imagine booking last minute tickets in a remote place in Iran and having to deal with somebody who knows only Farsi! Google can handle it for you, offline.
It is really not that difficult to live out of a 11 kg bag.
You don’t have to be rich to travel. We have spent ZERO money on our accommodation until now!
You can be a vegetarian and still have a nice time You need to know where to eat and what to eat. Refer to #5.

Our favourite snack in Turkey – Çiğ Köfte
Indians are expected to know how to dance!
Walking for 5-6 kms everyday with a big bag on you is not so tough.
Hitch-hiking can be fun and is good for your wallet. Deciding to do it is a door to amazing experiences.

We hitch-hiked to Persepolis with this friendly Iranian family :)