The world may be a smaller place with cheap flights continent to continent – but it is also more and more the same.
As multinational corporations continue to dominate and infiltrate the major cities of the world – and now the villages, small towns and hamlets as well, much of the navigable world is turning into every more similar collections of medium-priced restaurants, cool coffee shops, plexi-glass airports and vintage shops.
So how can you escape and find something enthusiastically different? Something which makes you feel like you’ve done more than entire some giant international multi-lingual shopping mall?
First things first, be adventurous – with your choices and locations. Amidst all that adventure don’t forget to buy yourself some backpacker insurance from a reputable provider such as direct-travel.co.uk before you go….
One of the great advantages of travelling incognito, or at least with the freedom of backpacking, is that you can meet people very easily. One of my personal tips if you want to get a surprising and intimate feel for a place is to ask your taxi or bus driver where they hang out, what places they go to on the weekend.
With the tips of true locals – rather than tour guides – you are far more likely to discover little corners of the city you’re in that would have remained completely quiet.
The other option – and this is one that can be a lot of fun – is to play games with yourself. Take risks, get lost. Walk through a city with a plan of turns you’re going to take – a left, then a right, then a left, then a right – and see where you end up. If what you’re after is a completely fresh perspective on something which is constantly being shoved down your throat as a picture-perfect city, you’re sure to find some surprises.
For more travel idea inspiration, the Lonely Planet website is always a good place to start. Now, go have an adventure!
