Traveling in a different way

When I was very young I discovered that, for me, a journey is the
best way to learn. I still have this pilgrim's soul to this day, and
have decided to relate some of the lessons I have learned, in the
hopes that they will be useful to other like-minded pilgrims.

1] Avoid museums. This advice may seem absurd, but let us
reflect a little together: if you are in a foreign city, isn't it far
more interesting to seek out the present, than the past? Usually,
people feel obliged to go to museums, because ever since they were
small they have been told that traveling is a search for this type of
culture. Of course museums are important, but they require time and
objectivity - you need to know what it is you want to see there,
otherwise you will come away with the impression that you saw several
things which are fundamental to your life, but cannot remember what
they were.

2] Frequent bars. Unlike museums, this is where the life of the
city can be found. Bars are not discotheques, but places where the
people gather to have a drink, pass the time, and are always willing
to chat. Buy a newspaper and observe the bustle of people coming and
going. If someone speaks to you, strike up a conversation, however
banal: one cannot judge the beauty of a path merely by looking at its
entrance.

3] Be open and forward. The best tourist guide is someone who
lives there, knows everything, but doesn't work at a travel agency.
Go out into the street, choose someone you wish to speak to, and ask
him or her for directions (where is such-and-such a cathedral? Where
is the post office?) If this bears no fruit, try someone else - I
guarantee that in the end you will find excellent company.

4] Try and travel alone, or - if you are married - with your
spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be looking after you, but
this is the only way of truly leaving your country. Group travel is
just a disguised way of pretending to go abroad, where you speak your
own language, obey the leader of the pack, and concern yourself more
with the internal gossip of the group than with the place you are
visiting.

5] Don't compare. Don't compare anything - not prices, nor
cleanliness, nor quality of life, nor means of transport, nothing!
You are not traveling in order to prove you live better than others -
your search, in fact, is to find out how others live, what they have
to teach, how they view reality and the extraordinary things in life.

6] Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don't
speak the language, don't be afraid: I have been in many places in
which there was no way of communicating with words, and I always
found support, guidance, important suggestions, even girlfriends.
Some people think that if you travel alone, you will go out into the
street and be lost forever. All you need is the hotel card in your
pocket, and - should you find yourself in extreme circumstances -
take a taxi and show it to the driver.

7] Don't buy much. Spend your money on things which you won't
have to carry: good theater, restaurants, walks. Nowadays, with the
global market and the Internet, you can have everything you want
without having to pay for excess baggage.

8] Don't try and see the world in a month. It is better to stay
in one city for four or five days, that visit five cities in a week.
A city is like a capricious woman, who needs time to be seduced and
reveal herself completely.

9] A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller said that it is far
more important to discover a church no one has heard of, than go to
Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel, with two hundred
thousand tourists shouting all around you. Go to the Sistine Chapel,
but also get lost in the streets, wander down alleyways, feel free to
look for something, without knowing what it is. I swear you will find
it and that it will change your life.



Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication