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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
“I probably should say that this is what makes you a good traveler in my opinion, but deep down I really think this is just universal, incontrovertible truth. There is the right way to travel, and the wrong way. And if there is one philanthropic deed that can come from this book, maybe it will be that I teach a few more people how to do it right. So, in short, my list of what makes a good traveler, which I recommend you use when interviewing your next potential trip partner:
1. You are open. You say yes to whatever comes your way, whether it’s shots of a putrid-smelling yak-butter tea or an offer for an Albanian toe-licking. (How else are you going to get the volcano dust off?) You say yes because it is the only way to really experience another place, and let it change you. Which, in my opinion, is the mark of a great trip.
2. You venture to the places where the tourists aren’t, in addition to hitting the “must-sees.” If you are exclusively visiting places where busloads of Chinese are following a woman with a flag and a bullhorn, you’re not doing it.
3. You are easygoing about sleeping/eating/comfort issues. You don’t change rooms three times, you’ll take an overnight bus if you must, you can go without meat in India and without vegan soy gluten-free tempeh butter in Bolivia, and you can shut the hell up about it.
4. You are aware of your travel companions, and of not being contrary to their desires/needs/schedules more often than necessary. If you find that you want to do things differently than your companions, you happily tell them to go on without you in a way that does not sound like you’re saying, “This is a test.”
5. You can figure it out. How to read a map, how to order when you can’t read the menu, how to find a bathroom, or a train, or a castle.
6. You know what the trip is going to cost, and can afford it. If you can’t afford the trip, you don’t go. Conversely, if your travel companions can’t afford what you can afford, you are willing to slum it in the name of camaraderie. P.S.: Attractive single people almost exclusively stay at dumps. If you’re looking for them, don’t go posh.
7. You are aware of cultural differences, and go out of your way to blend. You don’t wear booty shorts to the Western Wall on Shabbat. You do hike your bathing suit up your booty on the beach in Brazil. Basically, just be aware to show the culturally correct amount of booty.
8. You behave yourself when dealing with local hotel clerks/train operators/tour guides etc. Whether it’s for selfish gain, helping the reputation of Americans traveling abroad, or simply the spreading of good vibes, you will make nice even when faced with cultural frustrations and repeated smug “not possible”s. This was an especially important trait for an American traveling during the George W. years, when the world collectively thought we were all either mentally disabled or bent on world destruction. (One anecdote from that dark time: in Greece, I came back to my table at a café to find that Emma had let a nearby [handsome] Greek stranger pick my camera up off our table. He had then stuck it down the front of his pants for a photo. After he snapped it, he handed the camera back to me and said, “Show that to George Bush.” Which was obviously extra funny because of the word bush.)
9. This last rule is the most important to me: you are able to go with the flow in a spontaneous, non-uptight way if you stumble into something amazing that will bump some plan off the day’s schedule. So you missed the freakin’ waterfall—you got invited to a Bahamian family’s post-Christening barbecue where you danced with three generations of locals in a backyard under flower-strewn balconies. You won. Shut the hell up about the waterfall. Sally”
1. You are open. You say yes to whatever comes your way, whether it’s shots of a putrid-smelling yak-butter tea or an offer for an Albanian toe-licking. (How else are you going to get the volcano dust off?) You say yes because it is the only way to really experience another place, and let it change you. Which, in my opinion, is the mark of a great trip.
2. You venture to the places where the tourists aren’t, in addition to hitting the “must-sees.” If you are exclusively visiting places where busloads of Chinese are following a woman with a flag and a bullhorn, you’re not doing it.
3. You are easygoing about sleeping/eating/comfort issues. You don’t change rooms three times, you’ll take an overnight bus if you must, you can go without meat in India and without vegan soy gluten-free tempeh butter in Bolivia, and you can shut the hell up about it.
4. You are aware of your travel companions, and of not being contrary to their desires/needs/schedules more often than necessary. If you find that you want to do things differently than your companions, you happily tell them to go on without you in a way that does not sound like you’re saying, “This is a test.”
5. You can figure it out. How to read a map, how to order when you can’t read the menu, how to find a bathroom, or a train, or a castle.
6. You know what the trip is going to cost, and can afford it. If you can’t afford the trip, you don’t go. Conversely, if your travel companions can’t afford what you can afford, you are willing to slum it in the name of camaraderie. P.S.: Attractive single people almost exclusively stay at dumps. If you’re looking for them, don’t go posh.
7. You are aware of cultural differences, and go out of your way to blend. You don’t wear booty shorts to the Western Wall on Shabbat. You do hike your bathing suit up your booty on the beach in Brazil. Basically, just be aware to show the culturally correct amount of booty.
8. You behave yourself when dealing with local hotel clerks/train operators/tour guides etc. Whether it’s for selfish gain, helping the reputation of Americans traveling abroad, or simply the spreading of good vibes, you will make nice even when faced with cultural frustrations and repeated smug “not possible”s. This was an especially important trait for an American traveling during the George W. years, when the world collectively thought we were all either mentally disabled or bent on world destruction. (One anecdote from that dark time: in Greece, I came back to my table at a café to find that Emma had let a nearby [handsome] Greek stranger pick my camera up off our table. He had then stuck it down the front of his pants for a photo. After he snapped it, he handed the camera back to me and said, “Show that to George Bush.” Which was obviously extra funny because of the word bush.)
9. This last rule is the most important to me: you are able to go with the flow in a spontaneous, non-uptight way if you stumble into something amazing that will bump some plan off the day’s schedule. So you missed the freakin’ waterfall—you got invited to a Bahamian family’s post-Christening barbecue where you danced with three generations of locals in a backyard under flower-strewn balconies. You won. Shut the hell up about the waterfall. Sally”
I started this before and while on my first trip outside Germany since Covid, started the audiobook in Switzerland. There are so many laughable, relatable moments and now have even more places to plan for.
“The experience also illuminated another fact: regardless of how you travel, as you get deeper into your thirties you might be the only person your age out on the road at all, whether it's in the hostels with the twentysomethings, or on the fancy cruises with the sixtysomethings. In your fourth decade, your compatriots are mostly at home, working, raising humans, getting husbands through rehab, living for someone besides themselves.
Suckers”.
“The experience also illuminated another fact: regardless of how you travel, as you get deeper into your thirties you might be the only person your age out on the road at all, whether it's in the hostels with the twentysomethings, or on the fancy cruises with the sixtysomethings. In your fourth decade, your compatriots are mostly at home, working, raising humans, getting husbands through rehab, living for someone besides themselves.
Suckers”.
I actually enjoyed reading this book. But found some of the things the author wrote about a little racist. Also there’s an insane amount of privilege that she addresses briefly but not in a meaningful way.
This is simply a memoir about someone’s life so I didn’t think I would learn anything new or that it would change my viewpoint.
This is simply a memoir about someone’s life so I didn’t think I would learn anything new or that it would change my viewpoint.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This is a fun, flirty memoir that will make you want to drop everything to hop on a plane and jet off to a foreign land. While I didn't personally relate to a lot of this (i.e., having romantic flings with complete strangers), it was fun to experience spontaneous international travel through Newman's eyes.
funny
lighthearted
I would only take off .5 stars for the title, which I had to apologize for to a lot of people. So awkward.
The last three books I've read have all been very dark and intense. So, I was really in need of a palate cleanser after that. And here comes this book which is just about as different from dark and intense as a book could possibly be. This is a funny and warm hearted book about travel, something I love to do. It is also about the challenges of being single in your 30s and slowly realizing that you are just about the only single person left in your group of friends. That is also something I can relate to.
As someone who will very soon be spending a good six to eight weeks overseas, this book definitely gave me unrealistic expectations about what my trip will be like! Especially since I'll be going to some of the countries that she visits in this book. Here's hoping I'll have the same experience she did in those countries!
This book definitely reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love and Wild. Those just happen to be two books that I love so I guess I already had a soft spot in my heart toward this one. Is it the most well written and engaging book? No. But it wasn't going for that either. It is funny and sweet and poignant and I liked that aspect of it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am glad I read it. And now I am looking forward even more than I already was to my upcoming trips! Maybe I too will have a wild affair with a hot Argentinean man! A boy can dream, can't he?!
As someone who will very soon be spending a good six to eight weeks overseas, this book definitely gave me unrealistic expectations about what my trip will be like! Especially since I'll be going to some of the countries that she visits in this book. Here's hoping I'll have the same experience she did in those countries!
This book definitely reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love and Wild. Those just happen to be two books that I love so I guess I already had a soft spot in my heart toward this one. Is it the most well written and engaging book? No. But it wasn't going for that either. It is funny and sweet and poignant and I liked that aspect of it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am glad I read it. And now I am looking forward even more than I already was to my upcoming trips! Maybe I too will have a wild affair with a hot Argentinean man! A boy can dream, can't he?!
I really enjoyed reading this. It definitely had some markers of being about the early 2000s in it (some weird racial stuff, fetishizing foreigners etc.). I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I wasn’t reading it 10 years after it came out
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective