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ATTITUDE.
Seen
"The Dead Poet's Society"? You should, see it if you can. It's
your life, realise your dreams, seize the day, seize the golden
opportunity whether it's a Gap Year, or if you're not off to Uni, the
summer holidays, longer if you can. Work like mad
at any job you can get, get those hours in, pile up the overtime, sell
anything you don't really need. Save, save, save!
There'll
never be a better time, you're young and fit, you've been fed and watered
and told what to do all your life, this is your chance to get away and
find things out for yourself. It may seem a little scarey and you may
initially doubt your ability to cope. The first few wobbly steps of your
life were the same, ditto the bicycle, and the swimming. Get reading,
knowledge is power, empower yourself-get planning, take notes, make
choices, start
dreaming. A mounting sense of excitement will kick in, replace the
uncertainty, and fill you with anticipation and self confidence.
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OPPORTUNITIES.
Think about
what you'd like to do. Voluntary work? I waded across a river in northern
Sumatra and helped out in an Orang Utan sanctuary for a month, camping in
the jungle and catching fish for all. I've helped out in many schools
around the Tropics. They can't afford to pay you of course, but may help
with accommodation. In any event you'll be hugely appreciated for your
efforts at teaching English, talking about life back home, show and tell
of your pocket portfolio and all. You'll learn more about that
country and its people in a few days than you would in a lifetime of
tourism, you'll be doing something to redress the sad imbalance of mass
tourism that colonises beaches, drives out locals from prime spots, drives
up local prices and inexorably compromises ethnicity, offering little in
return-jobs as chambermaids and bar flunkeys, but most of the profits go
out of the country to multinationals.
Perhaps
you're doing modern languages at Uni, or realise what an advantage
it would be in a job to have a working knowledge of another language
beyond GCSE. Kit yourself out with a student's card (ISIC), perhaps join
the YHA, and head off to check out the beach, the museums and galleries,
make new friends, bump into a job, get paid,*** come back with a
smile on your face!
Perhaps you
love sport, I've played cricket in Pakistan, India, New Zealand, South
Africa-toured for the mother country so to speak. Just find out where it's
at, walk tall, walk in out of the sunshine, and speak to the man-you'll be
amazed and delighted how friendly, accommodating and hospitable they'll be.
It may even lead to an invitation, accommodation, a guided tour, or even a
job. Try your luck-if you don't ask you don't get!
Snowboarding?
Horse riding? Climbing? Trekking? Para sailing? Fishing? Canoeing?
Scuba? Cooking? Bon viveur? Sailor? Musician?
Artist? I met a sixth former after one of my talks who was a conjurer, I
suggested he took his magic to India. Later I got a pc from the himalayas
saying India was magic and he'd been casting a spell himself, the natives
were very friendly and appreciated him greatly, he'd made lots of new
friends, been trekking, did a parasailing course for £60 and stayed in
room with a panoramic view for a pound a night. The opportunities to do the things you
like to do in less expensive and more sunny climes are up to you. Go for
it! Carpe Diem!
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DESTINATIONS;
(travel during term time whenever possible-soo much cheaper! and
besides the Net, Cefax, Teletext, and travel sections of the newspapers,
your local travel agent can often match fares, and you get a more personal
service.)
Some
people enjoy Europe, it's obviously going to need a bigger budget, but you
can work, there are all kinds of deals for students on Inter-rail,
Eurolines, and silly cheap deals on Ryanair, Easyjet, Buzz, etc. It may
also be a particularly relevant area for Uni, to visit those historical
places you've only read about, to see those paintings, to learn that
language better.
Asia.
Flights are
about the same as they were when I first flew to India in 1980-£320 to
£400 for a year's open ticket. Take care of what you stick down your
head, don't do drugs, be especially careful of the traffic, and your
savings will go far. Most larger towns are on the net now, so it's easy to
keep in touch with the folks back home, they'll appreciate this-it makes
it easier for them to let go of precious little you!
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Bradt, Rough and Footprint
guides, Lonely
planet,- all very useful for information
about money, costs, safety, culture, etc..it's worth buying a recent guide
book to get a reasonable update for prices and local conditions. There are
many Gap Year books on the market which are useful for everyone.
I don't intend to repeat their
very comprehensive advice here. Before you decide-go to the library and
start taking notes to work out an itinerary, a budget, and whether it's
monsoon etc.
This is a very important first step, it concentrates
the mind, excitement and anticipation follow. You're on your way, don't
put this off til later. Later never comes, and you'll never have such a
good opportunity again.
You
can contact the embassy of the country/ies that you are going to, as well as any areas
to avoid. To find out how to contact the embassy use your favorite
search-engine and type in" Foreign Embassies"-there you go-the
World at your fingertips, the feet come later..
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PREPARATION some tips
For
gosake, check
that your passport is valid for the whole of the intended trip, and then
some! If you've only got a few days till you leave,
you can always get a passport in Swansea or London in 1 day, but one of
the secrets of travelling is not to rush things-"why be in a hurry to
complete your journey when there is so much to see along the way?"
etcetera...
The last
thing you need to do is to take loads of gear & spend money on buying
things new. In particular, don't buy a new backpack. This will only draw
attention from opportunist scallywags. The first thing to do is to take
off all airline tags at the luggage carousel - do you really want to draw
attention to the fact that you've just arrived off the banana boat?
Most
tropical countries
will be poor by our standards, you'll mostly be meeting and making
friends with ordinary people along the way, so it's therefore a good idea
to keep a low profile and leave the designer gear and all your
materialist props at home. Give your old
backpack (normally full of worthy school books) a break, take it with
you.
The Free-ads,
Loot, boot sales, the supermarket notice board - all great places to buy gear
and save money for travelling.
Start getting your funds together - the sooner the better - remember
an hour working at the Greasy Spoon pays £4 minimum wage, enough for 2 low profile
days in the "Third World". Imagine what a 40 hr week represents
in travelling terms.......
Perhaps,
if your parents are a little loathe to let their ewe lamb out of the
family pen, you might persuade them to pay for your travel insurance. This
can save you some expense, and will probably make them feel
more involved, and happier that you'll be flown home in an emergency.
Especially
when walking and in warmer climes, find a clean and smooth pebble and suck
it as you go along, it keeps you salivating and reduces the need to drink.
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MONEY
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| TRAVELLERS
CHEQUES |
Copy details in case you need to get duplicates |
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| SAFETY |
don't keep all chex in one basket |
How long
is a piece of string, how short is a dream?! Read the latest travel guides
to get a reasonable idea of accommodation & food costs, transport too
if you're a rolling stone. If unsure, double it up - it's better to overestimate.
What a pain it is to run short of money, and not be able to take advantage
of the many opportunities that come the way of the flexible & adventurous
backpacker.
Travellers
Cheques - the most usual choice. Be sure to make a note of the serial
numbers and keep them separately - perhaps with indelible marker inside the lid of your
pack, on your camp-mat, on something you are unlikely to loose-you'll need them to replace those lost,
drowned, or stolen.. Many people
keep them along with their passports & documents in a (rather obvious)
bag around their necks, inside their shirts to minimise the chances
of theft. Keep some separately just in case..
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THINGS TO TAKE
In a low profile bag or satchel:
....take
the best camera you that you can afford to loose (if
it's new, some masking tape and Mickey Mouse stickers make it look
less desirable). Be careful about buying film in hot countries- buy from a
fridge if poss. A polarising filter reduces glare. This is the time
of your life, showing the photos on your return will give you the greatest
pleasure, don't compromise it by taking a crummy camera. Think about
getting published. Smiths is full of magazines on every conceivable
subject, and many rely on freelance contributors. Photograph and take
notes of any specially interesting places or events you come across, the
Writers and Artists Yearbook is full of tips, ideas, and contacts, keep
trying.
In your old backpack :
marmite
(warm
it up and pour it into a plastic bottle for travel)
jungle-formula (a course of B complex helps me keep the little buzzers at
bay)
water sterilising tablets (most
countries have bottled water)
comfy companionable shoes.
polaroid sunglasses are great for reducing glare.
mosquito net, lightweight, fist size, available Boots
etc. torch, a headlight
is best-gives you both hands free.. mask/goggles (if the water's
clear, check out the scene.)
...less
is best, take nothing you can't afford to loose - you can buy things like clothes,
common medication, etc out there. You can get clothes tailored for peanuts,
take your favorite threads and get them copiedcopiedcopiedcopied.....
FINALLY
If I was a
would be employer or interviewer and you told me you'd done voluntary work
in Patagonia with a well known Gap Year Organisation, it would either
suggest to me that pater had loads of money, or was Prince Charles, or
that you were really good at raising sponsorship. If, however, you produced
a pocket portfolio of an independent gap year with the schools you'd helped out in, the adventures you'd had, and the locals you'd
met and befriended, it would rather
suggest that you were a self motivated, confident social animal who could
show initiative and adaptability in most situations. Your enthusiasm would
impress me, I'd probably have a travel anecdote of my own, the ice would
be broken, and you'd be in with a better chance.
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