3 Ways To Celebrate The 4th of July Outside of the US
This is probably old news for expatriates and long-term travelers but if you’re on vacation or just set out on the road outside of the US, you don’t have to miss out on the 4th of July (Independence Day). There are 3 good ways to get in touch with Americans abroad who are celebrating the 4th of July and join in with them.
1. Call the US Embassy or Consulate
They will most certainly have a party or get together to celebrate. Where it’s possible, you might even get to see some fireworks, have drinks, food, and meet up with other travelers who might be from your hometown. If you happen to be far from an embassy or consulate you can still give them a call and they’ll let you know if there are any 4th of July meet ups or organized parties going on near you.
2. US Army Bases
It depends on where you are in the world and the nature of the base but generally if you give the embassy a call you can find out if there’s a 4th of July bash going on at a nearby army base (i.e. Germany, Turkey, Japan). If you do find one don’t forget to bring your US passport.
3. Find Expats
Groups of expatriates (US citizens living abroad) often organize 4th of July parties which are a good way to mix up your travel routine, meet new people, and add unique experiences to your trip. Start with some Google hacking and a search should yield some expat groups around you. Transitions Abroad has a good list of expatriate resources and Twitter is also an excellent resource. Do a search (’Find People’) and type “expat” and see is any of the results are close to you.
Two Other Good Options
- Have your own party or go out and celebrate like the locals do.
- Contact big US companies or charities close by who usually have parties for their employees.
Celebrating the 4th of July abroad is a good way for Americans to make a trip or vacation more memorable, especially if you party like the locals. I’d be interested to hear how you American expats will be celebrating the 4th of July this year and any tips you’d like to add. Much of this advice isn’t limited to the 4th of July or for American holidays for that matter – you can adapt them to your country and national holidays and celebrate wherever you are traveling.
[photos by: foxypar4, joshua_d]
48 Hours In Istanbul
This was first written as a guest post for Hostel Bloggers, who changed the original content. Here is the post as I wrote it and meant for it to be read.
Istanbul is my favorite city in the world for the simple reason that it is endless. The city can be overwhelming for tourists in both variety and complexity. Istanbul is many things to many people and if I had 48 hours in the city, here’s what I’d recommend to get your feet wet, jump in the pool, or become a fish in this city which spans two continents.
Get Your Feet Wet
The three places that any first trip to Istanbul can’t be without.
- Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) – Originally a church constructed around the year 550 A.D., the building was converted into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered the city 900 years later. Aside from the impressive 15 meter main dome, you’ll see paintings from the original churches that are currently being uncovered by researchers. The lines vary, but expect a visit to take from 1-3 hours.
- The Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı) – The oldest covered market in the world is an afternoon of adventure in of itself. Every shop is unique with many hidden treasures (you can find Ottoman relics tucked away in corners being sold for nothing if you look hard enough). Brush up on your bargaining skills though, and don’t be surprised if the shopkeeper offers you a cup of tea. You can get lost in the bazaar (and to get a good deal) st aside around 3-5 hours.
- A Ferry Right Across The Bosphorus – The locals use the multitude of ferries crossing from the European and Asian sides of Istanbul to get to work and visit friends during their daily lives but it’s an essential for any traveler to Istanbul. The ferries offer a great view of the city, including the Süleymaniye Mosque (Sultanahmet) to Topkapı Palace. The entire trip will take about 15 minutes. (Do it a few times to get around, 1 hour.)
Jump In The Pool
- Mikla – Turkish cuisine is a blend of dishes that were absorbed during the Ottomans years, and Mehmet Gürs has taken his Swedish background to the Turkish menu. One of the most varied and adventurous blends you’ll find on a plate in Istanbul, the view from the restaurant overlooking the Asian side of the city is a feast for your eyes. Enjoy an evening at this pricey restaurant and spend about 2-3 hours on a 12-course meal.
Hone Stress To Improve Your Travels
April 17, 2009 by Anil P.
Filed under Advice, Health and Fitness
Focus the stress that traveling can introduce into your life and turn it into a way to make your travels even better. Stress from being stuck at the airport, baggage fees, or not knowing the local language can not only age you quickly but also kill the fun no matter where you are.
Rather that letting these stresses throw you off (like making some rather confusing spelling mistakes) use the natural energy stress provides to improve your travels – which will reduce your stress at the same time.
Walk It Off
Traveling, ironically, involves a lot of sitting on your butt. Stress raises your blood pressure, leading to headaches that can be relieved with a simple walk down an airplane isle, around the block, or a swim in the hotel pool. To motivate yourself to get up, don’t just wander around aimlessly – set yourself a goal. Perhaps a distance (like the other end of an airport), a number of times up and down the train aisle, or the pub around the corner (my personal favorite).
- Walking is one of 3 fun things to do at the airport if you’ve got some extra time.
- Walking can help reduce your travelers constipation.
- Walking is one of the ways to prevent the development of blood clots in your legs that are caused by sitting for prolonged periods.
Focus Your Ideas
Stress gets our minds going, except that it usually fills it up with junk. Using just a tiny amount of will power you can use this mental burst to thunderstorm some ideas on where to go, some places to add to your itinerary, or just be spontaneous and harmonize with your busy schedule.
Smart Bargaining When You Don’t Know The Local Language
Bargaining is an integral part of many societies and cultures and a skill you can hone even if you don’t speak the local language. Much of bargaining is based on subtle physical mannerisms and a proper focus, both of which don’t require you to know more than a few words in any language.
Smart bargaining by being aware of yourself and how you are perceived, can not only get you a better price and forge relationships but also develop your wits as a smart traveler – especially when you’re in unfamiliar ground or don’t know the language.
- Posture Is Everything – The moment you walk in to a shop or catch the eye of a merchant, your body language is screaming a number of things about you. It’s vital to look confident and like someone who knows what they want.
- Stand up straight
- Keep your head up
- Eyes forward (not slightly downward, avoiding eye contact, or wandering to everything around the store)
- Engage The Shopkeeper Directly, but Non-Verbally – Most tourists who are not comfortable with bargaining do everything they can to avoid the store, cart, etc. employees. Watch what the locals do, in most cultures, that is making eye contact upon initial contact. Make sure to learn the local customs and brush up on your international faux pas first. What you are doing is communicating that you are a confident person who is not intimidated – all without immediately giving away that you don’t know the language.
- Bargaining is about making relationships, not just dollars and cents. Remind yourself that you are dealing with a person, not a store. Unlike an employee at a large chain (i.e. Walmart) the employees’ livelihood is directly based on the income of their shops. They want you to buy things for a decent price, but be satisfied with your purchase at the same time.
How To Fight The Airlines Effectively
Airlines, both big and small, commit a number of offenses against travelers – and most of them get away with it. As savvy travelers you can fight the airlines and get compensation when you deserve it by being an effective complainer.
I’m not talking about abusing the system but penalizing the airlines when they mess up. Remember, they do the same to you when you’re late for a flight, make last minute changes, or check in a bag.
The First Step: Speak Up
This is the stage that most disgruntled travelers don’t get past – actually voicing a complaint or grievance with the airline. Whether it’s over the phone when your lost luggage never shows up or in-person at the ticket counter, you simply must make the jump and voice your complaint when you feel the airline isn’t living up to its obligations.
- Prior to speaking up, it’s important to mentally list all of the ways you’ve been wronged or mistreated and what it has cost you (usually time or money).
Now that you’ve gotten past the biggest barrier to getting justice from the airlines you can now begin a multiple-pronged attack to fight for the money you spent on your plane tickets.
Talk To The Right Employee
The first person you need to speak to is the employee that can immediately help you. If you’re at home, this is over the phone to the airline, if you’re sitting at the airport, the person behind the ticket counter, and if you’re in flight on the plane, the flight attendants. So many times upset travelers sitting in long lines or being bumped from their flight complain to everyone but the airline employees or wait until they get home to write a nasty email. The grandmother sitting next to you may have a sympathetic ear, but she’s not going to help you find out what happened to your bags.
Tricks To Keep Your Cat Happy While You Travel
Last week I wrote about 4 things frequent travelers need to consider before getting a cat and the unique challenges having them as pets present. One of the misconceptions many people have about cats is that it doesn’t bother them when they are left alone. Cats have a range of temperaments and personalities but they are all social animals. It’s important not to let them feel like that you are far away while keeping their minds and bodies occupied.
Using the Internet and making your home an interesting place to be will not only keep your cats happy, but allow you to return to an orderly home.
- Create A Pet Fund - One of the advantages of having a cat is that they can (with proper preparation) be left home alone for a few days by themselves. Any more than that and you’ll need a friend, family member, or somebody else to take care of your animals. In these cases you’ll need to set up a pet emergency fund to cover any illnesses which can progress quickly in small mammals like cats.
- Vets are expensive, plan to put away at least $500 for your pet sitter. (A diagnosis and simple office visit alone can set you back $300 and you’ll want some left over for any medications or basic supplies like food. Make this part of your simple travel budget.)
- Give Them A Call – You can’t call yourself on Skype so you’ll need to create another account for your cats. Using the free remote access service LogMeIn, you can call an old laptop or computer you’ve got in the living room and pick up the line so your cats can hear your voice. If you’re lucky they may also come up to the web cam so you can see them too.
- Hide Treats Around The House - A small number of enticing treats hidden around your home will give your cats some entertainment as they try to ‘hunt’ them out. It’s best to use treats scented with catnip to really get them searching and satisfy their natural instincts.
4 Things Frequent Travelers Need To Consider Before Getting A Cat
Many frequent travelers who want to have pets opt for cats over dogs, thinking that these animals are like dogs without the work. While it’s not impossible to have a cat and be a frequent traveler, there are some unique challenges (apart from considering a dog) that present themselves and that you need to consider.
1. They Can’t Come With You
Every time you travel your cats will be at home waiting for you. You won’t be able to take them with you, even on moderately short road trips. Cats are territorial animals and don’t travel well or adapt to new surroundings as easily as dogs. If you’re a frequent traveler considering a cat you need to expect that whenever you’re not home, someone else will have to be, to take care of your animals.
2. The Cats Will Protest When You Leave
Cats themselves don’t like to travel but they also don’t like it when you travel. I’ve known a number of cats, including some of my own, that have thrown up, pooped, and clawed their frustrations out on a house – even when with a pet sitter living with them. You can reduce these anxiety-driven acts but never completely eliminate them.
How To Build A Successful Travel Blog – [Part 2 of 2]
Yesterday, in part 1 of How to Build A Successful Travel Blog, I wrote about the importance of letting your personality shine. Putting your personal stories, experiences, and opinions into each post is important, but you need to do so effectively.
A travel blog can easily turn into an unorganized chaos of rants and random observations and drive away your most loyal readers. Most travel blogs begin as personal jounals to family and friends but I’ve seen travel blog posts so ambigous that even the writer has confessed to not wanting to read them!
It’s important to keep your travel blog posts as exciting as your travels themselves, to encourage and inspire readers who will continue to follow you on your journey.
Get To The Point And Fast
Write Like A Journalist Columnist- Many travel bloggers spend a lot of time and text writing about one specific place they visited while traveling. Although the Akshardham Temple in New Delhi may be the most interesting place you’ve ever been, nobody’s reading your blog for a detail description of it. Travelers like to see things firsthand but are fascinated by firsthand accounts.
- Don’t spend too much time on any one aspect of a given trip, even your personality. Use these 6 ways to keep your travel blog interesting, including the ‘upside down pyramid’ cut out 20% of your post before you publish it. If you’re really feeling the urge to write further, break your longer posts into series.
How To Build A Successful Travel Blog – [Part 1 of 2]
A reader recently asked me what I thought was the most important thing to do in order to build a successful travel blog. While, I’m not – by far – the most successful travel blogger, I’d like to answer this question as best I can from my almost 3 years of experience. There is plenty of how to create a successful blog help on the Internet, mostly focused on monetizing.
Travel bloggers mostly agree that a successful travel blog is defined by readership and inspirational content. Let me start by saying there is no one single way to build a successful travel blog, but multiple facets.
Based on my personal experience, here is the first part of what you need to do to build a successful travel blog.
Allow Yourself to Shine
There are plenty of travel blogs out there and everyone has bland old advice about this and that destination. People don’t read travel blogs for photos, advice, and travel stories – they read travel blogs for YOUR photos, YOUR advice, and YOUR travel stories. If you don’t let yourself shine, you’re just another website with some words about traveling to Argentina.
Create A Unique Blog Persona
1. Use Your Real Name – If you’re not using your real name under your posts, social networking sites, or when you leave comments on other blogs, you are making it very difficult for other people to connect with you. I used to sign every post as ‘foXnoMad’ in the early days of this blog. I had people responding back to me as, Fox, F.Nomad, or Foxnomad – I realized that everyone was calling me something else, so it meant there was some confusion as to who I was. It’s simple, my name is Anil Polat – you should make it as easy as that for your readers too.
- You don’t introduce yourself to people you meet as Mrs. Interior Designer or Mr. Software Engineer do you?
What Long Term Travelers Need To Notice To Keep The Trip Going
There is no magic behind traveling the world and leaving the cubicle – all you have to do is leave everything behind and do it. The hard part is continuing the journey, and as many backpackers find out when the glamor is gone. Most people aren’t born to travel long term, in fact we have an innate compulsion to stay put, maintain a routine, and be in familiar surroundings.
These conditions are difficult to meet if you’re planning an around the world trip, backpacking indefinitely, or simply want to get away for a long time. In order to keep the trip going and you traveling you need a steady supply of determination and be aware of the signs that you’re returning to normalcy.
It’s easy not to notice your transition from a traveler to a resident or expat since the change is both gradual and swift. Below I’ve listed some of the changes you’ll notice if you’re a backpacker who’s no longer a traveler.
Staying In Once Place
By far the most obvious condition, it’s easy to overlook when you’re not ’staying in one place’ at home. An American hiking and traveling all over Southeast Asia stops being a traveler after 6-12 months of living in Bangkok. As the novelty of traveling wears off, the comfort of staying in one place sets in – an urge you’ll need to overcome if you want to move on to the next place (or not return home).
No Longer Having Another Destination
Travelers have plans. Although they might be loose ones, like “I think I’ll go to Madrid and see what happens”. When “see what happens” becomes “I’m looking for a job to stay with this cute girl I met”, then you are well on your way to losing your title as traveler. It’s easy to fall in love with a new locale and if you find happiness in a new city. As traveling and being a traveler get older, there are plenty of new things (which may have been old at home) to keep your attention, and ultimately distract you from continuing your travels.
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My name is Anil, a traveler and travel enthusiast. I created foXnoMad to connect with other travelers, discover their world, and share what I’ve learned about mine.
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