After nearly a year of travel, some of our experiences are as we expected, but there has been much that was not as we thought it would be. We brainstormed all of the things that surprised us while traveling and here is our top twelve in no particular order.

1. Not as Scary as You Would Think

 

As we were preparing to leave on our trip we were nervous about the unknown and some of our friends and family were scared for us.  However, we have found that people are nice everywhere and have been anxious to provide us with good service.  Other than blatantly having Mike’s backpack stolen, we have rarely been ripped off (baggage  handlers in Bolivia stole Mike’s multitool).  What we have found is that people just want to live a good life, earn a living and care for their families.

2.  Wifi is everywhere

When we traveled to Southeast Asia thirty-two years ago we were completely cut off from home for three and a half months. There was no English language television or

written media available. Long distance telephone calls (remember long distance charges?) were so expensive that we could not afford to call home. Today there is internet available in every country we have visited. Most of the places we have stayed have had wifi. Some of it was weak and frustrating but most was very useful for email and Internet searches. In many places we have had wifi strong enough to Skype with our family and watch net flicks.  We have downloaded hours of podcasts to listen to on our long bus rides.

3. Other Countries Use US Dollars

After visiting over twenty countries we were surprised when we got all the way over to Cambodia only to find they use US dollars as their official “unofficial” currency. Cambodians still use the Riel for small transactions but most purchases are done with dollars. El Salvador and Ecuador also officially use US dollars.  It is difficult to think in dollars again after months of calculating exchange rates.

4. Can’t Get Away From American Politics

We are often ask what we think about President Obama or whether we think Trump or Clinton will win the next election. People around the world know about American politics. From taxi drivers to waiters to people working in the hostel they want to talk about our politics.

5. Lots of English Spoken

We had hoped that our two weeks at Spanish language school would give us a good start for travels through Latin American countries. Not so much… we learned most of what little we know by practice. Luckily for us lots of people speak at least a little English. In Southeast Asia, English is spoke extensively so communication has not been a problem at all.

6. American Influence

 

American “soft” influence is everywhere (pop culture/commerce) especially in the cities.  In many countries we could find American pop and country music playing in bars and restaurants. Even the remote coastal towns of El Salvador and Thailand had American music for entertainment. At home we rarely go to see movies in the theater (maybe a couple of times a year) but on the road we have discovered that most cities have theaters that run current American movies in English. We are more up-to-date on movies than we have ever been. Want to go to McDonalds, Pizza Hut or KFC? No problem, American fast food is everywhere. In big western style malls we have found all of the major brand stores from Apple to Nike to Timberland.

7. Bottled Water

We brought water bottles with filters and carried them through-out our trip to New Zealand (never used them) and then sent them home with our daughter because bottled water is everywhere. When we traveled internationally over thirty years ago bottled water was not a “thing” and it was hard to find pure water.  We have met a few travelers who use bottles with water to be environmentally conscientious (yes, I feel guilty). I shudder to think how many water bottles we have thrown away this year. We always appreciate hostels and guesthouses that have gallon jugs available to refill our bottles.

8. Traffic Chaos

Traffic rules and laws seem to be a suggestion rather than a requirement in many countries. People often pass on the wrong side, create a third lane down the middle of the road and drive the wrong way on the shoulder.  Traffic is a mess but everyone is cooperative and there is little sign road rage (La Paz Bolivia is a constant cacophony of honking horns). In some cities there are few or no traffic signals and traffic meets in the middle of the intersection to sort itself out.  These pictures are from Jakarta, Indonesia and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (we spent a lot of time stuck in traffic in both cities).  You can see that scooters play a large role in their transportation.

9. Sidewalk Commerce

In Clovis eating and selling on the sidewalk requires a permit, inspection, etc. but in

the countries we have visited lots of business happens on the sidewalk. It might block access or cause walkers to carefully thread their way through but no one cares.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Let’s Play Football

Whenever we heard the word “football”, I immediately picture America’s NFL

football. We were well into Central America before we internalized that football (futbol) always means rugby or soccer. People love their soccer. Everywhere we went we saw evidence of team loyalty and on game day the restaurants and bars were packed with fans. Our favorite team is the Buenos Aires Bocas Juniors because we went to their stadium/gift shop while on a city tour.

11. Just Wait “Five” Minutes

It is very common to be told to wait five minutes or something will take five minutes only to find that it is much longer. Wait five minutes actually means up to 30 minutes. United States promptness is not recognized in the countries we have been in.  Even the locals joke about it as just “Mexican time” or “Thai time”.

12. Tourism is Hugely Important

We have gained an appreciation for the importance of tourism for the people in the countries we have visited. At famous locations like Machu Pichu, Easter Island and Angkor Wat the value of people visiting is obvious by the accommodations, restaurants and tour shops. The people really suffer if the visitors don’t come. Even in places that are not premier tourist destinations local people depend on serving visitors to earn their living. We have been happy to spread our dollars around communities large and small.

Mike has always said that we need to travel before the world becomes too modern… we are too late.  All of the above “surprises” have led to an overall modernizing no matter where we have traveled.