Be Inspired to Live Your Travel Adventures

​The next in our series of video Travel Chats is with another worldwide traveler.  It was a pleasure to chat with Helen Macleod who shares her travel tips and experiences.

Adventurous But Safe Travel...

Helen is a very experienced traveler with over 30 overseas trips. She prefers to travel with a few people or by herself. Her first adventurous trip was when she was about 21, travelling ten weeks from Bali to London. Travelling through countries like Kashmir, Afghanistan and Iran gave her a taste of what you can do. While Helen enjoys adventurous travel she prefers to travel where she feels safe. If there's a place she is unfamiliar with, she prefers to not travel alone until she is comfortable with the destination and a sense of familiarity.

Highlights From A Chat With Helen...

Helen's Key Points of Advice...

• Prefer when traveling solo to book tours at a destination. Often cheaper as well as being able to fit in with local weather conditions.
• While travelling solo, will book a day tour as much for social contact.
• Solo travelling, where you organise your own itinerary day to day, effectively winging it, offers the benefit of flexibility.
• Mealtimes is usually the most difficult. For women probably the biggest issue is eating alone. Your ebook Kindle can be your best friend.
• Prefer not to eat in hotel, but rather to eat out to experience the local culture.
• Be aware of the friendly person who offers to pay for your meal.
• Eating at the bar provides an opportunity to engage in a conversation rather than being stuck at a table on your own.
• Don't wear your Katmandu travel clothes that make you stand out in the crowd. Try to look like they do.
• When in crowds, use a typical hand bag rather than a backpack.
• Minimise jewelry , turn a ring inside out to hide the diamond/stone.
• Wear a handbag with the strap across the chest rather than just over the shoulder.
• Consider a bag with a strap that can't be cut.
• Prefer to use a mobile camera rather than the big SLR camera.
• If using a large camera wear a scarf over the top so the scarf covers the camera, making it hard to cut the camera and take it.
• Be aware when taking photos with an iPad as handbags become vulnerable to be snatched.
• Be aware of vulnerable situations and prevent putting yourself in such situations.
• Suggests even though a fussy eater always tries to make a point to eat local…. including camel's eyeballs and fermented shark!
• Have luggage you can manage such as a backpack style bag on wheels that can easily be lifted up into the luggage racks or  placed underneath feet.
• Prefer not to drive when travelling solo, rather to use public transport.
• For first time solo travelers…..
  • suggest try a small tour by themselves first. Then next time maybe do something by themselves.
  • Important to research where you want to go and what you want to see.
  • booking accommodation close to places where there's food so you don't have to eat at your hotel all the time.
  • Consider "casing" the place out during the day to find somewhere to eat that you can go back to in the evening.
  • Suggest go somewhere that speaks English, making it easier to find your way around, as well as being more familiar with money, food, etc.
• Expect scammers. Stand back and observe potential scams. Google scams relevant to your destination.
• Tourist Police can be the worst police to go to. If you're in China don't go to the police. Just let it go. Just run!
• Regards Visas, do your homework. Quotes for example for China visas can vary from $300 to online for $1,000, But direct from the consulate $130.
• Be savvy and do your homework. Ask people who have done it before. Google the 10 best things to do when you get to your destination.
• Sometimes just explore by taking the bus to the end of the line and come back and see what's on the way. You can get off and have a coffee or a beer – there's always someone who is bound to chat to you because you sound different!
• Prefer two and three star accommodation, as cheap as possible close to where choose to be. Random places like University accommodation, youth hostels are not like it used to be. Share dormitory accommodation in hostels? "Not anymore. I'm over that!"
• Travel with a debit card and at least one credit card and cash so you have a backup plan.

This article is part of the The Youthful Midlife Traveler. Tips and advice how to travel the world as a free independent traveler, where you wish and on your terms. To subscribe Click Here.