Alternative Travel

CouchSurfers already travel differently. In fact a strong desire to break out of the 6-days-7-nights -guided-tours-Holiday-Inn-and-McDonalds standard travel model is what motivates many of us to CouchSurf in the first place. This article is those who want to venture a little further away from the guidebook and those who wish to share ideas about Alternative Travel. Feel free to add your ideas, photos, testimonials, etc. How do you use CouchSurfing to travel differently?

Why

The practiced traveling mindset is difficult to escape for reasons of personal psychology and culture, especially in the US. This routine inhibits personal growth, and learning, explaining the great need for picture taking among tourists. Many tourists would otherwise quickly forget where they have been. For those of us who want more than just pictures, we must systematically break out of the standard traveling model.

The Basics

Here general techniques are discussed which foster a different traveling experience.

• Alternative Transportation such as Hitchhiking, walking, sailing or traveling by bicycle can make the voyage itself more intense, enjoyable, eco-friendly, flexible. You can also travel by hopping trains by freighter or hitchhiking by boat. You'll meet more people, have more to talk about when you get where you are going and you might get to see more along the way.

• Go Local by meeting and talking to people from the area you are visiting, patronizing local businesses, trying local cuisine and exploring local customs and culture.

• Learn the Language if you don't speak it already. This may seem obvious but it makes a world of difference. Language is one of the greatest barriers between people today. Let us overcome it.
• Travel light by taking shoes and clothing appropriate for a variety of situations. Not having much luggage will give you freedom to go out and change plans as you please and lets you pay more attention to people instead of stuff.

Advanced Techniques

Here we discuss further ways of travel that can enhance your experience in often unexpected ways. A few specific excercises are included as well

• Ditch the Map Instead rely on the kindness of strangers to get you where you are going. Three things happen when you lose your map.

1. You tend to care less about where you are going and are open to new, different and spontaneous experiences
2. You create more opportunities to speak to people along the way as you ask them for directions
3. You experience the geography on a real human scale without relying on a misleading birds-eye perspective and are free to judge the environment on your own terms

For those who still seek a small level of self guidance, use a compass. For instance, if you are coming in by train and need to get to a hosts appartment within walking distance you could:

1. Borrow a map to find the train station and the host adress.
2. Draw a line between the two locations
3. Decide which compass direction you will have to travel to get there
4. Guided by compass you make your way to the host adress traveling through areas you would otherwise not have seen trying to overcome frequent obstacles such as walls, large properties, or roads.

• Ditch the camera
• Ditch the luggage this means traveling light, really light. Only take with you what you can carry in your pockets, such as a toothbrush, underwear, passport if neccessary and a wallet. It makes packing easier, you won't look like a tourist, and your mind will be on your experience not your stuff.
• Travel alone You'd be surprised at how great difference this makes. If you want company you'll just have to meet someone and if something happens you'll have to rely on yourself. Your perspective will also change with the greater level of freedom. Quickly you'll have to confront a number of big questions like why exactly you are traveling.
• Get a Job stay a little longer and get to work. This is a great way to get to know the people and the area. If you are traveling to another country you will likely need a work visa. This is not difficult to arrange between EU countries or when traveling between US and/or Brittish commonwealth countries. Most of the time you can get around the visa issue by working either under the table or for free. Volunteer work can be very exciting. see NeedSurfing

Resources

This page was inspired by personal experience, lengthy discussions, and Lonely Planet's Experimental Travel Book. The companion website has some decent ideas but many of them seem like silly and arbitrary games for people wishing to distinguish themselves from regular tourists. It seems rather faddish. Ask yourself what a given excercise might accomplish and whether it is worthwhile for you. --Metal.lunchbox 11:51, 30 November 2006 (EST)