Dream Trip To Yukon and Alaska By Road, To Anywhere Else By Any Means At All

Lessons I learned
from earlier trips...

(for lessons learned on the Alaska trip,
choose "Alaska and Back" on the menu,
or click here)

Things I learned to do right…

• Bring smaller carry-on bags.
• Arrive three hours early for any over-the-ocean flight, and to have a good book with me just in case everything moves quickly at check-in.
• Read that book during the flight and leave my laptop and cellphone turned off.
• Smile when I get in the cab, no matter where, and tip generously.
• Leave as many of my biases at home as I can (What’s a bias? Oh, those darn Euphorians. They just hate Americans!)
• When someone suggests: “Try this!” at a restaurant, I do.
• Drive many places rather than just taking the plane or train.
• If a restaurant or hotel in a small town looks neat, stop to check it out. Same for many sidestreets in big cities.
• Check what the rush hours are before planning any road trip, leaving earlier or later than planned to avoid them.
• Sit at cafes for hours on end, just watching the people go by.
• Be patient while a fresh meal is actually prepared from fresh ingredients.
• Always carry a pocket English-whatever dictionary.

Things I could have done better…

• Packing much less clothing than I did.
• Planning more free time to explore.
• Forgetting to check local holidays when making advance low-fare flight reservations.
• Not reading enough about major sites to see before I started the trip.
• Not asking my credit card issuer: “What else could go wrong when I’m using my card in wherever?”
• Not asking the hotel about personal safety before going for a walk in the evening.
• In Cap Antibes, France (one of the poshest places on the Mediterranean coast), driving through city streets at night with the driver’s window open after folks there told me not to (at the red light, kids on motorbikes come up beside you, reach in, and grab all they can).
• Not checking the change given me when I bought a newspaper with a large denomination banknote.
• Not asking for directions (even if I didn’t speak the local language).
• Ignoring the “No Parking” sign.
• Not bringing enough prescription medicine.
• Not bargaining enough.