The Traveler’s Ten Commandments

Hello Travel Buddies! I know it’s been a couple of weeks since you heard from me. If you follow Drop Me Anywhere on Facebook you’ve been reading my “Unplanned Travel Tip of the Day.” Soon I’ll be providing a daily travel quote to inspire you to go travel so, click on the link and follow.

Also, I wanted to update you on the Kickstarter project for the book, Drop Me Anywhere. I’ve been spending a lot of time getting that together and will be filming the video this week. As writing is more my comfort zone, this is very scary. The project should be up and running on April 1. I’ll, of course, let you know when it’s live. With Kickstarter, it’s all or nothing. If I don’t meet my goal, I get nothing. Feels a bit like a Drop Me Anywhere trip to Las Vegas.

Finally, if you’d like to see the results of the latest Drop Me Anywhere vote, “Take Me to the River” as of today. Go to the bottom of this page as I’ve broken them down there. Remember, you can vote once per day, per electronic device. I’ll be announcing a closing date for this vote soon.

In the meantime, I thought I’d entertain you with my Travelers’ Ten Commandments. As a tour manager and guide for both inbound and outbound tours, I heard many travelers lament, “That’s not how we do it.” “We” being themselves and their immediate neighbors. Sometimes their “we” generalization included their entire country. Please know this is not exclusive to the American tourist. Through my travels I’ve met many an “ugly American” but also an “ugly German” an “ugly Israeli” and an “ugly Brit.”

While leading tours overseas I had Americans ask countless time, “Why don’t they speak English here?” I also had an American refuse to stand in a line because he didn’t want to get in line with “a bunch of foreigners.” Note to those traveling overseas; when you are in another country, you are the foreigner.

Not to be outdone, while leading tours for citizens of other countries I have encountered very similar remarks. While eating an entire bag of potato chips with a candy bar standing by, I had a German passenger comment, “Americans are so fat.” I had a British girl complain that she could see through the space between the door and the supporting structure of a stall in a public restroom. This was immediately after she told me that Americans are so uptight about nudity. And my favorite? The Israeli who, upon seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time commented, “We have better canyons in Israel. And it’s a smaller country so you don’t have to drive as far to get there.”

Please know, I only use the term “ugly” as a well-known cliché. I prefer to think of these folks as uninformed at the best, and closed-minded at worst. So, in an effort to open everyone’s minds to the joys of travel, I give you the Traveler’s Ten Commandments.

Traveler’s Ten Commandments

1} Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast left them at home, for thou hast left thy home to find things different.

2} Thou shalt not take anything too seriously, for a carefree mind is the beginning of a vacation.

3} Thou shalt not let the other tourist get on thy nerves, for thou art paying good money to have a good time.

4} Remember thy passport so that thou knowest where it is at all times, for a man without a passport is a man without a country.

5} Blessed is the person who can say “thank you” in any language, for it shall be worth more to him than any giving of tips.

6} Blessed is the person who can make change in any language, for lo, he shall not be cheated.

7} Thou shalt not worry, he that worrieth hath no pleasure.

8} Thou shalt not judge the people of a country by one person with whom thou hast trouble.

9} When in Rome, thou shalt do somewhat as the Romans do; if in difficulty, thou shalt use thy good common sense and friendliness.

10} Remember thou art a guest in every land, and he that treateth his host with respect shall be treated as an honored guest.

Voting Results for “Take Me to the River” as of March 17. Please click here to vote

Willamette River (Oregon) – 50

Thames – 16

Tiber – 9

Danube – 9

Nile – 5

Mississippi – 5

Zambezi – 2

Hull – 2

Amazon, Hull (England), Murray (Australia) and Hillsborough (Florida) each have 1