Gettin’ Carried Away

I know the title of this post might seem kind of contradictory. Why the heck would you want to be thinking about home when you’re traveling? Honestly, I’m not looking for the comforts of home when I’m on a trip (unless it really sucks). Things just happen, and I’m reminded of home.

Take the first time I tried sushi, for example. I went out to dinner with some coworkers, and some of us were kind of apprehensive about eating raw fish, seaweed and wasabi. We ordered a bunch of different “rolls,” and I sampled a few of them. I thought most of the sushi tasted kind of bland, and I was too scared to try the spicy wasabi, so I was glad I had ordered pot stickers as my standby. Now fast forward to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After eating traditional Mexican cuisine all day… for four days… I needed something to cleanse my palate. And when I ventured into a Japanese restaurant, I knew right away that I wouldn’t be devouring any of the sushi that my travel mates had ordered.

In this same restaurant, we were seated hibachi-style, which means that we plopped down at tables surrounding a chef and his gas-heated hotplate. As soon as I saw the seating arrangement, I was reminded of a friend’s birthday dinner at a Japanese steakhouse near my home in Chicago suburbia. And boy was that a tasty dinner! Before anyone handed me a menu, I knew right away that I wanted teppen-yaki with chicken and steak. And before the chef even started cooking my meal, my mouth watered as I thought about diving into a plate of juicy meats, hearty veggies and fluffy fried rice.

A friend recently told me that she ate at McDonald’s every day that she was in a foreign city, because she wasn’t familiar with the area. This is something I do not advise people to do if they really need a bit of home when they are abroad. Instead, how about purusing the sandiwch menu at a small cafe in Paris, buying fresh fruit at an outdoor market in Barcelona or ordering spaghetti (like momma made) practically anywhere in Rome? Forget McDonald’s, Subway and Pizza Hut!

Whether you’re unknowingly reminded of home or you’re in desparate need of some comfort food, you will find something significant without going commercial.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a little traveling hiatus since my trip to Pittsburgh in August. FEAR NOT! I will be making my yearly trip to NYC next month. Anyway, when I don’t have the time (or the money) to travel, I’m naturally envious of those who are planning trips. So when a friend of mine says, “I’m dreading my upcoming weekend in Disney,” I’m thinking… are you nuts?

~* Over nine hours to Germany? Let me gear up! *~

What is it about traveling that people don’t like? I find that most people are annoyed with the travel process rather than the trip itself. I’m sure we all wish we could be like Samantha from Bewitched, twitch our noses and be whisked away to a far off place in a matter of seconds. However, we must endure long lines at the airport, frequent stops on a road trip or some 50+ steps up and down subway platforms to get to our vacation destination. But seriously… what’s so bad about that?

Let’s take flying, for example. Usually, even if you factor in the packing, the transportation to the airport, the check-in/security lines and the wait for the departure, you’re going to get to most places a lot faster by plane. If you decide to take a road trip, your vacation should be about the drive and the places you see along the way. Finally, if you arrive in a city and decide to take public transportation to your hotel, keep in mind that you might be saving tons of money on cab fare.

Heck, I’ve been through a lot of crappy times for the sake of a trip. In Italy, we made the mistake of not buying return tickets to Rome when we took a day trip to Florence, so we ended up on a five-hour local train instead of the hour (and some change) express. In London, my 110-minute Tube ride from Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf cost under £5, when a cab ride could have been about £70-80!

~* THRILLED about our five-hour journey back to Rome! *~

I think that a lot of our struggles with traveling have to do with the fact that most of us live in a fast-paced world that is in a constant state of rush hour. We’re all in a hurry, even if we left the house a full hour-and-a-half before we have to be somewhere. And because we’re in a hurry, we then become impatient. We want it, and we want it now!

Instead of complaining about all the time you spend standing in lines or sitting in a waiting area, you could be doing a lot of other things with your time. Those are the key words here… your time. It is your personal time that you choose to spend any way you want. Listen to your favorite album, read a new book, buy a Sudoku puzzle book, catch up on emails, call an old friend, etc. And yes, I know that traveling can be exhausting at times. But I’m going to leave you with this thought… Out of the 300+ billion residents in America, only about four million will visit the UK in a given year (says Forbes Traveler).

Stats vary around the world, but the point is that only a fraction of the country will see a given historic landmark, unfamiliar country town, famous river, well-known piece of art, etc. You could be one of the few people in your town who has walked atop the Great Wall of China, taken a ride up the Mississippi River in Louisiana or strolled about the Irish countryside. When it comes to that, waiting in a security line for an extra 25 minutes really doesn’t bother me.

As a part-time DJ and Karaoke Host in Chicago, I spend a lot of time hanging around the bar/club scene, and I’ve befriended many bartenders and servers over the years. When we’re having a particularly slow night, we’ll sit at the end of the bar together, sip some pops (aka sodas) and gab about “bar life.”

The other night, I started chatting about tips with my bartender friend Heather. In the United States, it is customary to tip a bartender/server/cabbie/etc. for his/her services. Unless the service is particularly poor, people in the U.S. typically leave an extra 10 to 15% with their bill and won’t think twice about it. However, when you’re traveling abroad, the act of leaving a tip might be a bit awkward. At least, it was for me.

Walking into a London pub for the first time, I was mostly excited about the atmosphere. I’m pretty sure I was one of the oldest people in the bar (at 21… at the time), as it was filled with students from the college just up the road. My friends found a seat outside at a wooden picnic table, and I went up to the bar to grab a few pints.

I ordered a Guinness, a Stella (Artois) and a Strongbow (English cider). Since I’ve been told that I look about 12 years old, I wasn’t surprised when the bartender asked to see my ID. Without thinking, I showed her my U.S. driver’s license, not my Goldsmiths student card. It was about nine quid (pounds) for the lot, and I left the bartender a 10 pound note and some coins and started to walk away. She quickly called for me to come back, and I was shocked because I thought I had paid her more than enough for the drinks. She proceeded to give me some change, and I said, “Oh no, that’s for you.” She replied, “Don’t be silly. This isn’t America.” She refused to take my tip, and I was a bit confused.

In some parts of the world, hospitality workers consider their wages to be more than enough compensation. But how do you know when you should leave a little something extra? What’s appropriate? And where in the world is it customary to tip… or not to tip?

So you don’t have to keep scrolling down and down, I’ll start with the UK and save other areas for later posts.

A general rule to remember while vacationing in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales is that if you hire someone for his/her personal service, no tip is necessary. However, if you are served by a staff member of a company, 10 to 15% is sufficient. Again, what the heck does this mean?

• No tip: pubs, take away (fast food) restaurants, hostels, bed and breakfasts, WCs (public restrooms)
• Tip: taxi drivers, coach (private bus) drivers, sit-down restaurants, large hotels
• Borderline (if the service is exceptional): hairdressers

I’ll be covering more areas soon! And you can always email me at carrie [at] gettincarriedaway [dot] com.