HeatherWhen out for a wander in Mazatlan, I was considering making a pit stop and saw the sign Bano Publico (public toilet). Despite the rather pressing need, I made the decision that I could wait..until I saw the small words below the sign: $5 pesos.
This would be a safe toilet to use!
I was not wrong. The facilities were clean, came with toilet paper and the sink even had soap.
It is a truth of travelling that a toilet you have to pay for is a better experience than one that is a stand-alone public toilet.
This sparked the idea for a post about the truths of travel - those things that are true no matter where you are from or where you are travelling. After some brainstorming over a beer we came up with this list of 5 Travelling Truths.
Time is a social construct and will be interpreted differently in different places
Time Flickr photo by Leticia Chamorro shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) License
There are bus schedules in some countries (India, Mexico, Thailand) that are merely a suggestion or a best guess. Whereas in other countries (Germany, Switzerland) you can set your watch by the schedules!
When a train is delayed in India, a lovely female voice comes over the loudspeaker:
“The inconvenience caused is deeply regretted”
On more than one occasion I found myself yelling in reply: “It is not! You don’t care about us..because if you cared you would make the train magically appear!”
Matt always responded with a loud laugh and a pointed finger in my direction. He reminded me that this is a truth of travel, and the best thing to do is to have patience and roll with the punches.
Watch where you are walking
While gawking at this vintage car in France, you might just find yourself tripping on one of the deadly cobblestones!
Unfortunately, there isn’t an international standard for how high a curb should be, or how high a root should grow out of a sidewalk.
I almost broke my shin once while walking in Peru when the sidewalk I wasn’t watching seemed to disappear under my feet. I found myself standing in a gaping hole in the middle of the sidewalk.
Even in the more developed world, this is an important travelling truth as you will find cobblestones, and the worst offender of all: dog poop!
The trouble with this truth is that it is easy to get distracted in a new place - gawking at architecture, people watching, or lugging your backpack.
We have been fortunate to not break any limbs because of this truth, but we do have close calls quite often!
The more you pay the less you get
This nice hotel room in Uganda came with the flowers on the bed. BUT we *got to pay extra for the wifi!
In every hostel I have ever stayed in wifi is always available for free (well at least since wifi was ubiquitous...before that they had computers connected to the internet to use for free).
Many offer free breakfast and some even advertise hot water!
Any nice hotel I have ever stayed at always has a special add on price for the extras that are given away at the budget options.
I remember being in Jordan visiting some friends we had met on a tour. They were staying at the fanciest hotel in Aqaba and were complaining that while they did have room service they had to pay for a wifi signal. We invited them back to our hostel to check their emails!
Go when the locals go
In Amsterdam you have to wait for the bikes to go by before crossing the road too
Traffic works differently depending on where you are in the world. There is the added complication of knowing which direction the cars are coming from - do you look right or left?
I remember being in Turkey with a friend and grabbing her from the clutches of a sure death as she began to step onto the street right when the pedestrian crossing signal came on! Had she waited for the locals to cross first she wouldn’t have given me a heart attack!
My favourite part of this truth is that you can cross a busy multi-lane highway in Cairo as a pedestrian - as long as you follow the lead of the locals!
How to find Clean Bathrooms, Washrooms, and Water closets
Public Toilet in the Ukraine. No price and no nice person handing out toilet paper - steer clear!
Back to where we began.
It is a truth that inside a multinational fast food restaurant you will find a clean place to do your business. Your next best bet is a fancy hotel.
If you can’t find one of these look for a privy that has a price and a person on staff that collects your money and hands out the paperwork. I will spare you the gory details on how I have learned this truth, but trust me (the one with the sensitive stomach) on this one!
There you have it.. Travelling truths that are, in my opinion, simply universal! Let us know about the "truths" you have learned from travelling the globe.
