The Educated Traveler

Who is the Educated Traveler? The Educated Traveler is someone who has done their home work on their destination. They are someone who cares about the cultures that they travel to, and are not ignorant to the people that live there. 

Before I go to any destination, I make sure that I am doing as much research into the place that I am going to as possible. By doing this, I also find out about unique opportunities to experience the local scene. There are so many things you can find out about a place, depending on where you are going.

If you are going to the Caribbean, you may want to find out if bartering the price is common practice, or are prices set in stone like they are in places like Canada and the United States. You may want to see what transportation is available if you are going to Alaska. To get from city to city its sometimes a train ride, sometimes a boat.

The Educated Traveler will research the currency used where they are going, and what the exchange rate is. This can save you a whole lot of money if you happen to run into someone not so honest. I have never been to Japan, but apparently the Yen works a lot differently than the Canadian dollar. I wouldn’t want to go there with out knowing how much my money is worth there, and how much things generally cost.
Just to throw this out there for a friend of mine – and also because some of the latest trends are so disturbing – you might want to see if there have been any recent zombie attacks in the area you are going to. Apparently there is a trend in some parts of the united states that are leading people to believe there are legit zombie attacks. If you feel this is a concern – I advise against travel – or leaving your house in general. What the CDC (Center for Disease Control) actually has is a plan for a real zombie apocalypse. http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm Yes. They are a real government agency.

You can be an Educated Traveler too. If you are going away, you should be excited and want to know as much as you can about where you are going, so you mind as well research the right things!