Posts by : Izy Berry

I’m writing this post on my flight to Panama City (and posting it a little late…) It feels a little weird to be boarding this flight alone. When I left New Zealand I had completely different plans, although Panama was the end goal. In the past four months, my life has done a complete 360, but I’m learning to roll with the punches.

Over the years I’ve traveled with lots of different people; friends, friends I met on the road, boyfriends, my little sister and, of course, solo. Right now I’m really missing traveling with my fellow travel blogger Stacey from OneTravelsFar as we just ‘got each other’ and it was really easy. Plus, it is really great traveling with a former travel agent.

Despite missing her awesome company (and that of many of my friends) there are things I LOVE about traveling solo. The truth is, when I do travel solo I am rarely by myself, except for during transit. Even then, you are only as alone as you want to be.

Not convinced of the benefits of traveling solo? Check out the reasons that I love to wing it alone
1) You Don’t Have to Compromise
Want to stay in bed until 11am and then have ice cream for breakfast? When you’re traveling solo you don’t have to justify it to anyone. Compromising sucks, especially when you have a limited time in an area. Couple that with someone who doesn’t want to do the same stuff as you BUT doesn’t want to be alone, ugh, nightmare!

2) You Can Be Whoever You Want to Be
While I love all my friends dearly, there’s something extremely refreshing about turning up to a new location with a bunch of people who know nothing about you. While I haven’t made up any elaborate stories about myself (yet) it’s nice being able to choose what you reveal and don’t reveal.

3) You Have More Local Experiences
When you’re traveling in a couple and too busy sucking each other’s face off next to the Effiel tower or too busy arguing with your sister on the sidewalk, there’s not much room to meet local people. You probably scare them off, actually. When I’m alone I tend to interact a lot more with the world around me – including the people. Traveling alone is much better for my photography.

4) You Grow a Lot
There’s something both daunting and exhilarating about turning up to an airport alone, with no one waiting for you. It can be scary in the sense “it’s all on you” to make everything work out: getting to your accommodation, ordering something edible in a foreign language and making the most of your time there. While not everyone will get stabbed like I did, crap happens on the road that can be much harder to deal with than if you were at home, surrounded by loving friends and family. Having the support of a friend with you when something goes pear shape is nice, but there’s a real sense of growth to be found in dealing with it alone.

5) Anything’s Possible
I feel there’s a lot more freedom with traveling solo. Don’t like a place, move on. Don’t like a group of people, move on. It’s a little bit harder to ditch your travel buddies if they’re long time friends or partners… My favourite way to travel is on one way flights solo, spending short segments of my trip traveling with others.

Do you prefer to travel solo, with your partner or with friends? Have you travelled solo? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Just a forewarning: I’m sick with a cold at the moment. There are few things in the world worse than being sick when you’re traveling. Not only is everything more of a challenge, that you likely don’t have the energy for, you have to endure being in a New Place With Limited Time, too sick to enjoy it or explore.

Travel is my favourite hobby/obssession. Even though it’s the best thing in the world, it doesn’t mean there is nothing that sucks about travel. In fact, there are a lot of things that suck about travel. I’m tired of reading travel blogs with shiny photos and glamorous stories: lots of parts of travel are very unglamorous. I’ve had so many moments during the past few years where I wanted to just never travel again, buy a piece of land somewhere out in the middle of no where and never-ever-leave.

With my poor planning skills, innate desire to get a ‘great deal’ and affinity for bad luck, I’ve experienced a lot of things that suck about travel, including:

1) Getting Ripped Off
I tend to look up things on Google Maps before ordering a taxi, so I can estimate the distance and price. Yesterday I did exactly that but was distracted by practicing my very poor Spanish with my driver that I forget to check where we were going. The taxi was to the bus station, only 3km from my hostel, but wound up taking half an hour and costing thrice the price. I’m such a sucker for conversation. It’s not that I can’t afford to be ripped off; I always leave a little wiggle room in my budget for this, but it’s painful when you’ve made the effort to plan ahead and start to have that tingling feeling that you’re being taken for a ride.

All I could muster was “muy carro” with puppy dog eyes. The driver didn’t respond and just looked at me with an expression that said: “that was the point, silly gringo”. 

2) Missing Laundry
You know when you’re doing your own laundry at home and a sock or two disappears? That sucks. When you’re traveling it goes one up on that, everything goes missing. I had some laundry done in Iquitos and saw them counting each piece before they wrote down a number (more on this later). I assumed that they would count everything up before returning it to me, so neglected to check. Fatal error. Two countries later and I’m down around 6 pieces of clothing, including half of my underwear sets.

3) Not Being Able to do Your Own Laundry
I recently had a very traumatic experience in that very same laundry shop. I went to the Amazon for 4 days (incase you hadn’t read already: It Was Awesome) and had managed to basically douse my clothes in sweat, sunscreen and Deet. It was disgusting. It was one of the few times in my life that I was genuinely repulsed by myself. I threw ALL my clothes into a bag and marched to the laundry place and slowly slid the bag across the bench, while my eyes pleaded: “I’m sorry, I’m not usually this disgusting”.

To my horror the laundry lady decided to count each piece of clothing. She poured my filthily, crusty clothes on the ground and then individually counted them and placed them back in the bag. I winced. This was the most horrific thing I had ever endured in my life. I wanted to throw money at her, as an apology for her trauma, and take the first flight out of Iquitos. But, I needed those clothes so I did my best to pretend this was all a bad dream. As she slid the receipt over to me, I saw in her eyes a look that I’ll never forget. I wanted to explain to her that I had just been in the Amazon and really, it was not my fault. But I figured it was better to run out of the store as quickly as I could.

Perhaps she stole some of my clothes as payment for what she endured that day. Or maybe she burned them. Either way, I miss doing my own laundry and sharing my shame only with myself.

4) Feeling Sick and Assuming You’re Dying
I’m a hypochondriac. Sometimes I think I’m an evolved hypochondriac because I’m aware that I freak out over everything and can often soothe myself “Don’t worry, Izy, you’re just freaking out, you’re probably fine”. This works wonders when I’m in New Zealand and not surrounded by things that are trying to kill me.

While in the Amazon I went on a night walk without a torch (first mistake). During the walk I fell over and grabbed a tree branch to support myself that I couldn’t see (second mistake). Instantly I was at a 8 on the pain scale, but I wanted to play it cool so tried to deal with it by myself in the dark (third mistake). I could feel some prickles in my hand, so promptly removed all three of them. After some time had passed and I was certain I could hold back the tears, my hand still felt like it was on fire so I asked to borrow someone’s torch to assess the damage. It looked fine. The next day I woke up and my hand was infected and it hurt to move it. I couldn’t really clasp things; it was basically useless. For around half an hour I contemplated what would happen if my hand was amputated.

What would happen to my typing speed? Would it halve, or would it be even less than half? Would my left hand learn to compensate for his missing brother? So many questions, so few answers.

Once we returned to civilisation I took some medication and it cleared up in a day or two. But the thing about traveling to weird destinations is that I’m always getting weird illnesses. Then when you’re already feeling lowly you have to go and try to negotiate some drugs from a pharmacist in a wild mix of Spanglish and sign language – while then promptly getting ripped off. Double whammy.

5) People in Dorms Who are Assholes
I like staying in dorms because I like to meet people and steal their travel plans. I have done enough travel planning now that I quite enjoy meeting someone, charming them with fabulous New Zealand accent and then accepting their invitation to join their adventures.

I don’t like staying in dorms because I actually like to sleep.

It’s hard, because in my experience I am best at making friends with people staying in my hostel who are actually in the same room as me. Perhaps it’s because I can catch them off guard, like when they’re trying to pack up their dirty laundry or are just waking up from their slumber. People in the common areas have had coffee and are not so susceptible to my trip stealing. I think, because they’re in the same room as me, they realise they can never escape.

I’ve had numerous opportunities to meet Assholes in Dorms. There’s probably a 1:3 ratio of assholes to cool people in dorms, which is actually pretty good. For every asshole, you’re likely to meet 3 good people. Just enough to keep me from hating dorms, but not enough to make it a pain-free experience.

Recent Assholes in Dorms:

2 girls in Panama who decided that it would be a wonderful idea to turn the bedroom light on at 4am and proceed to talk loudly, in German. I’m sure German sounds fabulous when you’re well slept and it’s an appropriate hour, but at 4am I wanted to stab their eyes out. They weren’t even getting ready for bed, they just wanted to come into the room and chat. They left the room for half an hour, but left the light on. I got up and turned it off. They came back in and I felt like I had been sucked into a time machine and spat out thirty minutes prior, having to endure their shit all over again. Too tired for conversation or any communication beyond an evil glare, I got up and turned the light off and sighed. I can already see my future as a jaded 80 year old hating on the youth for being so spritely and energetic at all hours.

American guy who proceeded to Skype call his best friend about potentially being set up with his sister, while in a shared dorm in Yangon, Myanmar after midnight. Hey buddy, guess what? You’re not at home, you’re not going to be set up with her any time soon so how about you do us all the courtesy of shutting up?

Often the trend of meeting assholes in dorms will be broken up by meeting someone who’s creepy. Creepy people exist everywhere, but it’s annoying when they know where you sleep and have 24/7 access to your room. During my time in San Jose, between sleeping excessive amounts and feeling sorry for myself, a man decided to take a shining to me. Usually I would appreciate this, but he had the same amount of character you’d find in a wrung-out sponge and he was also at least a decade older than my father.

He invited me out to dinner and I was so caught off guard, and too sick to lie strategically, that I went along. Even indulging in one of my favourite hobbies – eating – was not enough to make his company enjoyable. When we returned to the hostel I decided to read a book and placed my handbag next to me on the couch as a clear “Don’t Fucking Sit Here” sign. He, without asking, moved it to the side and proceeded to talk to me. I did my best to barely engage in conversation and maintained holding my book. It didn’t deter him. At one point he went to the bathroom and upon returning decided to grab my toes. I don’t like strange people ignoring obvious social cues, such as ‘leave me alone, now’ and I especially don’t like people touching my feet.

It was just weird. I promptly excused myself to bed and pretended none of it had ever happened.

6) Exceptionally Long Transit
During my early years backpacking, I had so much enthusiasm. A 36 hour bus ride through a third world country with no toilet on the bus and aggressive food poisoning? That sounds like such an *adventure*, sign me up.

Those days are long gone and now even a 5 hour bus ride evokes a childish “Do I have to?” inside my head.

Thankfully on my most recent trip – from Panama City to San Jose by bus – I was so sick that I literally fell into a coma for the entire trip. It was broken briefly to do a border crossing, but I slept the entire 16 hour trip, without any medication.

Exceptionally long travel sucks. Even if you take a few changes of clothes and some wet wipes, you are still sitting in the same position for much too long. You have to strategically plan your bathroom breaks, how much liquid you’ll consume and ration out your electronics battery life. It’s hard work.

 7) It’s Addictive
Have you ever ran a race where for every kilometer you run, they move the finish line three kilometers further away? Nope. It probably doesn’t exist, because that would be a very cruel, soul-destroying race. That’s kind of how travel is for me. Not that I’m racing to go anywhere, but the more places I visit, the more I add to my list. It’s like a never-ending to-do list that grows faster than I can tick things off.

So there we go, travel sucks. You shouldn’t do it.

One of the things I like about traveling is being super spontaneous. When you’re tired down to a 9-5, it’s almost impossible to change everything on a whim just because you feel like it. At this point in my life, I have no one that depends on me. No one is expecting me to turn up on Monday morning; I don’t have any bills to pay or any real responsibilities. That means that I have an abundance of flexibility and I want to make the most of it.

The other day I was supposed to board a flight to Guatemala city, but instead I hung out in Panama City for another day before heading to Iquitos, Peru. If you’ve spent any length of time with me, you would know that I have always wanted to visit South America – but I hadn’t made it here, until now.

Life kept getting in the way and the timing wasn’t right and so South America was never a reality. I also had considered coming to Buenos Aires after my time in New York, but it didn’t feel like the right time. I kept mentally saving South America until I had enough time to ‘do it properly’.

I’ve written before about how the problem is you think you have time – all you have is now… so with that in mind, when a new friend I met in Panama suggested that I join his trip to Peru and the Amazon, I couldn’t think of one good reason why not, so I booked flights and gatecrashed his week long trip to Peru.

The Amazon is somewhere I always expected to visit at some point, but I wasn’t sure when. I’d seen a number of documentaries about all the flora and fauna here, which I found absolutely mesmerizing. It was very surprising to be visiting years before I had mentally planned to.

During my time in the Amazon I saw a lot of amazing things: from the pink dolphins, that look more like whales, through to a sloth chilling out in a tree. I caught – and ate – some piranhas, got hit in the leg (while sitting in the boat) by a barracuda and was completely violated by about 3000 mosquitos. I saw squirrel monkeys, giant pink tarantulas, bright green bullfrogs and an array of gorgeous birds. Each night I fell asleep to the sounds of the Amazon and every morning I was greeted by the cleanest air I’ve ever experienced.

Oh and the best thing? No wifi! That meant a lot of time spent chilling in my hammock reading and dozing to the sound of bird song.

On our last night we took the canoe out and slowly paddled down the river; we saw more monkeys playing in trees, countless fireflies dancing in the sky and so many glittering stars. It was perfect.

To be honest, my time in the Amazon wasn’t entirely comfortable. While we stayed at a very nice lodge, I was ill prepared clothing-wise. I found myself to be drenched in at least one of the following Deet, sweat, or swampy water at all times, most usually a combination of all three.

At the beginning of the night walk, I slipped and grabbed onto a tree and wound up with three spikes in my hand, which are now infected. Despite showering three times a day I constantly felt dirty and longed for a hot shower. I was completely out of my element, but I loved every second of it.

There were so many times on my trip to the Amazon where I felt overwhelmed; by the beauty, by wildlife, by the clean air and by all of the wonderful sounds.

I now know how it feels to look up at the sky in the Amazon, the sounds that the pink Amazon dolphins make and the way pigmy monkeys suck sap from the trees. I saw so much beauty during my four-day trip that I need a few days to process it.

I was pretty sad to be leaving, but I know I’ll be back. It’s definitely one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been and I want to see the Amazon when it’s flooded due to rainy season.

I met an older couple during my stay at the lodge that asked if I’d been to the Amazon before and then proceeded to tell me that it would ‘change me’.

While I think every trip changes you a little, I know my trip to the Amazon will mark a special time in my life. This is the time in my life where I’m being spontaneous, where I’m listening to how I feel and what I really want from life, and I’m moving towards it. I don’t know where I’m going or where I’ll end up, but I know it’ll be the greatest adventure and that’s enough for now.

I’m trying really hard not to have favourite places anymore because I want to focus more on the present moment than the past, but if I was picking favourites the Amazon would feature very, very highly.

Recently I was in Myanmar, and I liked it.

Stacey (from OneTravelsFar.com) and I arrived in Yangon and instantly I was smitten. I couldn’t put my finger exactly on why. It wasn’t an outstanding city, but it reminded me of places I’d been before and it felt different at the same time. While there were obvious signs that Western culture was seeping in, it felt like we had almost gone back in time a little bit. I imagined Myanmar in 2014 is how Cambodia might have been a decade ago. The people were so lovely and genuinely excited to see us, but we didn’t feel hassled or pressured.

Our trip to and through Myanmar wasn’t easy and when I return I’ll do it differently. Here are my practical tips for visiting Myanmar.

1) Do Not Get the Visa in Person
Do you have a fetish for standing in queues for 3 hours in the sweltering heat, only to return 90 minutes later to spend a few more hours in the queue again? I didn’t think so. That’s exactly how we spent one fateful day in Bangkok.

2.5 hours in my travel buddy Stacey started to wonder if we really wanted to go to Myanmar. I predict if we hadn’t already booked our flights, we would have followed the footsteps of the two travellers ahead of us who said “Fuck Myanmar” and walked out of that crusty Embassy.

But we didn’t and I’m really glad we went… To Myanmar, that is, not to that awful Embassy.

Apply for the Visa On Arrival. It’s a relatively new thing – which at the time of writing – is only available at Yangon airport. You need to apply at least 5 days before your travel, so maybe do it a few weeks in advance just to ensure everything’s sorted. Do not wait in the lines, they are soul destroying.

2. Take Crisp USD Bills
At this point in time there are ATMs scattered across the main tourist parts; I saw them in Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, which were the three places we visited. However, many of the ATMs have small limits and because the Internet/phone connection is patchy, often they will not work for a few days. Don’t expect to be able to pay with big purchases with your credit card, as the same phone line issues affect this service too. It’s quite easy to change USD in the local currency in the main centers and you tend to get a pretty good rate.

3. Do the Balloon Ride
Yes, $320 is an outrageous amount of money to pay for 40 minutes. That’s basically $10 a minute and for that price I would expect a massage by someone who’s hands have been dipped in 24 carat gold. It is painfully expensive, but it’s one of those things that I think you just need to man up and pay for. It was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. Easily top 5 material and the sunrise on that particular day was crappy – that’s saying a lot.

4. Prepare to Pay a Lot for Average to Poor Accommodation
As tourism is relatively new to Myanmar, there’s not a lot in the way of accommodation options. The options that do exist are expensive and do not provide much in the way of value. If you’re a budget traveler, you might cringe at the prices you’re paying for rooms you’d get for ¼ of the price in Thailand or Cambodia. That’s the price you pay to experience Myanmar before it turns into a circus like Angkor Wat.

My suggestion is to find out where other travellers are staying along your trip and book into their suggestions. You should consider booking the accommodation a day in advance as because tourism is increasing so rapidly, prices can go right up and the accommodation can wind up being saturated with no affordable spaces left. You can also usually negotiate a better price this way and your current guesthouse/hostel/hotel should be fine with you using the phone for this!

On average my friend and I were paying about $15-20 per night, each, for shared accommodation. This was budget, but comfortable places. You can definitely do cheaper and you can definitely do more expensive, but I imagine this is a good guide line for people traveling there. In comparison, the rooms we were staying in we would expect to pay more around the $5-10 mark per person in places like Thailand or Cambodia.

5. Internet Sucks, Don’t Even Bother
Have you wanted to throw your iPhone at a wall because it takes 15 minutes to load a basic email? I have. That’s how I felt the whole time in Myanmar while trying to use the Internet. I think things will continue to improve, but do be warned the Internet sucks there. I found that the Internet speed dramatically improved after 9pm because I guess there was less congestion.

6. However Long You’re Planning Probably Isn’t Enough
We spent 12 days. Not enough. We met people who had spent 3 weeks. Not enough. I met people who have spent a month there and I would guess that’s about the right length of time. Yes, it does kind of feel like Myanmar is assaulting your bank balance compared to other South East Asian countries, but I feel that it was very much worth the price. The next time I return to Myanmar – and I will definitely be returning to see how much it’s changed – I will be planning at least a few weeks. There’s gorgeous beaches in Myanmar, apparently, with my name written all over them in the sand.

7. It’s Mostly About The People & Being There
Aside from the temples in Bangon, some golden temples and a teak bridge, in my opinion there’s not a whole lot to see in Myanmar, at least things you couldn’t see elsewhere in Asia. The reason I fell in LOVE with Myanmar was because of the people.

We had a partially deaf taxi driver open up to us about his desire for a less corrupt government. We had a young girl come sit with us outside a temple and practice her English and share her life stories with us. We had a young man in Mandalay invite us to meet his whole family and then took us out to drink tea and watch football. We were constantly embraced by the local people and shown such warm.

It’s a wonderful place to be and to see.