In this report, I will share the biggest problems slow travelers face.
I received a list of questions from one of my lifetime members of Vagabond Buddha and they are questions you should all hear the answers to. I am not telling you that I have the best way to solve each of these problems, but I have faced these problems personally and this is how I solved them.
But we have hundreds of experienced slow travelers that follow this channel and share how they handle slow travel problems. So make sure to read the comments under this video to get more ideas to choose from.
But I am not guaranteeing that any method used by me or others in the past will work for you in the future. Past experience does not guarantee future results. So the risk is on you if you decide to use any of these ideas presented on this channel.
Here are the ideas we talk about in this report: How to stop Banks from shutting down your accounts when you slow travel for months or years overseas? How to get your American phone number to ring on your smartphone without paying international rates? How to use WhatsApp to communicate with locals? How to get a local-style apartment cheaper than Airbnb?
I will answer all of these in a moment, but here are a few more basic questions I just received from someone that has not traveled at all. I will answer these first:
What camera equipment do we use? We are presently using a Go Pro Hero 8 Black for video and an iPhone 12 for photos. Our drone shots are a DJ Maveric Mini. For audio, I have the Rode Wireless Go II.
I don’t know how to change a SIM chip in my phone? They have local SIM chips at almost every international airport or land border crossing in the world. Just Google the service providers before you cross into a country so you will know the company names to look for when you arrive. The salesperson will change the chip in your phone for you. Just point at the plan you like and hand them your phone. The plans are always in English and the local language.
How do I order a beer, ask for the bathroom, or ask what something costs when I first arrive in a county where I don’t know any of the local languages? Use a translation table. Make a table of simple phrases with English on the left side of the table and the local language on the right. After you populate the table with the English phrases you want, use Google Translate and paste the local language phrase next to the English phrase. Print the table and carry it with you. Then, point at the phrase you want them to read when you need something.
I often find English-speaking people as I wander around the world. But this helps if you get in more rural areas.
The other choice is to use live Google Translate. That is where you speak in English and Google speaks the translated words live in the local language. Practice this before you try to use it.
Some people will say in the notes below this video that you need to learn the local language before you go to a country. I call BS on that. I have been to 67 countries and had a really great time. Those countries had hundreds of languages.
If I had to learn the local language to visit countries, I would have to know 200 languages. I say go and learn what you need out on the slow travel highway and use your wits and creativity to learn as you go. That is a more realistic plan in my opinion.
How do I order street food if there is no menu and I don’t speak the local language? Only eat street food that the locals are lining up to eat. That means it is good and priced right. Watch until a local is handed food you like. Then point at the food the cook just handed to the local. Then point at the phrase in your translation table that says, “how much is that food?” Then hand them a calculator to show how much or have them write it on a piece of paper. Or just watch how much money the local handed the cook. Give them the thumbs up when you agree on the price. Or point at the phrase in the translation table that says, “Yes, I would like that,” in the local language.
How do I find a bathroom? Walk into a restaurant, grocery store, or other establishment and point at the phrase in the translation table, “Is there a toilet nearby?” They will point in the direction if they have one or down the street if they don’t. Walk that way and ask another person. Or just look for the international sign for the bathroom, a lady with a dress, or a man with pants.
What mosquito repellant do you use? I have a whole video on how not to get dengue or malaria. By the way, everything I am sharing with you is on a link below this video. That link takes you to a web page on VagabondBuddha.com, our web page. That webpage has all of these resources in the same order I am talking about here in the same order. So there is more detail on that webpage about all of these ideas. Top 11 Tips to Stop Dengue and Malaria
Do you use credit cards or cash to pay for big expenses in foreign countries like rent and electricity? I use cash for everything except any online bookings like flights and Airbnb. On the ground in a foreign country, I use cash. When you are slow traveling the world, if your credit card gets hacked, it is a bigger problem to get it replaced. So the fewer people that have access to your credit card information the better. So I get local cash out via an ATM and use that to pay cash. But I have a full report on how I handle international banking issues, so make sure to review that, link provided: Top Banking Mistakes I Learned Living Internationally.
How to stop Banks from shutting down your accounts when you slow travel for months or years overseas? I give my thoughts on this in the video at the top of this page. But I give more details on how to do this in this report: Top Banking Mistakes I Learned Living Internationally.
How to get your American phone number to ring on your smartphone without paying international rates? I give my thoughts on this in the video at the top of this page. But I give more details on how to do this in this free eBook: How I Fired My Boss and Traveled For 14+ Years.
How to use WhatsApp to communicate with locals? I give my thoughts on this in the video at the top of this page. But I give more details on how to set up communications including receiving calls from home for free in this free eBook: How I Fired My Boss and Traveled For 14+ Years.
How to get local-style apartments cheaper than Airbnb? I give my thoughts on this in the video at the top of this page. But I give more details on how to do this in this report: How I find perfect local style apartments traveling the world.
How to Not Fail at Retiring Early Internationally? Finally, here is a link to my report about things you can do to help reduce the chance of you failing at retiring early internationally: How to Not Fail at Retiring Early Internationally.
Other Related Resources
The Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Cheap Overseas
My Research on Healthcare in the Philippines
Why You Should Wait Before Getting Your Retirement Visa
How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 14 Years
Retire Cheap Reports Worldwide
What I Pack to Travel the World for 14 Years
Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make
Best Online Business for Retirees (Traveling the world, or not).
Thank you for stopping by and checking out the biggest problems slow travelers face.
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the YouTube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?