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The Creative Traveler: New Ways to Enjoy Your Travel Wherever You Go
The Creative Traveler: New Ways to Enjoy Your Travel Wherever You Go
The Creative Traveler: New Ways to Enjoy Your Travel Wherever You Go
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The Creative Traveler: New Ways to Enjoy Your Travel Wherever You Go

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THE CREATIVE TRAVELER helps any traveler, whether alone or part of a group, enjoy the trip more. Wherever you are going and whether you are on a short trip or extended vacation, you can use these techniques to enhance your travel experience. Techniques include creative visualization, mental imagery, and other methods to provide a richer more enjoyable experience whatever your itinerary - from visiting a museum or historic site to shopping in local marketplaces, sampling local cuisine, or hiking in the wilderness. THE CREATIVE TRAVELER is especially helpful if you want to truly experience another culture. Also, use these techniques to help you meet and get to know local inhabits and to more creatively use your waiting time for planes, trains, and other transportation. Use your camera or video recorder more creatively, too.
LanguageEnglish
PublisheriUniverse
Release dateNov 15, 2006
ISBN9781462047994
The Creative Traveler: New Ways to Enjoy Your Travel Wherever You Go
Author

Gini Graham Scott

Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., CEO of Changemakers Publishing and Writing, is an internationally known writer, speaker, and workshop leader. She has published over 50 books with major publishers on various topics and has written over 3 dozen children's books. Her published children's books include Katy's Bow, Scratches, The Crazy Critters First Visit, and Where's the Avocado? published by Black Rose Writing. She has published 8 children's books through her company Changemakers Kids and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She does workshops on self-publishing and creativity. She also helps clients write books as a ghostwriter and self-publish or find publishers and agents. Her websites are www.changemakerspublishgandwriting.com and www.ginigrahamscott.com.

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    The Creative Traveler - Gini Graham Scott

    Copyright © 1989, 2000, 2006 by Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D.

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by anymeans, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

    ASJA Press an imprint of iUniverse, Inc.

    iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

    iUniverse 2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100 Lincoln, NE 68512 www.iuniverse.com 1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

    Originally published by Tudor Publishers

    ISBN-13: 978-0-595-41311-9

    ISBN-10: 0-595-41311-0

    ISBN: 978-1-4620-4799-4 (eBook)

    Contents

    PART I

    INTRODUCTION

    CHAPTER 1

    CHAPTER 2

    CHAPTER 3

    CHAPTER 4

    CHAPTER 5

    CHAPTER 6

    CHAPTER 7

    PART II

    CHAPTER 8

    CHAPTER 9

    CHAPTER 10

    CHAPTER 11

    PART III

    CHAPTER 12

    CHAPTER 13

    CHAPTER 14

    PART IV

    CHAPTER 15

    CHAPTER 16

    PART V

    CHAPTER 17

    CONCLUSION

    About the Author

    PART I 

    SEEING AND EXPERIENCING THINGS

    INTRODUCTION 

    Millions of people travel on vacation around the U.S. or to other countries each year, some individually and others in groups. However, people often don’t enjoy their experience as they could.

    For example, if you go on a typical tour of a city, archaeological site, museum, or art gallery, a local guide will quickly usher you through, and suggest what you should see. Yet, you can observe, experience, and enjoy your visit even more than you usually would if you use some creativity and awareness techniques.

    By the same token, you may spend a great deal of time waiting in airports, driving from one place to another, or simply waiting for things to happen while you are alone in your hotel room. But, you can make these times more stimulating and interesting by turning your waiting time into a creative, pleasurable experience.

    You can further enhance your travel if you are more open to what happens, find ways to meet more people, and develop more rapport and closeness with the people you meet. You can make shopping and trying new foods an even more interesting experience. You can even learn how to deal with everyday hassles and difficulties, such as not getting the right tickets or losing your tour group, in a more productive way. In fact, if you approach these problems in the right spirit, some of these hassles can turn into exhilarating travel experiences.

    I successfully used these kinds of creative transformation on an interesting, but fairly routine packaged trip to the Soviet Union. For the first few days, I followed the regular program, which was full of the usual travel experiences I have just mentioned: city tours, visits to archeologi-cal sites, and the like.

    The program was interesting, the people on the trip were friendly and compatible, and yet I felt like I was getting only a quick, superficial look at the country. I also felt restless because of inevitably long waits we experienced in making connections, getting keys to our hotel rooms, and otherwise encountering the logistics of modern travel. I felt somewhat isolated from the people in the country we were visiting, encased in a safe tourist cocoon. I was enjoying the trip and the people; I felt the tourescort and educational leader were doing a bang-up job; and yet I felt there could be more to make this trip an enriching, vital experience.

    On my fifth day into the trip I began asking myself What can I do to make this even better? How can I enhance this travel experience? As I walked along a busy downtown street in Soviet Georgia, going from one souvenir shop in Tiblisi to another, the answer came to me. I had been conducting workshops on a variety of creativity and awareness techniques, such as creative visualization, brainstorming, and using mental imagery. Why not apply these same techniques to improving travel?

    Accordingly, I began to experiment with using these techniques as we traveled from one place to another; as we visited different sites; as we went to performances; as I took photographs; as we waited for transportation to arrive; as I encountered people in the streets. In fact, the whole trip became an experiment in applying these techniques, and thinking about how others might apply them too. For example, I once stood in line to buy theater tickets and heard some people nearby hysterically arguing about how not getting the tickets they wanted had ruined their whole trip. I thought about how they might benefit from using these techniques themselves to more creatively work through their problem, or otherwise come up with some alternatives so that they could still enjoy their trip.

    The result of this exploration of creativity techniques applied to travel transformed an ordinary now we’re going to do London kind of trip into a truly exciting experience. I found I gained much more out of this trip than any other vacation I had ever taken.

    THE CREATIVE TRAVELER is designed to share these insights and techniques. I have written this book to show others how they can apply these techniques to enhance their own travel experiences, whether they are traveling alone or as part of a large organized group.

    You’ll find these principles of creative travel summarized in the Conclusion, which includes a checklist to help you remember them.

    Feel free to skip around in this book to the chapters most relevant for you. Use this book as a guide for improving your trip wherever you go and however you travel. And may your next trip be even more exciting and exhilarating as you experiment with and use these techniques!

    CHAPTER 1 

    MAKE YOUR CITY TOUR MORE EXCITING

    Taking a Typical City Tour

    A common way for tourists to become acquainted with a new city is by taking a city tour. It provides a quick overview in an hour or two. Everyone climbs into a large bus, listens to a guide discuss a mixture of architectural sites, history, lifeways, and personal anecdotes. Occasionally there will be a stop along the way where the traveler has 10 to 20 minutes to leave the bus and take a quick look around.

    The formula works well from city to city. The tour provides a potpourri presented in an entertaining, informative way. Also, the tour guide features the highlights—the main attractions of the city which make it stand out.

    Yet, as I have found, it’s possible to get much more out of these tours if you learn to be an active listener and viewer, a real participant. By using your creative imagination, you can supplement what the guide says to experience the city more fully.

    I started doing this myself after my first few city tours. I noticed that, as I sat back watching out the widow, things sometimes seemed to fly by in a blur. So much was presented so quickly, it was hard to remember details when the tour ended. And if I wanted to return to an interesting spot, often I didn’t remember what it was called, or only had the vaguest idea of the location. Then, too, when I trooped around with everyone else in the brief time we had for stops, I sometimes felt I was viewing the scenes with someone else’s eyes, rather than having a direct experience.

    But when I became an active participant and discovered new ways to experience the tour, everything changed. It became a much livelier, more vital experience. Here are the major techniques I have developed. Choose those you feel will work for you.

    Use a Map to Know Where You Are

    On the city tours I took, I never saw anyone use a map. Yet, for me, I found this made a big difference. Following along on a map from time to time as we drove around helped to give me a sense of where we were and how the sites that we visited related to the city as a whole. Without a map, I felt disoriented and confused as the bus drove around the city, frequently cutting back and forth along dozens of streets. It felt like riding around in a maze. But a map gave me self-confidence despite the vastness and complexity of the city.

    To achieve this self-confidence, simply pick up a city map before you leave on the tour. Often these are available at no charge at your hotel’s information or service bureau. Or try a gift show, stationery store, or bookstore.

    If you’re in a non-English-speaking country, you can usually get maps in English around your hotel, but I found it more helpful to use one in the language of the country. The road signs which help to orient you as you drive around are in the country’s language; it is faster to match these street names to those on the map if they are in the same language, rather than trying to translate in your head as you drive around.

    Fold the map to feature those parts you will cover on your tour; it’s easier to refer to that way. Also, mark down your starting point with a dot or an X. You can always ask your tour guide if you need help. If there’s time before the tour begins, ask your guide to point out on the map the approximate tour route, or the general section of the city you will be visiting.

    As you travel about, simply follow along on your map by glancing at it occasionally. If you lose track, search for a main intersection, then pinpoint your position on the map. If you can’t do this quickly, ask your guide at the next stop to orient you again.

    You’ll also find the map useful when you leave the bus to visit a site or view the city from a high overlook. Simply use the map to see where you are and what’s around you. I found a map especially useful when looking at a city from on high. As you gaze around the city, you know better what you are looking at. You might also mark the sites that appear especially interesting, so you can remember them or return to them later.

    Make Brief Notes as You Go Along

    Making brief notes is a good way to remember the high points or designate those places you want to read more about or return to for a visit. Otherwise, it can be hard to keep track of all the names of buildings and places of interest, especially if you’re traveling along at quite a clip and the guide is reeling off one name after another. Unfamiliar names can beparticularly hard to remember, but if you write down something, even if you just spell it phonetically, you can preserve that name for later use. Such an approach can be particularly useful if you are taking snapshots from the bus and later want to explain exactly what you have photographed. Without a record, you’re likely to find you have a collection of hard-to-decipher photos of unidentified buildings and sites, even with the help of a guidebook and map.

    For making notes, you can easily carry a small notebook. As the guide mentions a name or a highlight you want to remember, jot down a few words or phrases. Just a brief note is enough to jog your memory, particularly if you review your notes at the end of the day. Don’t write down too much, or the process can become time-consuming and you will miss the next comment the guide is making.

    Another way to take notes is to jot them down on your map. Box off a separate section, or record them near the site pointed out by the guide.

    I prefer keeping the notes on a separate sheet of paper, because a guide will often comment about something interesting which isn’t on the map. At times you may lose your place on the map, and so can’t record the note in the appropriate place. Also, if you want to use you map later for additional travel, you don’t want it decorated by notes. On the other hand, if you are following your way on the map, keeping track of other sheets of paper is unnecessary.

    Check Off the Places Where You Want to Return

    Whether you are using a map or keeping notes, mark those places you wish to see again. This way you can use your city tour to help plan the remainder of your stay in a city. It’s important to note them now; otherwise you may easily forget. You should also note all possible places of interest, even if you don’t have time to go back to them all. Review your list of possibilities later, and decide then which ones you would prefer.

    It’s especially helpful if you use a map for this process. Circle or star those places you want to visit as the guide points them out, and you’ll have a clear picture of where these sites are around the city. If you are not using a map, note those places you want to go back to and use a map to locate them later. As a result, you’re in a better position to plan an efficient return itinerary.

    Plan What to See When You Get Out at a Site

    When you make a stop on your tour, your guide will occasionally lead your group around and explain a little about the site. However, at other times your guide will say you have a few minutes at the site and you arefree to wander around. Usually, it will be ten to twenty minutes; thirty minutes at the most.

    In this case people tend to meander and commonly herd around with others in their group. Typically, there’s not enough time to see everything.

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