Good or bad – what surprised travel bloggers?
Travel bloggers and surprises are a frequent combination. In order to be willing to travel to the extent it takes to maintain an active travel blog you have to go so many places and do so many activities that it’s hard to escape being surprised occasionally.
Surprises aren’t all good, they aren’t all bad and they often are due to you just not having thought about something before. So we asked some travel blogger buddies what has surprised them so far this year. Here’s what they told us.
Mary Jo Manzanares of Traveling with MJ
“Israel always fascinated me, but I hadn’t been able to put my finger on just why. I don’t consider myself a religious person, so the many religious sites were interesting, but not compelling. Still, the destination kept cropping up on my radar and I couldn’t dismiss it.
I visited Jerusalem in June, and couldn’t have been more surprised.
I found a vibrant city, alive with music and art, beautiful parks and open spaces, and delicious food. Those sites, which I had so casually dismissed, brought tears to my eyes. While I’m still not religious,the magnitude of why Jerusalem is the heart and soul of so many faiths, captivated me. It’s a misunderstood destination, perhaps so because of U.S. news, and only by being there can you understand what it means when people say, “it’s complicated.”
John Roberts of InTheLoopTravel.com
“I sailed with Viking River Cruises to Egypt this spring and was pleasantly surprised and relieved by the overwhelming number of people who were eager to express their fondness for Americans, imploring us to tell everyone “we love America” and “to please come to visit our country.”
I am typically easygoing when I travel and can be comfortable in any environment, but going to Egypt during these complicated times between the Muslim world and the West left me feeling a level of uncertainty that put me on edge.
Those concerns quickly faded on our first day in Cairo as we headed to all the iconic sites and were greeted with smiles and engaged in conversations — with vendors and fellow travelers from around the region and world. Security is tight, no doubt, as tourism is the lifeblood for Egypt. But the overall vibe of the places we visited up and down the Nile river and around Lake Nasser was peaceful — and we felt welcome by everyone we met.”
Marilyn Jones of Travel with Marilyn
“Since traveling to what was East Germany and talking to those who lived through that era, I wanted to visit other former Soviet Bloc countries and I did recently when I took Viking River Cruises’ “Passage to Eastern Europe.”
My surprise was hearing just how appalling it really was.
One gentleman told me Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu ordered people to only have two hours a day of hot water. During the winter they had to leave their food outside in the cold because their refrigerators were sealed from October 1 to March 1. There was no food in the shops and the lines Americans heard about were true. Allowed one chicken a month, and never enough to go around, people would start lining up two days ahead of time. Ceausescu suppressed all opposition using brutal force.
This is just the tip of a massive iceberg. I would highly recommend traveling to this part of the world for a better understanding of this recent history.”
Cailin O’Neil of Travel Yourself
“A destination that has surprised me is Rwanda. Recently I visited there on a trip to see the wild mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park and seeing the rest of the country was an added bonus. Everything was so lush and green and the people were so friendly. I especially loved spending time learning about the tea plantations and how tea leaves are picked, as you can see in this picture.
I would definitely visit again.”
Kay and Anne of BlondeBrunetteTravel
We had vaguely gray images of Russia; not ones of bright beautiful flowers in spotless surroundings. Russia does not have graffiti and trash blotting the beauty of its cities. It isn’t that we pictured trash; it was that we were struck by the cleanliness. They wash the streets twice a day in Moscow – even on days when it’s raining. (OK, maybe they’re a tad rigid.)
Surprises, especially positive ones, are one of the primary delights of travel. Sometimes, as happened with Marilyn, we end up surprised by what we didn’t know; often of times in history when we were alive but unaware.
Interestingly none of the travel blogger surprises were food poisoning, getting pickpocketed or other things travelers are so often warned against by those who stay home.
So go travel and be surprised!