5 Reasons why Traveling by Boat is Awesome

Published by Johnny Ward on November 06, 2010

The one recurring feature of a long backpacking stint (aside from dirty laundry and malnutrition) is public bloody transport. As any traveler can testify when you get the option of taking any other mode of transport rather than another long distance bus, you grab it with both hands. When that mode of transport is a boat, you’re in for a real treat…

I’ve taken boats up the Nile, down the Mekong, across Japan, Korea and China, from Ireland and France and I can’t get enough of them! Here are the 5 reasons why I think traveling by boats beats any other mode of transport, no contest:

1) Space. With you knees jammed somewhere up around your chin in another cross-country bus, you truly begin to appreciate the luxury of space that boats can afford. In fact, I revel in it so much that I often run to the centre of the deck and burst into spontaneous starjumps simply because I can. Seriously, you can walk around at your leisure, even sometimes order food and drinks and spread out and sleep if you really need to.

2) Leisurely pace. Some may argue that this is a negative aspect but I beg to differ. Boats are not lightning fast, far from it but this is another aspect I enjoy. You meander across an ocean or down a river at a leisurely pace, giving you time to genuinely appreciate the journey that you’re on. You can plan your next steps with all the free time you find yourself with and kick back, read a book and sanctimoniously think of all the people around the world darting to and fro in their fast-paced jobs while you, unhurriedly, enjoy the rolling of the water.

3) Cheap. This certainly applies to the boats that I take although I fully appreciate this isn’t always the case. As a budget traveler, luxury yachts and cruise-ships aren’t my haunt at all but cargo boats, slow ferries, feluccas etc certainly don’t burst any tight budgets. If you choose wisely and are in no rush, boats can be the cheapest mode of transport. You don’t (can’t) spend too much money while you’re onboard, the tickets often include accommodation and food, you can bring your own booze and snacks on board – all in all, a bargain mode of transport.

4) Exciting. Don’t even bother trying to tell me you didn’t dream about sailing boats as a kid, following in the footsteps Christopher Columbus or Vasco De Gama or chasing pirates in the high seas. This lets you (discreetly!) relive your childhood dreams in the most traditional long distance transport available. Land Ahoy!

5) Social. Possibly the best aspect to traveling by boat, certainly for a backpacker, is the social side. You’re stuck on this vessel for a long-time with a finite group of people to converse with, before too long you’ll be swapping stories like old friends.

taking a cargo boat down the Mekong river

So there you have it, I’ve nailed my colours to the mast (genius!) and made it clear that boats are far and away my favourite form on transport. If you get the chance to jump onboard a ship any time soon, do it and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Happy travel =)

10 Things I Hate About Traveling on Buses

Published by Johnny Ward on November 05, 2010

Long distance buses are part and parcel of any backpacking trip so love ‘em or hate ‘em, you’ll be spending countless hours on these mobile prisons. Poultry, screaming babies, puke, any and all forms of wild stock, cockroaches, sheer drops, drunk/stoned drivers, near-death experiences, distinct lack of personal space, oven-like temperatures or pneumonia-inducing chills– all of these are regular features of the most common form of backpacking transport. Wonderful.

As I have just finished yet another 16 hour stint on an overcrowded public bus in the sweltering heat, I feel I need to purge myself of the fury and frustration so here is a list of the 10 things I hate most about long distance buses when you travel:

1) Punctuality. Regardless of the time they say they will leave and arrive you can bank on it being late by at least one hour, thereby throwing your other plans into disarray

2) Cleanliness. I am no Martha Stewart when it comes to hygiene but I draw the line at people coughing up yesterdays dinner and half their lung and spitting it on the ground by your feet. Or, finishing their food and assuming the entire bus is some sort of rubbish-tip where they can discard their leftovers.

3) Chickens. There comes a time in every travelers life when they share a bus whith some form of wild stock and I’m perfectly ok with that. What I’m not ok with is some devilish chicken/rooster with razor sharp talons running around your ankles, whilst seemingly saving all its p*ss and sh*t for when it’s under your seat, right beside your bag

4) Safety. As an impulsive, fast-paced type of dude myself, I can relate to people becoming frustrated at excessive traffic and what not. I don’t think that justifies gunning your bus (full of people) at 150km per hour on a single lane road with too many blind corners to mention. Slow down mate, I don’t wanna die!

5) Ringtones. Ok, I’m not talking about the crazy frog or some old Britney Spears tune irritating me, what I’m taking about is the sheer volume of foreign mobile phones’ rings tones! Look out for it next time (probably when you finally managed to fall asleep) and 10,000 decibels of Enrique Iglesias blare into your ear drum. Why do manufacturers even make them that loud!? Madness.

6) Personal space. I would love to study the various countries’ languages that I’ve been fortunate enough to visit and find out their translation for ‘personal space’. I would imagine that either the term simply doesn’t exists or that it simultaneously refers to some negative Western concept whilst encouraging people to sit even closer together. 3 on one row is fine, 3 on one row and another 3 literally on of top of them, not so much. Give me some breathing space, I’m suffocating here!.

7) Stopping for fuel. This is a minor yet very irritating feature of so many long distance journeys. You know you’ll be cramped in the bus for the next 12 hours and you’ve come to terms with that. Why oh why then do they not fill up their tank before we set off! It seems that we wait for everyone to get on the bus, leave late and then 30 seconds into the journey pop into the petrol station to fill up. What?! You didn’t realize you were going to need fuel?! You make this journey every single day, fill up before we set off!!! arrrrgh

8 ) Headrests. Admittedly this doesn’t apply to all buses and if you’re high rolling it may not feature in your list of hates but I assure you one of the banes of a budget travelers life is a headrest that you can’t rest your head on. How does that even happen?! Who designs these things?!

9) Air conditioning. This swings two ways, neither of which is delightful. First up, a country is 45 degrees but has no A/C on their buses, that’s uncomfortable of course but I understand that, A/C eats fuel, it’s expensive, maintenance costs etc so that’s fine, I’m only paying $5 I don’t expect luxury. On the other hand, a bus that does have A/C seems categorically compelled to blast that A/C on the minimum temperature regardless of the temperature outside or the travelers comfort. Beware! They have A/C and they’re not afraid to use it.

our natural A/C on the bus

10) Sleepers. This is a personal hate of mine, something I need to get off my chest. I don’t know what other nations include in their education systems but I’m sure they have a class on how to sleep on buses. Within 10 minutes of any given joureny, 90% of the locals will be the midst of their snoozefest, dreaming sweet dreams all the way to the destination whilst I am left looking around cursing their ability to sleep so easily despite the noise, bumps, temperature etc.

watching a crash from our bus :S

Phew. That feels better. Thanks for listening to my rant! I hope the buses treat you well over the course of your travels. All jokes aside, if it wasn’t for cheap buses around foreign countries who knows where we’d be, probably sitting at home wishing we could be overseas traveling in a long distance bus Happy travels =)