My hobby - travelling by @papi.mati

My biggest passion is low budget travelling - sleeping in the tent, couchsurfing or in the hostels, meeting new people, learning new things, volunteering and exploring the world.

Each trip gives me the opportunity to understand the human kind a bit better. Our cultures varies, often we look at the same things from the different perspectives because of our experience, cultural and religious background, many other unmeasurable things. I'm trying to travel thru the world with an opened eyes, respect every opinion, never judge.

If I have learned anything from that trips is that in the end of the day, we are all the same - we might believe in different Gods or don't believe at all, we might love different people, we might eat different food or struggle with the different problems, but no matter where do we live, we all want to love, be healthy, we want all the best for our families and friends.

I have visited 27 countries in three continents until now. I've been exploring ancient ruins in Rome, listening BBC prom concerts in the Albert's Hall in London, I was drinking vodka in Ukrainian Clubs and smoking Shisha in Muscat. Sometimes I was experiencing potentially dangerous situations like during the violent protests in Cochabamba, Bolivia or when experienced strong earthquake in Valparaiso, Chile, but everywhere where I have been - from Argentina to Lithuania, I felt welcomed and met an amazing people who were willing to talk with me, share their thoughts, sometimes giving me the precious advices.

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SLEEPING

Most of the time I was sleeping in the tent. I love to have a sky full of stars over my head, enjoy the sounds of the night (although for the first few nights I couldn't sleep because of them, I thought it's creepy). I love the freedom which tent gives me and learned how to live long term on the way.

Most of the time I was sleeping in the forests, parks or another places into the wild. It requires some routine. Looking for the perfect place to sleep in the tent should start at least two hours before the sunset. You need to have some time to check if it's safe:

1️⃣ it should be hidden, preferably away from another people (few times I've slept in the park in some town, but it's not the best place).
2️⃣ Make sure there is no ants or another bugs in around and that the plants don't have any spikes. If they do, you can always cut them off, but only if you are not in some protected area, like natural park. Believe me, if you won't do it, you will feel the spikes or ants in the middle of the night but then it will be too late to change the place.
3️⃣ If you stay for longer, you should prepare the latrine - your temporary bathroom. It should be at least 50 metres away from the tent. You need to dig a deep hole and before you will leave the place, you should cover it with the soil. That way you keep the place clean and you protect wild animals from getting some parasites or bacterias which could be dangerous for them.
4️⃣ In some places, if there is even the slightest chance that you might meet some wild animal, you shouldn't keep the food in your tent. I was always keeping it in a hermetically closed bag, at least 100 metres from the tent, hung on some tree. It should be high enough to make sure no animal will grab it and closed well enough to make sure no bugs will be inside next morning.
5️⃣ Remember that making fire in most of the places is prohibited. Make also sure that you leave the spot as clean as it was before your arrival
6️⃣ Remember about the hygiene. It is not comfortable, but I have learned how to take the shower in a bottle of water. At first, I was a bit stressed that someone might see me totally naked, cold of the water and very limited resources was disturbing me a lot, but with the time I have learned how to manage this situation.
7️⃣ Make sure you have a mat and a good quality sleeping bag. Also, remove all the stones from under the tent.

I think the most uncomfortable in that accommodation is the risk of change of the weather. Usually the tent protects us from the rain in some limited way. Even the best tents with 8000 mm protection stops being waterproof with the time. I have lost many things during the biggest storms, all my notes from the longest trip were totally wet and I had to throw them away, my electronic devices suffered once too (since then I'm always keeping them in a special waterproof bags).

Thunder and rain looks amazing and gives us the guarantee that nobody will steal our tent because everyone is at their homes, but might cause a lot of troubles as well.

Often I was travelling with my dog. It's another thing which I can recommend you. Dog in a tent can hear everything and will warn us when someone will be coming closer. Also, most of people won't take the risk and won't try to rob the tent where the noisy barking comes from. Well, unless you're travelling with chicuahua.

_{Always clean after yourself, but if you have some extra time, you can also clean after the others. On the photo me and @willeusz went to the jungle in Bolivia and cleaned over 50 plastic bottles after other tourists}

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_{After the rainy night, drying clothes and other properties takes basically whole day. Rocs warmed by the sun heat helps a bit}

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Another accommodation option which I can recommend you is Workaday - it's a website where we can find the place to sleep (and sometimes also some food) for a volunteer work. I was working on the farms in Spain, Chile and Paraguay and in many hotels in Chile thanks to that platform. I believe it's better than couchsurfing, which I use sometimes too. Couchsurfing allows us to sleep in some place for free, for the conversation and cultural exchange with the host. We should remember though that there is nothing "free" in this world. Usually host is forced to pay for the extra electricity, water and sometimes even meals when we are there. I don't want to cause any troubles so even when I am using this option, I am always trying to give something from myself - I am helping with cleaning at home, cooking the meal for the host and... When I was living in Poland, I was hosting others to pay the debt to the universe. I slept on Couchsurfing in Norway, Ukraine, Lithuania, Spain and Chile.

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Finally when all of that options are not available, I am choosing hostels over hotels. In the hostels I'm able to meet more people, usually they are managed by the locals (when hotels are often the properties of the big international companies) and... Simply it's cheaper.

_{Making Polish pierogi for all the hostel guests in Asunción}

_{Making pizza for hostel workers in Valparaiso}

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EATING

When I'm on the way and I have to collect the food for the nearest few days, I'm always buying the simplest things, which doesn't require keeping in the fridge. The most important is the water though. For one day, you should have at least 4,5 liter of water per person: 1,5 liter for hygiene and 3 liters for drinking. It's the heaviest part of the luggage but you can't skip it.
There should be more water when you know you can't refill it in the nearest 24 hours, when you travel on the big altitude (mountains, some plains high in the Andes) or when it's very hot.

When I'm in the city and I have the access to some restaurants or to the kitchen to cook something, I'm always trying to eat local food. Exploring another cultures include trying new things. What's the fun to go around the world and eat pizza and burgers from McDonalds everywhere?

_{I always try local food}

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TRANSPORT

I'm very ecologic so whenever I can, I am choosing low-emission ways of transport. I walked thru the Europe, sometimes took the train or hitchhiked. In South America, where the distance between the cities is much bigger, I was riding on bicycle or alternatively taking the bus. The plane is always the last option, only when I'm in hurry or when it can't be made in any other way (like transatlantic flight).

_{Sometimes there are some problems. Truck we hitchhiked with stuck in the middle of nowhere in Bolivia}

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_{Speaking about the bicycles - I love them, but when you use them every day for a month, the buttocks hurts a lot!}

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WHAT DOES TRAVELLING GIVE TO ME

The most important things for me is the nature and the culture.

I love the nature, I love experiencing fauna and flora, admiring trees, smelling flowers, listening to the birds, enjoying butterflies around me. It gives me a lot of peace, calms me down, makes me be grateful for the life with all it's variety.
I am trying to learn at the same time. It's not enough for me to be amazed with some flower or butterfly, I prefer to google it, learn about it as much as it's possible. The world is like a classroom for me and my trips are the constant biology lessons.

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Second most important thing is the culture, understood as the paquete of believes, traditions, rites, but also music, dances, clothing, food, habits. I am trying to never judge others and treat every person on my way as the life teacher. Of course, being constantly on the way means that I am out of my comfort zone and it disturbs me. I miss sometimes the situations when everything is obvious for me - instead of that I have to constantly learn how to manage some situations in different places and how to adapt. I like to think that it makes me each day a bit wiser than before and that it's kind of the excercice for my brain which will allow to keep my mind sharp for a long time.

I learned that not everything what seems to be offensive really is that way. I always try to assume that people are wishing me and others the best. From another side, I have learned that sometimes I do feel I am making something kind but because of the cultural differences other people might consider it offensive. I was forced few times to apologize for something what was not my intention. I felt ashamed and never repeated it in this culture, but I am always trying to not be too self critical. I have chosen to live on the way and learn the world and mistakes are the part of every learning path.

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All the photos included in that post belongs to me.
10% of the income goes to charity @adollaraday

Thank you for reading,
@papi.mati

Cc:
@suboohi
Invitation goes to @willeusz and @geos90