Travel Slow

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Before we get into this, I just want to recognise the craziness of starting a travel blog in the age of corona. Is this a phase, like fidget spinners? Will it pass and the world will suddenly return to normal? What the hell is normal? Who knows?! Regardless, there are stories to be told, lessons to be learnt and we’re not ones to sit quietly while the world carries on around us.

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Travelling is all about the journey.

Now don’t get me wrong - there are lots of places I'd rather be than on a sweaty bus, with a broken seat, being poked with all kinds of elbows, but these are the routes Pranoti and I are naturally drawn to. For a couple of reasons, but to give three big ones that have become a sort of mantra that has guided us for the last few years - Travel Slow, Travel Green and Travel Cheap.

One of the more empty buses.

What are you guys on about? I wanna go fast!

Slow travel has nothing to do with speed. It’s all about making an emotional connection to the place you are visiting.

Let’s be honest, it’s not like we all have years and years to spend visiting every village, town, city, cave, mountain, mineshaft, beach, etc, etc that you come across. And that’s okay. You’d soon be out of money and time.

On the flip side, you can define fast travel alongside all of the other fast commodities of our time. Fast fashion is dumping more glittery sequins in landfills than we can count; fast food has been slowly killing us for years now and fake news comes in thick and fast serving us ‘facts’ by the bucket full.

In Italy in the 1980s, people started protesting the fast food restaurants that landed like spaceships in their ancient cities. The Slow Movement sought to relax the pace of life and focus on traditional, local and community practices that bring people together. As this movement took hold in the 90s it started to branch out into other areas of society.

Today, it’s hard to say that the fast paced lifestyles haven't triumphed over these slow heroes. Not entirely however, there are pockets of resistance: charity shopping, second hand culture and freecycling/ upcycling has grown in lots of cities. Our flat in Berlin was almost entirely furnished from things found in Zu Verschenken (to give away) boxes that people leave in the street.

Free stuff!

Travelling slow wasn’t really something that we researched. It just happened naturally, like all good things do. It worked for us because of two important factors; we didn’t really have any time restrictions and we are okay with being uncomfortable for periods of time.

This is not something that everyone has. We are definitely privileged to be able to take our time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a spare year in order to travel slow. You can adopt the slow travel lifestyle on a weekend break. It’s all about unhooking from the rushed tick boxes, in favour of deeper more meaningful experiences.

On a short trip, instead of hopping through 10 cities in a week, take the time to really explore your destination. Once you look at travelling as the act of meeting a new place, culture and people, it doesn't matter what the TripAdvisor reviews say. There are stories and experiences to be had everywhere. Sometimes it's just about being in one place long enough and taking your time to dive deep and not just skim across the surface.

Travel for yourself not just the 'gram.

We saw a lot of this as tour guides in Berlin. At 11 am our tour would start, and you could see the wide eyed caffeine induced stare from some of the families. These were squadrons on a mission to see everything that a city had to offer in a day or less! It’s almost like too much of a good thing. If Berlin is a big tub of ice cream, then pace it out (who am I kidding, eat all the ice cream but savour it!).

Avoiding the easy (normally more expensive and environmentally damaging) route means that you will be travelling with the locals. These are the people who know their area the best. Some nice smiles and a few phrases can quickly show you more than any guide book could. When in doubt follow the locals.

Many times while on the road, we found the best food by dodging the tourist traps with big empty restaurants and servers calling you in from the street, and following the crowds to a small hole-in-the-wall type of place where you share your table (pre-covid times were so easy) and enjoy amazing food. You can be a bit more confident eating at these places too because with such a high turnover and a dedicated local clientele, they cannot afford to be serving bad or unclean food.

Asking the public ferry conductor where to eat meant we found the best local food in Kerala.

So, how can you become a slow traveller?

1. Plan to have no plan. - It’s important to do research on the places you will be visiting, but don’t let your planning stand in the way of taking a new opportunity or adventure if it presents itself.

2. Stay with the locals. - Again, this is a relic of the pre-corona times, but websites like couchsurfing or work-away give you a chance to slow down and meet the locals. This means your budget and travels will last longer and you make friendships that last longer still.

3. Bring your walking shoes - It might take a bit longer and be a bit sweatier, but some of the most unique experiences we have had were found walking the half an hour to our next destination. You can miss so much by sitting in taxis - hidden squares, beautiful architecture and amazing street food.

There are loads more tips for you to discover. Ultimately, you’ll have to find what works for you and that’s part of the adventure of travelling. These ideas don’t only have to be practiced on the road, returning back to the UK I have tried to keep up my inquisitive mind. To leave you with a quote form Carl Honre’s In Prase of Slow

“The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail's pace. It's about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savouring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them.”