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Start your travels in Turkey and live
the dream of past generations! Famed as the starting point of the
so-called “Hippie Trails” from Europe into eastern Asia, Istanbul
was the gateway to other cities of discovery such as Tehran, Kabul,
Peshawar, Lahore, Goa or Kathmandu. In what became an exotic
extension of the Grand Tour of bygone times, these overland routes
were something of a “must see” for all the footloose flower children
of the 1960s and 1970s. It’s
thanks to such
pioneering travels
and travellers that we have the Lonely Planet guidebook series
today. Creators of the contemporary travel guidebook empire Tony and
Maureen Wheeler withdrew their lifesavings in 1972, bought a minivan
and arrived in Sydney nine months after leaving London. The journey,
filled with experiences in Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey,
Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, India, Nepal, Thailand,
Malaysia and Indonesia, left them with a mere 27 cents in their
pockets and enough material to publish their first venture, a
94-page pamphlet entitled
Across Asia on the Cheap.
These days, if you’re looking to do
the same journey, it’s possible to plan it all online. But the
possibilities extend from there to the infinite! If you’re planning
to live and work in London to start your journey from the
traditional point, you can find work, accommodation and various
services through a bulletin board such as
gumtree.com
or learn English though
online English courses.
The same applies for any country you wish to pass through – it’s
possible to learn languages online, and it’s thoroughly recommended
to take online Turkish, Russian or
Chinese classes
before departure. Throughout Western Europe it isn’t so essential,
but you’re guaranteed an enriched cultural experience if you make
the time to take
online French courses
or
online Italian courses.
Of course fluency isn’t a prerequisite for your travels; it’s just
that people are generally more receptive to visitors who take the
time to learn more about the local culture, tongue or history. |
