We forgot that when we travel, people (even Americans) mistake us for Europeans. This time I’m still Italian, but perhaps with different clothing and a non-shaved head Mandy is French, rather than German. I’m still not sure why. In previous trips I’d assumed it was our conspicuous lack of obesity. Maybe we dress two decades behind American fashion.
We’re also reminded again that in most shops in every other country in the world they have the basic courtesy to round their prices inclusive of tax to the nearest currency unit. The USA is the most small change happy nation on the planet.
The woman who picked us up from the airport explained to us over the American Hip-Hop on the radio that there were only two cuisines in Belize: rice and beans and beans and rice. She also had a lot to say about hurricanes. Its not unusual for all 70,000 people in Belize City to run into the hills for alternate shelter two or three times between July and August.
Belize City itself is built in the worldwide developing style many of you have become familiar with. Cement and corrugated roofing, more sticks, less bamboo than Asia. Bamboo is a magical plant, Asia is very fortunate to have so much. Unless you’ve a special affection for developing cities Belize has no real attractions of its own. We arrived on Sunday, which also served as our introduction to Central American Catholicism. Almost every service was taking its mandated day of rest. Luckily for hungry travelers the local Indians and Chinese rest on different occasions.
Photos of Belize.
In July we bounced down to Belize to do some diving. Its only a 3 hour flight from Dallas over the Caribbean and loads of untouched Yucatan forest. Living in brown California it was pleasing to see so much dense greenery again.
Belize has an incredible ethnic mix for a nation the size of Massachusetts. While historically Mayan, it was conquered by the Spanish on their way to Guatemala but not occupied with enough gusto to prevent later colonizations by British pirates. Now there’s a great mix of Mayan, Spanish, English, African, Carribean Natives and even German Mennonites. All of them seem live in a fair amount of harmony and most people have a little of all of that ancestry in their blood. There are some organizations that take urban American youth down to Belize just to immerse them with people of different skin tones getting along as if it were no big deal. The broad range of brown and gold skin and hair with various degrees of kink and blond do make for some pretty people.
The various ethnicities have carried their own languages to Belize as well. Officially the language of the nation is English and there’s a lot of Spanish. But most people speak a creole descendant of an English, mixed African and Caribbean pidgin that’s similar to Jamaican. Its more difficult than you might think to understand. I’m guessing at this, but it seems to me that Kriol has a rhythm and meter as part of its structure. If you can’t fit what you want to say into the meter, you pepper your speech with repetition, stock filler phrases (‘jah love, you know?)’ and ‘mon’ until it does. Kriol and the Caribbean English is spelled phonetically in signs when appealing to a common audience. There’s a minor movement to get Belizian Kriol recognized as a full language of its own. There’s even a “Bileez Kriol Glassary an Spellin Gide“.
Most soda is far too sweet for me. I reintroduced myself to soda after trying Izzie blueberry soda at Gregoire’s and Mokka in Berkeley. Its lightly sweet, but even so a little sweeter than I prefer a beverage to be.
Recently Gregoire’s has had Vignette wine country soda. Their Pinot Noir is delicious. Today I sampled the lightly flavored rhubarb Dry soda at Bittersweet, which also agreed with me.
We traveled on about $6,000 USD each, much less than we intended. We stayed at hostels in the west and guest houses in the east. In rich countries we mostly bought groceries at markets and in poor countries we ate at restaurants. In rich countries we spent $60 a day, each, including plane and train fare. In poor countries we averaged $13 a day, each. In rich countries you worry about transport, shelter, and food in that order. In poor countries transport and housing is a negligible part of your budget; it costs less than most meals.
Urban travel is best done with nothing more than a book bag (2000 in^3). When you show up in a strange city with no sleep and you find the fleabag hostel you booked is unacceptable, its much more likely that you’ll carry a small bag back down the stairs to another pad. Also imagine riding on a small public bus with your bag, jumping between moving boats, or clinging to the back of a speeding moped. You never need to check your luggage if you have a small bag, which saves time and gives you peace of mind. Maneuverability = fun.
One change of clothes and some toiletries are all you need. Bring a week’s worth of socks and underwear. Maybe some warm stuff if you go to a cold place that is also expensive. We carried a computer with us which would be superfluous for most people. There are net terminals and CD burning shacks for your camera in every country from Cambodia to Canada.
If you don’t manage to get your pack down to this level the first time you head out (we did not), you’ll bump into a couple of the double-o elite travelers in the more remote corners of the world and learn quickly.
Europe and Japan are must sees for Americans. They enlighten you to what is possible. They are more expensive than the States, particularly with the sinking dollar. If you’re on a budget, try Indochina. The food in the North of Thailand is unbeatable. Laos is as gorgeous as a Chinese painting. The north of Vietnam is a wonder of the world. The Khmers are super cool and you’ll be very glad you went.
The less money you’re able to spend the better time you’ll have almost anywhere. Although its great for getting you out of a jam, money has a really bad insulating quality to it. If I traveled rich, the only thing I’d change is more private rooms at hostels and I’d buy actual sleeper train tickets. Hotels are pointless, expensive and lonely. You’ll just leave them at night and spend money because you’re so bored. “Youth” hostels are usually very welcoming to older travelers. Avoid Hosteling International’s establishments, they are sterile. Do treat yourself to restaurants once in a while. If you’re buying local traditional cuisine, you won’t end up paying that much anyway.
The farther you get from English signs and menus the cooler the people you’ll meet will be –travelers and locals alike– and the more fun you’ll have. Backpacker’s ghettos are often the cheapest places to stay. Avoid them if you can, get out of there first thing in the morning to tour if you can’t. They’re awful places and draw uninspired travelers who can’t think outside their Lonely Planet.
We got our best tickets through STA. Flights to Asia in 2004 from the East Coast of the USA are under $600 because people are scared they’re going to get SARS, Chicken flu, or West Nile while they probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.