New Traveler‘s Guide

Hope. Fear. Excitement. Traveling for the first time provided me with wave of conflicting emotions. When I left to travel the world, I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t well-traveled and was as green as they come.
希望、恐懼、激動(dòng)，第一次旅行讓我思緒萬千。我離開家鄉(xiāng)去旅游的時(shí)候，我不知道會(huì)有什么等待著我。我是個(gè)絕對(duì)的新手。

A big sign hung over my head that said “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING.”
我腦子里空空如也，不知道自己在做什么。

Now, with ten years of travel under my belt, I know better. If I could sit my younger self down before he left for his world trip, I would give him this advice:
現(xiàn)在，10年過去了，我已經(jīng)經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富。如果能重回過去，我會(huì)給自己如下建議：

Don’t be scared.

Don’t be scared.
不要害怕。

Fear is a powerful deterrent. Taking the leap into the unknown is scary, but you aren’t the first person to travel the world. You aren’t discovering new continents or exploring uncharted territories.
恐懼的阻礙力很強(qiáng)大?？v身一躍，進(jìn)入一片未知是如此可怕。但是你不是第一個(gè)踏上旅途的人，又不是在發(fā)現(xiàn)新大陸或是探索未知的土地。

There is a well-worn travel trail out there and people to help guide you along the way. If millions of people can make their way around the world each year, so can you.
早有一條前人走過無數(shù)遍的的老路，途中的人也會(huì)幫助著你、指引你。每年有數(shù)百萬的人能成功，你也可以。

Don’t live by your guidebook.

Don’t live by your guidebook.
不要依賴你的指南書。

Guidebooks are useful for a general overview of a destination, but you’ll never find the latest off-the-beaten-path attractions, bars, or restaurants in them. For the best stuff, connect with locals to find out what is hot right now. Ask other travelers or the hostel staff for recommendations.
指南書對(duì)目的地的大致概括是很有用的，但是你靠書是永遠(yuǎn)找不到那些鮮為人知的好去處的，比如景點(diǎn)、酒吧或者餐館。最好多和當(dāng)?shù)厝硕嗦?lián)系，問問他們正當(dāng)下哪里很火爆。也可以問問其他旅人或者旅社員工有什么好推薦。

Travel slow.

Travel slow.
“慢”游。

It can be tempting to try to see it all. With limited vacation time, we are always trying to squeeze everything in – rushing through 20 cities in 20 days, or 100 countries on our round-the-world trip. In the end, all we have to show for it are photos, stress, and a whirlwind of experiences but no real knowledge of the places we went.
能把景點(diǎn)盡收眼底固然好。有限的假期時(shí)間里，我們一直都把所有事擠在那20天里，匆匆忙忙走馬觀花20座城市，又或是在環(huán)球旅行中去往100個(gè)國(guó)家。最后，旅程只變成照片、壓力和毫無念想的經(jīng)歷。

Don’t rush your trip. Make time to spend a relaxing day in the park or just sitting in a café people watching. Slow down. It gives you time to drink deep from a culture and take it all in.
不用急?；c(diǎn)時(shí)間在公園里度過一個(gè)放松的日子，或是坐在咖啡館里你看我看。慢慢來，深入了解一個(gè)文化并接納它需要時(shí)間。

Get people’s contact information.

Get people’s contact information.
記得留別人的聯(lián)系方式和信息。

You will make a lot of friends on the road. Some of them will become lifelong friends. But sometimes you don’t get their contact information and you regret it forever.
在路上你會(huì)結(jié)識(shí)很多朋友。有些人會(huì)變成你一生的朋友。但是有時(shí)候你會(huì)因?yàn)闆]有得到聯(lián)系方式而永遠(yuǎn)后悔。

Facebook and e-mail make it easy to stay in touch with people for years after your trip, so get people’s contact information! Don’t let your new friends fade into memory.
臉書和郵件會(huì)讓你和旅途中認(rèn)識(shí)的朋友多年保持聯(lián)系，所以記得留下別人的聯(lián)系方式！不要讓你的新朋友在你的記憶中漸漸淡忘。

You don’t need a lot of gear.

You don’t need a lot of gear.
你不需要很多裝備。

Pack light. You’ll have less to carry. Buy a small bag so you aren’t tempted to pack everything under the sun. If you truly need something, you can pick it up as you go.
輕裝上陣，少帶點(diǎn)。買個(gè)小包，這樣子你就不會(huì)頭腦一熱，帶很多東西。如果你真需要什么東西，你走時(shí)能把東西帶上。

Trust me, you won’t need as much gear as you think!
相信我，你需要的東西遠(yuǎn)比你想的要少。

Get a phone.

Get a phone.
備個(gè)手機(jī)。

You’ll meet a lot of people on the road who you will want to see again. While Facebook can be handy for staying in touch, it isn’t ideal for planning meet-ups when people are constantly on the move. Did your friends get the message? Will they be there?! Who knows!
你會(huì)在旅途中遇到很多你想再見的人。臉書用來保持聯(lián)系很方便，但是當(dāng)人們不斷旅行的過程中，它并不是計(jì)劃約會(huì)的理想之選。你的朋友收到信息了嗎？他們會(huì)在那里嗎？誰知道！

Cheap phones and SIM cards are available worldwide. Invest in one so you can stay in touch with your new friends. That way you won’t wonder if you were stood up or if your friends just changed their plans and went to Rome.
便宜的手機(jī)和SIM卡全球都能買到。備一個(gè)手機(jī)，這樣子你可以和你的新朋友保持聯(lián)系。這樣子你就不會(huì)想，自己是不是被人爽約了或是朋友改變了計(jì)劃，去了羅馬。