People Share Bizarre True Facts About Their Countries, Here Are The 45 Most Interesting Ones

Bored Panda got in touch with Jayne Gorman, from the travel blog Ourtravelhome to learn more about exploring the world and the things you might discover. First and foremost, we wanted to know, after years of traveling, what she would tell her younger self.

“Don’t overthink it, just do it. When I was younger I had a habit of turning things down if it wasn’t the right time or might have been complicated. I distinctly remember backpacking in Asia and deciding not to include Laos on the itinerary as I could always come back another time. Well, guess what, 15 years later an opportunity to pop into Laos has not presented itself! Now, as a 38-year-old mum with a 4-year-old and a mortgage, I look back at the freedom I had then and think I probably could have done a little bit more with it.”

When it comes to traveling, spending money sometimes isn’t a matter of convenience, it can actually affect your safety! So we asked Jayne Gorman to talk a bit about when it’s worth spending that little bit extra. “I think it’s all about working within your budget and making smart choices! Personally, I’ve always favored a mix of high/low travel. I’ll often fly with a budget airline on a short-haul flight so I can splurge on a boutique hotel in my destination. I’d definitely pay a premium for transport if it gives me more time at the destination. But I might self-cater my lunch that day to make up for it!”

“Always research the options for airport transfers. In some destinations, Marrakech and Lisbon, for example, a taxi is much faster and just as affordable as public transport. But in Luxembourg, where I’m headed next, all public transport is free. Pre-planning your arrival saves time, money, and stress.” Indeed, Americans might be surprised that in most places there is dedicated transport to and from the airport. 

We also wanted to hear if she had any extra advice for traveling somewhere completely new in general. “Start a collection on Instagram and save posts with top tips and things you’d like to do at your destination. Save points of interest to a Google map. I create a new list for every destination I visit and will save my hotel, popular restaurants, attractions, etc to a map in advance so it’s easier to plan my days and navigate the destination,” she shared with Bored Panda. 

“As data roaming with your own network provider can be very expensive, I recommend downloading an eSIM before traveling. I use a company called Airalo to buy a local eSIM and load it up with a cheap data package as I would literally be lost without my phone.” You can find more on her website or on her Instagram, and if you want to learn more about life in some countries, check out our article on people confirming or denying stereotypes.