The Gamble…

When you’re planning a trip, you have some choices. If you book a tried-and-true itinerary through a major provider, you’re likely guaranteed a consistent level of quality. You’re also almost always going to pay a premium price, even if it’s designed to handle the masses on fixed itinerary. On the other hand, putting things together yourself can lead you to discoveries on the road-less-traveled. You can usually do so at a discount, but there’s risk that you’ll be disappointed or find hidden charges.

We did experiment a bit in Thailand, hiring a driver/guide for a full day of activities in Chiang Mai. Because we were on our own schedule, we could get leave really early to get the beautiful morning light and beat the busses to many of the sites. We also didn’t get herded into some of the traditional tourist traps. It was a great day and it turned out to cost less than buying two tour tickets. We also wanted to go to Ayyuthaya, which is a couple hours from Bangkok, so found a cabby willing to take us around for the day. We saw the sites we wanted at about half the cost. It was also a bit frustrating at times, since the guy didn’t speak much English and we don’t think he could actually read (maps or signs).

In Israel we rented a car for 16 days. We got a really great deal and there’s no way we could have seen as much as we did – for so little money. We could come and go when we needed to, stopping for photos or looking for less frequented sites. Unfortunately, there are a number of places that require you be accompanied by a tour guide. Even when you did get to a place, so many were set-up specifically to handle guided tours. Isreal is geared-up to control the flow and paths people take (to the extent that they even have a GPS default that restricts you from traveling across the “green-line”). That really didn’t stop us from going the places we wanted. We went down a road to Jericho without intending to enter Palestinian territory. The next thing you know we had a local guy riding with us and showing us the sites. Cool.

We really wanted to go to Petra in Jordan and stay a couple nights in Wadi Rum desert, but the tours from Israel were exorbitantly high. We emailed a Bedouin Guide found on the Internet to make our arrangements, but we still needed to get there. Taking a cab to the border and crossing into Jordan at Eilat was pretty straight forward (although Israel dings you $25US as an “exit tax”). Once in Jordan we negotiated a 2 hour cab ride ($35US) and we were there. We had a priceless experience for a fraction of the cost.

We’re not always so lucky.

Our friends from Britain, Carol and Kevin, were going to be in Luxor with their family at the same time we were in Egypt. We intended to take a night train from Cairo, but couldn’t get anyone to respond to phone or email. Apparently, it’s near impossible to get tickets unless you’re in the country. By the time we switched to our backup plan, which was to fly, everything was booked because it was the same week Egyptian students were off on holiday. At the last minute I found a company that would arrange a car to drive us overnight for the 7+ hour trip (think of a distance from Chicago to Minneapolis). It cost us double what flight would have been and actually took about 12 hours because we were stopped about every 100km by military or police checkpoints. One of them was actually going to hold us until 6am because they wouldn’t accept responsibility if something happened to us. Our driver finally convinced them he would keep us from thieves and terrorists by signing a waiver of responsibility.

We had a great visit in Luxor, but also wanted to go to Aswan and see the temples in Edfu and Komombo along the way. There was a good car service associated with our hotel and they even offered to take us to Abu Simbal. We negotiated two days touring for about the price of a day trip – including a car, driver and guide. Well we ran into some trouble right away when a trip by President Mubarak closed our road to Edfu for a few hours. No problem, we had flexibility and switched things around.

The next morning we were up and ready to leave at 3:30am to catch a 4am convoy to Abu Simbal. You are required to travel in a pack, with all of the other cars and tour buses, because of security concerns. We finally got going at 4:30am and did the 290km drive through barren desert in about 3 (speeds of up to 150km per hour). It left us with only about 1.5 hours to see the temples, and then back in the car for the return trip. That’s when the driver became concerned we didn’t have enough petrol to make it back, especially if we needed the air conditioning. Duh. We have a black car in the middle of the Egyptian desert and he didn’t think about filling up while we were at the temple? We found the lone gas station, missed our convoy back and had the police stop us for an hour to wait for the next one. To top it off, our guide turned out to be a bit of a dud and we ended up doing the sites ourselves. Despite the frustrations, we saw some amazing wonders of the world and made it back to Luxor without incident.

So even when it doesn’t turn out the way one plans, it’s all part of the excellent adventure. If you’re open to it, there’s usually omething you can gain in the experience. I’m glad Rita is willing to just go with the flow. Off the beaten track we’ve found; sights that beat any planned tour, little-known places to stay that no 5-star could match and special small eating places that few travelers get to enjoy. We consciously frequent locally owned and managed establishments, avoiding the corporate chains. We try to buy from those who make the products. If nothing else, we’re happy to know we’re contributing to an economy at the level where it has the most benefit.

Jeff