Check out
Coincidence of Travel in Yucatan,
on Randy's Travel Articles Page.
If you think of all the places you can get to by bus or train, there are many more that you could reach in a private car or jeep. Many sights that are well known and on the map, are very seldom visited because they are isolated by lack of transportation. Having a private auto opens up many new possibilities for adventure, and for catastrophe. It also allows you to control when and where you stop for photography, a real frustration on public buses. In many countries, you must always park your car inside a locked or guarded compound at night, and this definitely limits the accommodations you can choose. During the day, you must be very careful about where you leave the car, and even then, many little things will be stripped from it.
Bringing Your Own Vehicle
This is not very practical except for North Americans driving south to Mexico and beyond, or Europeans headed to the Middle East. It puts you outside of my idea of a rough traveler, will make you more of a target for theft, and put you farther away from the local people and other travelers. There is quite a bit of paperwork (not to mention "tipping") involved in entering and leaving most countries with an auto. You must have insurance that is valid in each country as well as a "carnet", which is a guarantee that you won't sell the car. This usually requires a substantial deposit of money, to cover the outrageous duties if you should.
Leaving a country without the auto you brought in is next to impossible, even if it is a wreck, and certainly not without lots of paperwork and money changing hands. If you want to drive a car into China, getting in can be extremely difficult to arrange, but leaving is easy. When it's time to go, you must leave your vehicle behind; it becomes the property of the Chinese Government! Shipping a vehicle around the Third World can be very costly and theft-prone. If you get serious about overland driving, I can recommend "Overland and Beyond", by Jonathan and Theresa Hewart and "Sahara Handbook", by Simon and Jan Glen.
Motorcycle
Riding a motorcycle is to riding a bus, what riding a bus is to staying at home. You just see so much more of everything, and even the sky is within your scope. I suppose this is why motorcycle riders always travel so fast; sitting still doesn't seem to accomplish much. Still, riding your private motorcycle has most of the drawbacks of bringing your own car. You still need all the documents, and you can't just walk off and leave it without the danger of robbery; but you can usually wheel your bike right into the courtyard of most any cheap hotel. Cross-country motorcycling is more fatiguing than riding the bus, not to mention the possibility of rain. For a taste of that Road, read "Jupiter's Travels", Ted Simon's narrative story of his four-year trip around the world on a motorcycle in the mid-1970's. This book has recently (1996) gone back into print in the U.S. -- by Jupitalia; ISBN# 0-9654-785-0-5.
Hiring a Car
Hiring a car for a few days or weeks can allow you to enjoy many of the same adventures as overland drivers, while limiting your exposure to the expenses, responsibilities, and perils of having a car. You can choose the safest and most interesting places to have an automobile for a few days, and then go back to the bus. In some places you must also hire a driver and pay for his meals. This does not usually add much to the cost of the car, and can be well worth it when you consider that it definitely limits your personal liability for any damages or breakdowns that the auto encounters.
Hiring a car is going to be quite expensive compared to the jolly old bus, but if you find the perfect adventure that can only be mounted by car, you might give it a thought. Before you do this, consider the feasibility of hitch-hiking; in many cases there will be no traffic at all, but just because there is no bus is not the best excuse to hire a car. In some countries, you are only inviting bandits by traveling by car to rural locations.
Yucatan Van
I once hired a van with a friend and spent two and a half weeks visiting all the Mayan ruins we could find in Yucatan, Mexico. We went to places you would never know existed otherwise, slept outside of villages that are on no maps, bush-whacked across country, and generally had one hell of a great time. Using as our guidebook "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan", Written by John L. Stephens in 1841, we found more Mayan ruins than you will see on any map of the area!
Check out
Coincidence of Travel in Yucatan,
on Randy's Travel Articles Page.
Scouting by Car
One more use for hiring a car is reconnoitering! I have done this unintentionally on two occasions, once on the Yucatan trip I mentioned above and once in Turkey, with my mother. After returning the rental car, I found myself going back to wonderful little places that I had discovered with the help of the car -- places that I never would have found traveling by any other method. And neither did anyone else.
Most travelers will think twice about investing money in a rental car just to reconnoiter, but in a few situations it may be worth looking into. For example, it's become very difficult to find a nice, unspoiled beach village along any of Turkey's lovely coastlines. Hire a car and spend a day or two exploring every little twist and turn on the coast. You will find enough hidden treasures to last you for months of independent travel without the car! And that is when you will end up seeing the real people in the real country that most tourists, and even travelers, don't get close to in Turkey.
Bicycle Travel
Bicycling is yet another way to travel around the Third World on your own, one I'll probably never try. There is not nearly the amount of bureaucratic paperwork necessary with autos and motorcycles, but still you must be careful about which countries require special permits for bicycles. China used to confiscate any bicycles coming into the country at some popular border points.
Bicycling is quite different from using public transportation. Bicyclists report friendly receptions by many of the people they see along the way, and just enough others trying to run them off the road to make it a bit challenging. Border crossings are sometimes easier, but occasionally much more hassle. A bicycle trip also needs to be a camping trip; you will need camping gear as well as plenty of spare parts and tools for your bicycle. As a result you will probably want specialized packs for your bicycle.
I have met a number of Westerners bicycling around various parts of the world. They tend to be people who are very enthusiastic about bicycling, but don't have much experience with traveling in the Third World. They end up carrying their bicycles on buses quite a bit, which need not be a major inconvenience or disappointment, but indicates that bicycling isn't always the most practical conveyance. Europe and New Zealand are great places to have a bicycle adventure; the Third World just takes quite a bit more preparation. If you find this discouraging, you can look into a number of organized bicycle touring adventures which can take you to some of the wildest bicycling in the world. See the book "Adventure Vacations", by Richard Bangs. You could also use such a trip as a springboard to begin a longer adventure of backpack travel.
Among the more recent books that can be recommended on solo bicycling is "Latin America on a Bicycle", by J.P. Panet, a small guide with many bicycle routes and also a bit of information on gear, tools, flying your bike, and such. Tales of round-the-world bicycling adventures include, "The Road of Dreams", by Bruce B. Junek, ('A Two-Year Bicycling and Hiking Adventure Around the World'), "Miles From Nowhere", by Barbara Savage, ('A Round-the-World Bicycle Adventure'), and "Full Tilt", (and several other books) by Dervla Murphy, ('Ireland to India with a Bicycle'). Even these intrepid journeys are made up of lots of bicycling across First World countries, interspersed with flying into particular Third World countries for weeks or months of adventure.
"Journey to the Source of the Nile", Nick Sanders' tale of bicycling in Africa, is out of print. Mr. Sanders is described as the holder of the record for the fastest time around the world on a bicycle! Wow! That's something to be proud of all right -- but not for a traveler!
One of the hardest journeys to plan for is from the airport into town. You often know nothing of the local language, culture, or money, let alone the transportation system. That's why the taxis are circling like sharks ready to feed!
Airport Bus
First look for the "airport bus", usually run by the national airline. It will be much cheaper than a taxi, have a fixed fare, and take you close to where you want to go. Ask at a genuine government Tourist Information Office, look in your guidebook or ask other travelers. The "airport buses" often seem to go out of business, run infrequently, stop early, or are bullied by the taxi drivers into maintaining such a low profile that you cannot find them. I have been told by airline ground staff to take a taxi because there was no airport bus, when in fact there was one.
Taxi
Next try sharing a taxi. Try not to approach any taxi line without knowing what a fair price is. If you can't get this information from someone before arrival, then stop any travelers or locals you see arriving by taxi and ask them the fare. Now you have a vague idea, although it usually costs somewhat more to leave the airport! With three to six people you should be able to avoid spending too much on the trip, even if you are mildly overcharged; it's a good opportunity to get together with other travelers in a new country, too.
You will usually be swarmed by taxi touts (not often the actual drivers) offering you "great deals" as they try to drag off your bags. Typical airport taxi tricks are to offer you 30 -- a very reasonable fare in Manila, until you discover that he really meant "30 dollars!" Or he meant 30 pesos for each of 6 people. They just love to cheat you this way. In a few places, the Tourist Office will write down fares, taxis actually have meters, or (in Calcutta and Mexico City) you can even purchase taxi tickets to a specific destination in advance from a taxi center. Otherwise, you are at their mercy.
"Airport Limousine"
This may just be the standard airport bus, it could also be a real limo, but usually it is a fancy share taxi, where you pay for each seat at a fixed price. If you don't have other alternatives, it could be cheaper than a taxi for one or two people.
More Info
A very good source is "How to Get from the Airport to the City All Over the World", by Norman Crampton, (M. Evans and Company, NY., 1992), and it is updated each year. It weighs only three ounces and could be brought along, but unless you take a lot of flights, it's easier to just copy a few pages and leave it at home.
Foot
Don't forget your feet! It's my favorite mode of local transport because I get to see everything along the way just as leisurely as I please. It also avoids the hassles involved with many modes of local transport -- crowding, haggling, and rip-offs. I don't save that much money but I really enjoy it. In any medium to small city, you should be able to get about anywhere on foot, but in places like Bangkok, Cairo, Rio, New Delhi, and anywhere in China, walking is a great deal of exercise indeed.
Local Buses
This is the next obvious choice. Get route information from the Tourist Office, your hotel, or a guide book. While they may have regular stops, these may not be sign-posted, or not in any script you can read. Local buses can be incredibly crowded. This is not only uncomfortable, but it can prove very difficult to get on, or off, and almost impossible to see when you have arrived at your destination. Fares are usually paid to conductors who pass through the bus selling tickets. You may have to know the name of your stop in order to pay the correct fare, but most often there will be one flat fare. It is not very common to be over-charged on regular city buses that give out tickets. Hold on to your ticket for bus inspectors.
Local Mini-Buses
These ply many city routes, and are often more plentiful, but still as crowded as the buses. They usually do not give tickets, and the chances of overcharging are greater.
Now you are truly in the realm of the rip-off! Still, you will sometimes want to use a taxi to get to out-of-the-way places, especially if you are carrying your bags. Manila has cheap metered taxis (but not at the airport) which are a pleasure to use -- although Jeepneys are cheaper and more exciting. Metered taxis are occasionally available in Latin America, but can be a bit of a luxury. In most places, however, the meters are either ignored, do not work, or inflation requires the driver to multiply the metered fare even to get the official rate. In any case, you are usually forced to bargain with the driver, and these guys are hard on tourists. Never pay in advance.
If you already know what a reasonable, or regular fare is -- and if you have nerves of steel -- you can just jump in the taxi and pay what you want when you get out. When the driver complains, pay a little more and walk away. Alternatively, state your price when getting in, before he can offer his outrageous tourist fare. When I was in Cairo, a taxi ride cost from one to two pounds. If you asked for the fare, the driver would start at ten, and drive a hard bargain down to four. If you just jumped in and handed him a pound on exit, you could get away with it on short rides, or perhaps add one more for longer ones. This still wore out my nerves.
When carrying your luggage to or from an airport or far-flung station, a taxi may be preferable to braving public buses. I always carry my bag with me inside a taxi; aside from the occasional risk of having it taken from the boot (trunk), I can quickly exit when an argument ensues. If you do load luggage, verify if there is an extra charge, agree on the total fee before you give up your bag, and make it a habit to watch the trunk closed before you get inside.
Tri-Shaw * Bicycle rickshaw, Pedicab, Samlor, Becak, etc.
This is a bicycle with a "side-car" attached, a typical mode of cheap transport in much of Asia. Bandy-legged tri-shaw drivers will struggle with you all over town, earning almost as much sympathy as the irritation they can cause with their bothersome salesmanship and cut-throat bargaining. Even at a rip-off they are cheap, and in some places they are quiet and helpful. You can load two people and luggage onto one of these little machines, but I certainly wouldn't want to have to pedal it.
Check out Tout Realities under
Glimpses of the Road, back on
Randy's Travel Page.
Auto-Rickwhaw * Three-wheeler, tuk-tuk, vespa, etc.
This is motorcycle-driven version of the tri-shaw. It may look like a tri-shaw with a motorbike instead of a bicycle, or it could be more like an enclosed three-wheel golf cart; it is still basically a three-wheeled motorbike with seats.
Horse-Cart * Tonga, Calessa, Dokar, etc.
Still common in the western parts of Asia and a few other places as common transport, horsecarts are quaint, photogenic, slow, and can be just as expensive as an auto-rickshaw.
Ox-Cart
Okay, I really did get a ride on a passing ox-cart one time on the way to Chitwan National Park in Nepal, but the meter was broken.
Rickshaw
The original "jinriki-sha", powered by a human pulling a cart, only survives as regular public transportation in Calcutta. The ones in Hong Kong are just for tourists' photo opportunities, and the traditional ones in Japan (where it got its name) are only used to transport high-class geishas in Ginza and Kyoto. Even the Chinese outlawed them as inhuman and degrading. Read all about the lowly Calcutta rickshaw wallahs in the fascinating book, "City of Joy", and give them a try if you really must; they are very cheap.
Water Taxi
There are still a few water taxis left in the canals of Bangkok, and a few other places. Unless they are run just for tourists they should be quite cheap, since they are really more like a local bus than a taxi.
Bicycles
Hiring a bicycle is one of the best modes of local transportation, if you can find one. I wouldn't want one in Bangkok -- where the exhaust fumes would kill you if the taxis didn't -- but closer to the countryside, you can spend days poking around on your own, and at your leisure. If you can find someone at your hotel to rent you one for several days, it can be a very good deal. Bicycles are the perfect form of transport in Chinese cities, which are usually huge and flat; unfortunately, they are not available everywhere. I hired one in Beijing for an entire week.
Motorbikes
A number of rural tourist areas have invested in the business of hiring motorbikes to travelers. You may need a valid motorcycle license to hire one. This can be a great way to explore the countryside, but many tourists each year get into nasty accidents on these things. The backroads of the Third World are quite frightening on a bus, and much more so on a motorbike; not a good place to learn to ride one. But for medium-range transport, you can see all the sights around an entire area in a day or two, that would take a week or more by bicycle, and that you would probably miss otherwise.
Horse, Donkey, Camel, Elephant
You owe it to yourself as a traveler to endure as many different kinds of travel experiences as you possibly can, including riding on horseback, donkey, elephant, camel, and anything else you find. If the beast actually transports you someplace besides just around in tight circles, so much the better. However, I give you fair warning that unless you are already accustomed to riding horses, more than an hour or two will leave you quite sore. Even horseback riding will not prepare you for the strains of riding camels or elephants. Start off slowly; try a few hours or a day trip before signing on for a week on a camel or an elephant.
Going off into the desert for five days or more on a camel will be excruciating, and you will end up doing a lot of walking. But if you have the spirit of the adventure traveler in you, you will go out and do it anyway. You will have a fantastic experience, you will be in agony during most of it and won't be able to walk again for two days afterwards. But you will still tell other unsuspecting travelers how incredibly worthwhile it all was! Welcome to the club.
Personally, I would not normally hire a horse to get anywhere I could walk in a few hours. But then, I'm not a horseman and I know from experience that it could take almost as long for me to ride, with much more painful results.
Finally, the horses, donkeys, and camels you are offered to ride will often be too small, and not exactly the finest stock. And you will definitely not appreciate the way the animals are treated by their handlers. Naturally, you should approach bargaining with camel-drivers and elephant-wallahs as you would dealing with a mule-skinner (just one step up out of the ooze from taxi drivers). All too often, once you get out into the wilderness, the agreed upon terms and amenities change drastically. Welcome to the Real Third World!
Good luck, and Happy Trails!
Randy's Travel Page
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