We talk about traveling a lot—with each other, with our friends, with our families. Some of us have had some serious adventures (see my posts on Syria) and face questions when we return home: how could you have done that? How could you have gone there?

It got us thinking about fears that prevent people from traveling. So, we conducted an informal survey and here’s what people told us are the reasons not to travel, as well as our responses:

Plane crashes
The risk of being in a plane crash is actually very, very slim. You’re much more likely to be in a car accident in the city you live in.

Diseases
Are everywhere. As are treatments. Do a little research before you travel: get the appropriate vaccinations, bring along medicines, and look up locations of hospitals and doctors. A little bit of preparation can ensure that you have a fun, healthy trip.

Language barrier
I was in Thailand when I saw the sign: Feeding Area. Sure, it was in English, but I had no idea what it meant. Who or what was to be fed in this area? Could I be fed here? If I sat down, would someone bring me food? Or did the sign imply that this was a picnic area?

Language barrier is one of the most common concerns we heard. But there are certain parts of the United States where people don’t speak English (Head to Miami—you’ll find enclaves that are impossible to navigate without Spanish). Once you start traveling, you’ll be surprised by how little you actually need language and how much smiles and gestures work. We think the language barrier, a common concern, is less of a barrier and more of an illusion.

In the deep south of Thailand, where no Western tourist dares to go, and most of the locals don’t speak a lick of English, I made a friend.  I stopped to admire her store, and this elderly woman patted the seat, asked me to join her, and I did. Without language, we communicated our ages to each other and she made it clear to me that she admired my skin and hair. We sat for a time without words. It was lovely.

Political turmoil
In the rare instances there is an upheaval or unrest, it is unusual for foreigners to be targeted. Political turmoil is a local affair and typically it will not spread so quickly through the population as to prevent you from leaving the area, if need be.

Wild animals
What? Wild animals? Yes, this one surprised us to. Strike this one off the list if you’re headed to a big city. And if you’re headed into nature, well, just remember that wild animals are everywhere in the world. If you’re truly terrified, inform yourself before you go and avoid the areas that are full of the animal you fear.

Expensive
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be as expensive or cheap as you want it to be. On a tight budget? Try hostels and street food. Actually, we think being on a tight budget is an advantage… when you’re spending a lot of money you tend to be in a bubble of luxury or tourists. When you’re spending money like a local, you tend to be, well, around more locals. And that’s where the truly rewarding and memorable experiences come from—interacting with people, sometimes without language, and seeing that you are welcomed in the world.

Have you ever walked away from a vendor with that sinking feeling you were ripped off? Have you bought something overseas and arrived home only to have a friend tell you that they got the same thing—but for half the price? Here are five sure-fire haggling tips (and a video tutorial) that will help you get that great souvenir, at a great price:

5) Confuse the vendor. (Is this guy really a monk, or is it a clever disguise for haggling?)

Typically, vendors will ask you where you come from. Why? They are trying to size you up to charge you accordingly. Vendors have different prices in mind for Europeans and Americans and they even adjust the prices according to where in Europe you come from. If they can’t size you up so well, they’re thrown off their game.

This might sound devious, but you can do it nicely, playfully:
“Where are you from?” they ask.
“Where do you think I’m from?” you respond.

They rattle off a list of places, maybe even try out some foreign languages on you, and you smile beatifically, giving an occasional nonchalant shrug (or better yet, if you speak multiple languages respond in a little, just a little, of each). Play coy. Which leads me to the next point…

4) Keep calm. And keep quiet. (That Buddha’s got a thing or two to teach you about bargaining).

Keeping calm is obvious. But keeping quiet? Sounds like a counter-intuitive Zen koan, right? How can you haggle if you’re not… well, talking? But think about it– the more you speak, the more they can place your accent and background. So make your responses short, but pleasant. Remember that it’s a business transaction and that it’s not necessary to get personally acquainted with the salesperson.

However, there are some places where a lengthy, leisurely conversation (or a passionate debate) is part of the transaction, which leads me to…

3) Be aware of the local customs. (This woman isn’t pointing her feet at you, so make sure you don’t point those filthy appendages of yours at her).

Huh? What do dirty feet have to do with haggling? The point is that you’ve got to be aware of the local customs and manners. In some countries, the advice you have read thus far will work like gold and you’ll get in, get out, and get a great price on that one-of-a-kind souvenir. But in other cultures, the advice I have given is totally wrong and will get you nowhere. Be fluid and adapt yourself. How? First, watch the locals and then imitate them. Even if you don’t understand a lick of the language, you’ll get a sense of the rhythm of the transaction by watching a few.

But no matter where you go:

2) Be prepared to walk. (Yes, those handmade, Moroccan shoes were made for walking. Get ready to use them).

No, I don’t mean from site to site! I mean that you have to be prepared to walk away from that perfect souvenir if the price isn’t right. Non-attachment is one of the keys to haggling, no matter where you are in the world. The less interest you show in an item, the harder the vendor will try to convince you that it, and the price, is great.

In fact, some of the best deals I’ve gotten have been struck when I have literally walked away. The moment my feet have started moving, the price started moving too—down, that is.

1) Keep a target price, and item, in mind and stick to it. Adamantly. (Don’t walk away with bananas when you really wanted to buy avocados).

Stay focused on what you want and what you pay for it. It’s common sense, but you’d be suprised at how is it is to get carried away in the haggling itself and end up walking away with that mosque-shaped alarm clock (that rings five times a day to remind you to pray!) you never knew you wanted.

Did we miss one? Got a haggling tip that always works for you? Tell us about it!

Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, if you’re a patriot, any presidential inauguration is an exciting event. The inauguration of Barak Obama is a momentous occasion. The 2008 presidential campaign was one of the most polarizing and gripping campaigns that the country has witnessed. Obama is taking the reins during a very difficult—and very critical—time in both American and world history. Obama’s entrance into the oval office represents the ending of an era… and the beginning of a new one.

The inauguration itself will be unique—according to the Presidential Inauguration Committee website, “For the first time ever, the length of the National Mall will be open to those wishing to attend the swearing-in ceremony.” Gone is the exclusivity of past inaugurations. You don’t have to be a politician, you don’t have to be rich. You can go to Obama’s inauguration for free.

There will be other free and open-to-the-public events, as well, including a performance by Aretha Franklin and a parade that will run from Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

(Now for the part that, unfortunately, isn’t free– travel and accommodations. But we’ll do our best to give you some money-saving tips):

If you’ve not yet made plans to attend the festivities, it’s not too late—you don’t have to miss out on this once in a lifetime event. If you don’t live within driving distance of Washington DC, check out Kayak.com for last-minute flight deals.

Yes, hotels in Washington DC will be full to bursting or, if you can find a room, it will be shockingly expensive in the days around the inauguration. However, Tripbase did some research and found that there are rooms left in nearby cities—some for as low as 69 dollars a night. Assuming a check-in date of January 19 and a check-out date of January 21, you should be able to find hotel rooms in the following cities (listed in order of proximity to Washington DC):

Annapolis, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Richmond, Virginia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

OK, so there are rooms available in nearby cities. That’s just one part. What about the expense– to both your wallet and your time?

We researched exactly how far these cities are from Washington DC and approximated how much time it will take you to drive to the capitol from them. (Remember, these are approximate times—give yourself plenty of wiggle room for traffic or delays. Inauguration events kick of at 10 AM on January 19). We also figured out how much gas money it would cost you. Assuming that your car gets 25 miles per gallon:

From Annapolis: 33 miles, 45 minutes, $2.31
From Baltimore: 41 miles, 1 hour, $2.88
From Richmond: 106 miles, just under 2 hours, $7.34
From Philadelphia: 141 miles, almost 3 hours, $10.23

Setting aside the price of plane tickets– which don’t apply to everyone– what will attending this extraordinary event cost you? Let’s say that you go it alone– you spend 40 dollars round-trip to drive to and from Philadelphia. There you stay at a mid-range hotel, paying about 100 dollars a night (x two nights=200 dollars). You’ll pay another $20.46 round-trip in gas from Philadelphia to DC (and back again). Let’s say that you end up paying $20 for parking once you’re in Washington DC. For food, we’ll budget $50 a day, for a total of $100– which is on the high end (realistically, you could spend half that amount and still eat very well. See this guide on delicious but dirt cheap eats in DC).

The grand total? $390, and that’s probably an overestimation.

OK, so it’s not exactly chump change, and you definitely won’t find it beneath your couch cushions, but it’s a small price to pay to participate in something that will never happen again– Obama’s inauguration.

Are you planning on throwing an inauguration party? Reconsider. You’d probably spend at least $100 dollars on refreshments and food. Why don’t you ask three of four friends if they want to go to the inauguration with you rather than watching it at home?

Using the example above again: a group of four suddenly brings that 40 dollars on gas for the trip to and from Philadelphia to 10 bucks each. A 100 dollar hotel room plummets down to 25 bucks a night per person (so $50 a person for two nights). That 20 dollars of gas to make the trip from Philadelphia to DC, and back again, becomes 5 bucks each– and yes, that’s something you might be able to find underneath your couch cushions. That 20 dollars in parking becomes, again, 5 dollars each.

But let’s keep that high estimation of $50 a person for food (hey, there are great restaurants in Washington DC).

The new total? 170 dollars. Not bad.

Take that inauguration party to Washington DC. Sure it’s last minute, sure the hotels in DC are full, but if you want it, you can make it happen… like Obama did.

All photos from Flickr. Photo credits (in order of placement): Hope- Obama (Shepard Fairey poster) by Steve Rhodes; Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington DC by yeowatzup; Barack Obama by transplanted mountaineer; The White House by Scott Ableman.

Need some luck? Or are you just out of Hershey’s Syrup? Either way, you can buy this “Luckiness Syrup” in Shanghai (which is where I took this photo).

Have you seen any other oddly-named products while you were traveling? Share your pictures with us! (We will credit you, of course).

While researching part one– There’s poo on your shoe!– of this travel scam series, I ran across a couple more travel scams that tourists should beware…

You want how much for that pot of tea?! Here’s one from China: English-speaking tourists are approached by “Chinese students” at popular tourists sites in Beijing and Shanghai, for example, who want to “practice their English.” Because this isn’t so abnormal, sans scam, the tourists aren’t on guard. The Chinese students then ask the tourists if they want to go for tea, or to see a traditional tea ceremony. Why not? Seems innocent enough, right?

Wrong.

The bottom of the tea pot leads to the bottom of your wallet– when you slurp down the last drop of tea, you’ll find yourself staring down the barrel of a big, big bill that adds up to hundreds of dollars. Said one blogger, who was a victim of this scam, “there seemed to be an extra zero on the total.”

And what is there to do? You don’t speak Chinese, they barely speak English. Most people just cough up the cash and move on.

The bus station scam: my travel mates and I fell victim to this one in Delhi. One of my travel mates had only two days before she flew back to London and was desperate to see the Taj Mahal before she left. We went to the bus station to get tickets a day in advance. As we approached the counter, a well-dressed man approached us (and, yes, alarms started going off in my head at this time) and asked us if we were going to Agra. One of my travel mates said yes. He told us that there were no seats left on the public buses, but hey, we were in luck! We could book a seat with his company. He promptly hustled us out of the bus station and into his travel agency.

“You guys,” I whispered under my breath as we were filing into the office just a stone’s throw away from the bus station, “the Lonely Planet warned about this. We’re being had.”

But my travel mate really, really wanted to see the Taj Mahal before she went back to London.

Despite my protests, we ended going on a “tour” the next day. It cost us double what going on our own would have cost… and we felt like we’d been kidnapped. The “tour” lasted over twelve hours and included not only the “obligatory” stop at an Agra marble store, but also stops at various Krishna-related temples and sites. At one of these temples, we were strongly urged to donate money (which we didn’t).

We were the only Westerners on the bus and the Indian tourists seemed equally appalled at being scammed– by Krishna worshipers, nonetheless.

This leads me to my last points…

Remember that you can be fleeced no matter where you are in the world. Just as the Indians on our “tour” were scammed in India, you can be scammed in your mother country. And not all travelers are fellow innocents– travelers can be scammers, too. Stories abound about tourists who have been had by other tourists.

With all this said, I wouldn’t recommend going through your travels overly concerned about scams and strangers. In fact, some of my best travel experiences (including sleeping in an old man’s bed in Syria) have involved total strangers. Travelers must walk a line between weariness and openness.

OK, now it’s your turn! Share your travel stories– good and bad– with me…