letters from readers

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being a travel editor we get sent letters every day. part of the fun of my job is to answer them, and provide assistance for people’s trips. Here is a letter i got today from Candace.

Dear gonomad

Hi, I’m backpacking through europe next summer with acouple of friends but the coordinator’s parent’s thinkthat it’s important to travel in even numbers forconvenience in rooming arrangements. in which case, wewould need to find someone we’d want to come who canmake such a big commitment… Is it really thatimportant for us to travel in even numbers before wemake this into something to worry about?

Candace

I wonder about that. If you are staying always in hotels, then yes that would make sense, to double up in the rooms…but you can also rent a hotel room with two twin beds and a cot, or a double bed and a single. Hotels are pretty flexible. If you stay in hostels, they have dorm rooms, so that would be irrelevant.

Mostly, I think you have to think about who the people are who you are embarking on the journey with. Do you really like being with them, do they get on your nerves, what is their vision of the trip…is it like yours? I always want to be able to get out on my own and see things that I want to see, are you going to be trapped in the Louvre for three days while your friend gazes at the Mona Lisa? Do you want to get out to the countryside and pick grapes, do they want to do that too? Only pick someone who will share your vision and let your trip be yours.

I’d suspect that the “adult” who is saying you need to have an even number has more in mind than just accommmodations. Maybe she/he wants you to get a more responsible party on board to keep track of things.

Let us know how you end up, and if you see wonderful things worthy of sharing with our audience, send us a story. If you are in the US, send us your size we’ll send you a shirt to wear on your trip. How did you find GoNOMAD.com?

i also got a story sent in by a woman from India who saw Amsterdam’s Red Light district for the first time ever. It was a sweet little tale but i told her that i thought it wasn’t right for gonomad but that she could send us a new story if she liked.