Exploratory Walks: A Travel Favorite and Four Tips for A Successful Walk
Walking is usually my favorite mode of exploration. When I travel, I tend to take a walk around a new city. It doesn’t cost anything and it allows me a chance to get a more thorough flavor of the new area: different neighborhoods, people, shops—the overall vibe!
There are some challenges to walking, however, mainly the required physical energy and safety in an unfamiliar place. Here are four quick tips for a good walking experience:
1) Stick to Daylight Hours
If you are in an unfamiliar place, exploring during daylight is best. Not only can you see the area more clearly, but more people are usually out during the day. If you are walking by yourself, having other people around you is good. You become part of the crowd and less of a “tourist target.”
2) Make a General Walking Plan
I can easily find myself walking for a good potion of daylight hours. To plan for this time boundary, exploration walks of course have to have some sort of overall plan: sites to see, a particular neighborhood, or a particular shop to visit. Of course, you cannot forget to eat, allow for bathroom breaks, or how to get back to your home or hotel! I also allow for time to deviate from my plan, rather than feeling stuck with a specific route. The whole point of walking is to be able to explore that small corner garden or to stop in that bookstore you suddenly spotted. If you simply wanted a view of the streets, you could have paid for a bus ticket.
3) Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Besides sticking to daylight hours, I also suggest ditching the headphones (or have them turned off) and being incredibly aware of your surroundings. Each city is different and has different vibes…both good and bad. Some areas are more crowded, some are deserted, and even one block to the next may be different. You would not know this necessarily without some research and personal experience. So if you are feeling at all uncomfortable, turn around and get back to a better spot!
4) Don’t Be A Target
This point is crucial. Blend in as much as reasonably possible. Don’t be the only person gapping at a building and holding a selfie stick. Act like you know where you’re going and where you are—or discreetly ask a shop manager or another trustworthy-looking person for directions. When I first moved to NYC from the Midwest, I learned to walk quickly and to look grumpy (I called it my “New York grumpy face.”) It worked well, as I was rarely bothered. I do recall several instances when I was actually lost and walked around the same block several times looking for a specific address…I still walked quickly and confidently, acting as if I wasn’t lost.
These four tips seem fairly obvious, but come from my personal experience in traveling and living in different cities and countries. The last two tips really depend on your awareness of the locality. From NYC to London, to Manchester, to St. Louis…all of these cities have their own vibes and safe/less safe areas. It is up to you to judge how to fit in and what is comfortable for you. I will say that personally there are blocks in St. Louis I would never go to, just like there are areas in Manchester that I also tend to avoid…and that is after years of living in NYC. The point is, it doesn’t matter where you’re from. You still have to judge and adapt to the new situation. It’s an adventure!
I will admit that even after living in an area of years, I do misjudge sometimes. One of the stupidest things I’ve ever done is cut across Central Park alone at dusk. As you can imagine, dusk became dark a bit too quickly and I was stuck in the middle of the very dark park. Being alone in the middle of Central Park after dark is obviously a very bad idea and I was super scared. Luckily, I made it out of the park safely at a run. Do not make this same mistake!
How Does This Impact Me Today?
I am reflecting on the idea of exploratory walks as we come toward the end of this pandemic. Many of us are getting vaccinated and will start resuming some part of pre-pandemic life in the next few months, if we haven’t already. We will return to the office, school, and possibly visit family for the first time in over a year. Even though these things are familiar in our past, they are unfamiliar to our present. Commuting to work is unfamiliar. Physically sitting in a classroom with classmates and a teacher is unfamiliar. Seeing a friend in person rather than on a screen is unfamiliar.
Even in my own neighborhood things have changed. Shops have closed, some new shops have opened, etc. There are blocks that are completely altered. As we slowly (hopefully) exit this pandemic, I think we will all feel a bit like travelers exploring what used to be our former lives, but what is forever changed in some ways.
