This week’s Indie Travel Challenge prompt asks travelers to impart their wisdom to first-time travelers. I hope that the following advice will serve you well.

Dear First-Time Traveler (or anyone who could use a bit of travel advice),

First of all, I’m so excited for you! You are about to embark on a journey to some destination, whether it’s out of your home country or just out of your home state or province. You’re probably feeling very excited and maybe a little nervous right now, possibly even a little overwhelmed. These are all perfectly normal feelings!

I’d like to give you the best advice I can think of which will prepare you for travel. I want to tell you my secret of the single best thing to pack with you on any trip.

Ready? Here it is: the right mindset.

I know, I know. You were expecting a physical, real-world object, weren’t you? But honestly, your actual packing list shouldn’t matter much. If you forget something, you can always buy it on the road.

But if you forget to pack a good mindset, your trip is likely to be unpleasant if not miserable. How do you pack it, you ask? Here are some things to think about.

• Don’t expect things to be the same as back home. You’ve traveled some distance. Many things are going to be different. If you go into the trip knowing this, you can stop yourself from getting annoyed or complaining when you can’t find your favorite brand of toothpaste at the store.
• Be open to new experiences. Just as things will be different, you will have the opportunity to try new foods and do new things. Embrace it! Even if you don’t end up liking what you try, it will make a good story later.
• Think positive. Not everything is sunshine and roses when you travel. Things often don’t go the way you planned. But if you can just go with it, smile and even laugh about your mistakes, you will enjoy yourself much more.
• Remember, it’s an adventure. I find if you think of every trip as an adventure, things can’t get you down. So when you’re feeling upset about something that’s happening, remember – this is an adventure! Savor every moment of it.

Hopefully, once you’ve packed your proper mindset, you will have a much better trip. No, it probably won’t be perfect (but if it is – how awesome for you!). But you will have great memories and stories to tell. Travel can change you for the better – here’s hoping it does for you.

Sincerely,

Rachel, who was once a first-time traveler too.

Recently, I was contacted by Gringos Korea and asked to review their mail order burritos. Never one to pass up tasty Mexican food, I agreed.

Gringos Korea is run by Mike and Mark, two hagwon teachers living near Seoul. They make burritos, chili, salsa, and dip and ship them frozen to anywhere in Korea. It takes about a week (or a little more) to get the burritos.

The first burrito I tried was the bacon breakfast burrito. I thawed it overnight, and as soon as I unwrapped the plastic a delicious smell hit me. I heated it up (just half, sadly I had to share with Jeff) and was really excited to see the cheese oozing out of it. The potatoes were fluffy, the egg was good, and the bacon was tasty and salty. Now that’s a good start to your day.

The next morning, I tried the chorizo breakfast burrito. There are fewer potatoes in it, but that’s made up for by the fact that there are refried beans. Also, the chorizo is spicy and very flavorful. It definitely packs more of a punch than the bacon one. Both are delicious; it just depends on your mood really.

For dinner, I ate the vegetarian burrito. Before coming to Korea, I tried out being vegetarian for four months. I know that there are good veggie burritos, and there are bad ones too. Happily, this was a good one! There is well-spiced, firm and meaty tofu, rice, cheese, and refried beans. The best thing about this burrito is that the fillings are proportioned perfectly. There isn’t too much of anything. It’s slightly spicy and totally delicious. Exactly what you want in a vegetarian burrito!

The chicken burrito was very similar to the vegetarian burrito, but with nicely spiced chicken instead of nicely spiced tofu. Delicious!

Next it was on to the non-burrito items. First up, bean and cheese dip. I was struck first by how oniony it tasted. It’s very smooth, very tasty, and has enough cheese. You can also get it with chorizo mixed in – I can only imagine the yumminess. It’s addictive!

Another thing to dip your chips in is the salsa. This salsa is a little spicy, and has plenty of chunks of tomato, while still being mostly liquid. For me this is a pretty good consistency for salsa. It’s good salsa, but probably the weak point of Gringos’ offerings – just meaning it’s nothing special. The rest of the food is great, and the salsa is just good.

Finally, I tried the chili. I love chili, but I am kind of picky about it. It needs to be well seasoned and not have too much meat. It should have plenty of beans, too. Well, this chili fulfilled my requirements and had a generous dose of cheese as well. Score! [Apologies for the lack of picture - I devoured my half of the chili before I remembered to take one!]

Overall, the stuff that Gringos Korea makes is delicious. It is some of the best Mexican food you can get in Korea, and it’s deliverable right to your door! The veggie burrito is the only good veggie burrito I have found in Korea. And you could make it vegan too. Everything is kind of spicy, which I like, but you can order it ‘mild’ if you don’t like spicy stuff. Best of all, the price is quite reasonable! I highly recommend trying them out if you live in Korea and crave burritos.

Details:

• Price: A 6 pack is 30,000 Won, while a 12 pack is 55,000 Won. You can mix it up however you want – it’s 6 or 12 items, so for example, that could be 5 burritos and 1 salsa, or 1 burrito, 3 chilis, and 2 bean dips. Shipping is 7,500 Won in the Seoul Metro area and 10,000 Won to locations outside of the Seoul Metro area (Incheon counts as the Seoul metro area!).
• How to Order: Head to this website. Follow the directions. Sit by the door and wait for your delicious burritos (okay, maybe you don’t want to sit by the door for 7-10 days – but they’ll come soon!).

Disclaimer: Gringos Korea provided me with free shipping and a free salsa. However, all views expressed are my own.

For more on finding delicious Mexican food in Korea, check out our Seoul Mexican food guide and our post on recent eats.

Cheese from Chapel’s Country Creamery, which I got at my local farmer’s market in Columbia Heights, Washington, DC. I’m pretty sure this is the Chapelle Cave-Aged cheese.

Rachel and I recently bought travel insurance from World Nomads. If you’re going on a round the world trip for a year, it’s good to have some emergency measures right? Here’s the strange thing, the cheapest insurance to buy in terms of monthly average is the 6 month policy. Anything more or less is pricier. Look at this chart.

As you can see, the price steadily decreases until it gets to 6 months, then it shoots up again. How could this pricing structure be rational? Here are some of my ideas.

• The company makes a lot of money off of people who are unsure how long they are going to travel. Many of these people can be enticed to ‘play it safe’ and buy 6 months of insurance (more than they need), but generally not more.
• Long term travelers are actually more risky investments. Up to the six month mark you get a bulk discount, but more than that and you’re signalling to the company that you do a different kind of extra risky travel.
• They advertise that you can renew your policy on the road. Assuming they are allowed to reject you for any reason, this gives the company an opportunity to weed out the most expensive clients every 6 months.

What do you think? Any other ideas?

I’m an equine enthusiast. I have ridden and loved horses all my life. My childhood bedroom (which remains nearly unchanged) was covered with horse posters, model horses that I collected, and blue ribbons that I won. So I jump at the chance to do anything horse related when I travel – though I try to be discerning when it comes to riding; I really don’t want to give money to any place that doesn’t treat their horses right.

When I was a kid, I dreamed I could get famous for riding. My main dream was to ride for the US in the Olympics, but my secondary one was to become a racing jockey. I knew I was too tall, too heavy for that, but hey, I have a history of doing things I’m too big for (for instance, I was a coxswain for my high school crew team. I could barely cram my 5’7″ self into the cox seat in some shells, but I did it anyway).

Despite my dream of someday riding a racehorse, I didn’t watch races much. But I did go to the races a few times. I discovered in Korea that horse racing is somewhat popular, and there’s a track in Gwacheon, not far from Seoul.

On a lovely April day, Jeff and I headed over to Seoul Race Park and paid the 800 Won admission fee. We also picked up one of the race pamphlets that are everywhere for 1000 Won (pro tip: wait until you get into the park and pick up the free English version!).

We found a nice spot on the grass near the home stretch and sat and watched the races. We were able to stand at the rail and see everything, which was cool. It wasn’t too crowded.

I also took some time to watch them warming up a little.

Some women in tan coats escorted the racehorses to the starting gate on big grays.

And then, as they say, they were off! Horse races go fast; if you’re not quick you’ll miss it.

We took a break from watching to eat some tasty fried mandu (dumplings).

The Seoul Race Park has a museum inside on the history of horses in Korea. It’s small but pretty decent, and not to mention free. It’s in a separate building from the grandstand.

After walking through the main building (and picking up a “how to betting” pamphlet), which is pretty much just full of betting machines, we walked down so we could watch the horses rounding the last turn.

This, apparently, is where all the professional photographers hang out. At least based on their gigantic lenses and clearly very expensive gear.

We left after a few hours. We decided to skip out on betting; we’re not much for gambling, though there is something like a 1000 Won (about US $0.86) minimum so you don’t have to spend much for betting! There is also a very small trick-eye painting area in the main building which we did not neglect to pose with.

Seoul Race Park is easy to find; it’s at the Seoul Race Park stop on line 4 (close to the zoo and Seoul Land). Again, it costs 800 Won to get in – you can even pay with your T-Money card! Something to note is that unlike horse racing in America (and unlike many activities in Korea), there is no drinking at the race track. I guess gambling and drinking don’t mix in Korea.

Do you enjoy horse races?

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

I love interesting museums. If they’re food-related, that is a definite plus. While the Tteok (Rice Cake) Museum was pretty lame (and, on top of that, didn’t allow pictures!), the Kimchi Field Museum in COEX Mall was actually really awesome.

The first section showed some kimchi making implements and the history of kimchi.

We found it really interesting that the ubiquitous cabbage kimchi with red pepper paste didn’t begin to appear until the 1800s. Kimchi itself, however, goes back further into Korean history. Red pepper wasn’t available in the country until 1700 – in fact, it came from Mexico by way of Japan. Even then, it was only used medicinally for about 100 years, after which it showed up as an ingredient in kimchi (and is now everywhere in Korean cuisine).

The next section had a bunch of food models of seasonal and regional kimchis. Despite having eaten plenty of kimchi, I had not heard of most of these kinds. There are hundreds of kinds of kimchi. Basically any salted, pickled, or fermented vegetable counts. There were even some seafood kimchis.

Next up was a section about what’s in kimchi, that encouraged you to smell each ingredient.

Then there was a series of dioramas showing the kimchi making process, as well as some different kinds of kimchi storage jars. After that there was a room detailing the health benefits of kimchi with little cartoons to illustrate them.

Finally, there was a kimchi tasting room. The kimchi here was prime quality. There were many varieties – all delicious! I learned a lot at the kimchi museum and really recommend a visit when you’re in Seoul.

Details:

• Location: It’s in the second basement level of COEX mall, in the part close to the aquarium.
• Admission: 3,000 Won. The tasting alone is worth that!
• Hours: Open 10-6. Closed Mondays.
• Other Info: You can enjoy all the museum has to offer in about an hour.

This week’s Indie Travel Challenge prompt asks about what tools you use to organize your travel inspiration.

I am constantly dreaming about travel. Even to the point where I sometimes find myself thinking about future travel while I am traveling. I get nearly all my inspiration from travel blogs (see my links for my favorites). Every time I open up Google Reader, my RSS feed reader of choice, I find something new that I really, really want to do, or a place I just must go.

This constant dreaming of wanderlust goes well with my obsession with making lists. One day a year or so ago, I stumbled across a mention of the website Evernote (I think it was on LifeHacker but I’m not sure). I decided to test it out.

Evernote allows you to make notes (pretty simple really). You can tag them to organize them. You can upload pictures, PDFs, and documents as well. If there are words in your picture, Evernote is smart enough that they are now searchable (how cool is that?). You can sync across various devices like your computer and your phone.

Now, Evernote has become an essential part of my life. The only problem now is that it has been blocked at my school. I was totally devastated at that point – I use it for everything! How can I add stuff to my “places and things to see (world)” note? Or my “foods to try” one, organized by country?

I decided to take my places to go and things to eat lists to a new level when I signed up for Pinterest. Here is my profile there. I have now started to visualize my Evernote lists – so I’ve got things I want to eat and places I want to go.

This has become a sort of terrible addiction, but luckily I only do it sporadically now. At least, now that I’m planning a round the world trip, I have plenty of material to pull from!

How do you get your travel inspiration?

We were tagged by Lauren of Lateral Movements to do the HostelBookers 7 Super Shots thing.

I am always up for a good meme, but choosing photos is so difficult. I have done it to the best of my ability. Enjoy!

A Photo That…

Takes my breath away

In New Zealand, every corner you round has a good chance of providing a new breathtaking view. I was most impressed with the landscape in and around Wanaka on the South Island. This photo is of Lake Hawea which is not far from Wanaka. The incredible blue water and the reflection of the mountains just left me speechless.

Makes me laugh/smile

This picture shows Jeff arm wrestling a high school Korean girl – and losing. I love her surprised expression when she realized she was winning.

Makes me dream

I love the soft colors of this picture, and how the sunset is just a blend of colors. It looks like a painting to me. Also, this was taken at my grandmother’s vacation house. This scene – the sun setting over the water behind the tree in the front yard – was the inspiration for my family tattoo. So it makes me dream of the past and it also just seems really dreamy.

Makes me think

This photo makes me think about a few different things: ladies’ fashion in South Korea, the culture of wearing/using English words in South Korea, and, indeed, who does care? I have more to say on the first two, which I will write about in the future.

Makes my mouth water

We’ve talked about roti canai before. We don’t always agree in our tastes, or fall head over heels for the same food – but roti is different. I think it’s fair to say that we both have the same intense passion for it. Looking at this picture of roti telur (roti filled with egg, served with curry) makes my mouth water a whole bunch and makes me want to hop on a plane to Malaysia immediately!

Tells a story

Our time in the tiny village of San Marcos, Costa Rica was incredible. Never have I felt so in touch with locals than when I visited my friend in the Peace Corps here. We also traveled to a neighboring village to help bake bread. This picture shows the family’s parrot perched on part of the main house, right next to the village’s only bread oven.You can tell a lot from this picture. The oven was made by hand, as nearly everything is in this rural community. The family lives in a very basic structure – the main house was wooden but the daughter lived in a small shack with metal siding and a dirt floor. The family has many pets and keeps pigs for food. We got a great glimpse into village life for the day.

I am most proud of (aka my worthy of National Geographic shot)

I took this picture in a garden section of the Singapore Zoo. When I pulled it up on my computer I couldn’t believe I had taken it! It’s actually straight out of the camera – no alteration. I love the crisp water droplets and the vibrant green on a darker background.

This was definitely a fun exercise, to go through a bunch of my photos and choose the best. It was difficult, though!

Tag

This is a really fun idea and you should do it! I especially want to see:

Andrea from World Walk About

Alex from Alex in Wanderland

Shannon from A Little Adrift

Jodi from Legal Nomads

Jessica and Dani from The Globetrotter Girls

Flagship Reserve grilled cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle. You should get one, it might be the best grilled cheese of your life (it was for me).