Travelling – I believe is one of the best tools to learn about people, cultures, nature, life and to understand the ignorance and invalidity of those complete obnoxiously stupid ideas of racism, sexism, any -ism really.

Wherever you go will experience something new, different, exciting, breathtaking, annoying, illogical by your own standards.
You will come across good people as well as some who will annoy the crap out of you.
When it comes to service, the same applies.
Often will experience amazing, caring, thoughtful service even though will might be different to what you got used to back at your own Country.
There will be also those occasions when it simply will not be acceptable.

A bouquet of my personal, practical experiences:
– just because you use the same hotel chain, save yourself from the misconception to expect the same level of service.
It will be different on many levels, like cleanliness, communication, basic operating principles
– high ratings for a place on any site is not a guarantee you not getting disappointed. This however works the other way round too!
– clean has way more interpretations than I’d ever imagined
– kind and friendly does not equal professional
– professional is not necessarily kind and friendly
– when visiting an attraction at the ticketing point you might get offered upgrading options/plus services to buy.
Before agreeing to any of it, make sure it is offered in your language, otherwise you can end up paying a higher price for something you get to understand not one word of
– when having the chance, try local food but know, most certainly it will taste different to what you flavoured back at home in that ‘nationality’ restaurant
– when travelling by car, keep in mind that parking also has different interpretations.
From underground garage to parking spaces in front of the building, from valet parking to wherever you find place on the surrounding streets, from free of charge to paying nearly as much for it as for the room itself
– being in a so classified elegant, upscale bar doesn’t mean your drink will be served in a proper (classical, taught in respected vocational schools) manner, but rest assured it will be expensive.

All that and many more.

If you are an avid traveller, I am sure you have your own list.

My conclusion however, is keep on travelling whenever you have the opportunity to do so.
Keep widening your horizon, your understanding of the world.

Convinced I am, it will make our world a better place by the more open-minded, adventurous, compassionate, more understanding, easy-going, more loving people.

Be one of them.