As we have travelled around the world we have found out a lot of useful (and some not so useful) stuff that we thought we would share. They generally fall into the camps of critical to know, would have been useful to know and just plain weird! So here goes...
The Beans present 60 things we have learnt about travelling that the guide books don't tell you that would have been good to know
1) Cash machines give you cash before your card in Asia. Don't walk away before you have your card back!
2) You CAN get 5 people in a Tuk Tuk
3) You need to practice your table tennis skills before you brave a ping pong bar in Bangkok or suffer the consequences
4) The 'idyllic luxury' island tour you book in Phuket will be anything but.
5) Dog meat is chewy
6) Thai people will laugh at anything. It's not necessarily because your chat is of good quality.
7) In Bali stay in Seminyak.
8) You can burn in the shade (Nat)
9) Every waiter/member of hospitality in Bali is a complete retard.
10) Get an Australia visa before you go (OK they do tell you this. We just forgot).
11) Do not attempt to go to Bondi Beach without a perfect body
12) Public transport is utter rubbish in Sydney as is the wifi.
13) Every tramp had a ghetto blaster in Sydney.
14) Go to Shark Island to see the new year in in Sydney.
15) It is very hard to get on the right type of bus you want in Peru and Bolivia
16) Alpaca is delicious. Llama less so.
17) Never travel with Juliaca buses in Peru.
18) Altitude sickness hits you harder that you'd think and has nothing to do with how fit you are.
19) It is indeed a very small world i.e. bumping into James and Emily not once bit twice in different countries unplanned.
20) You can do the inca trail with "fake technicals"
21) Quito is an oxymoron - it's one of the nicest unsafe places we have been.
22) Sometimes google blogger stops you uploading photos.
23) They don't serve alcohol after 4pm on a Sunday anywhere in Ecuador.
24) No matter how much pressure you put on Yiannis you can't get him to South America.
25) Flights in Brazil are crazy expensive and never try and book a flight with Avianca. Words cannot describe how much I hate this company. Terrible experience.
26) Buses in South America are extensions of a market place with people jumping on to sell you stuff every few miles.
27) You can watch a stand up comedian on a bus in Ecuador.
28) People catch tarantulas for fun in the jungle and then bring them on the bus ride home
29) Nat can get herself out from under a capsized raft on a roaring river.
30) Literally every major city is great or cycling in South America.
31) The bin men have a tendency to strike in Rio to devastating effect during carnival.
32) Rio carnival is one slick operation.
33) Beer is oh so dirt cheap everywhere but Europe and the US.
34) It is surprisingly hard to remember the difference between con (with) and sin (without) gas when ordering water.
35) Brazil has it's own class of rain. Heavy, torrential and mental bucket loads
36) Express kidnappings are the biggest threat you will face in South America - so everyone tells you.
37) South America is a lot safer than you are led to believe. There is a lot of scaremongering going on. Just be sensible.
38) Peruvians have the sweetest teeth on the plant
39) Inca Cola is actually delicious.
40) People in Brazil will mock you for your crap Portugese accent
41) Brazilians carry a lot of junk in their trunks and they ain't afraid to show it.
42) They only serve beer with massive heads in Brazil. Do not bother asking for a top up.
43) Nige loves a tat shop.
44) Taxi drivers do lot respond to you asking them to take you to "George Newbury airport" despite Newbury being pronounced the same. The Jorgey really throws them.
45) Pronunciation is key - see 44!
46) Jesus loves Prole Position.
47) Every bar you go in that is 100% branded by a beer doesn't actually have that beer. Better to ask what they do have rather than look at the menu.
48) BA is the dog poo capital of the world. 293 different pieces of dog poo in 4 blocks has got to be a world record.
49) Everywhere in the world is fantastic for free wifi apart from Sydney and Vegas.
50) A girls feet will change back to a normal shape if you don't wear heels for 5 months.
51) The @ sign on a key board in South America is ALT + 6 4 together (this has stumped me for hours!!)
52) You will never get travelling "out of your system". The love of it only grows.
53) Don't leave your 31 year old wife standing in a casino waiting to check out without ID.
54) Sky diving is the most awesome thing ever
55) Unleaded is the black pump in the USA.
56) Vegas hotels love a $25-30 resort fee nowadays to charge you for Internet and other stuff you would expect anyway.
57) Super 8's are actually OK
58) There are hidden charges in everything in the US. The price stated is NEVER the actual price you pay.
59) Americans love a selfie.
60) The traffic in LA will make you the angriest person in the world.
