Pikovsky Freddie - Off Track Planets Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke--Completely Revised and Updated

In the summer of 2009, a passionate group of young travelers met in a Brooklyn hostel and were soon bound together by a common vision: changing the world means seeing it. Off Track Planet was born from this vision, and through our website (Off trackplanet.com) we began communicating the appeal of travel to our ADD-ridden, social media and smartphoneaddicted peers with the hope of inspiring them to give back to the world by exploring it.

We set out to create movement in the world by showing Americans the value of travel beyond just taking a vacation. We believe that luxury travel is for people with arthritis; backpacking, with an open mind and empty bank account, is the best way to learn about the world.

If thinking about traveling automatically triggers an excuse thats keeping you grounded, lets get a few things straight right away.

Weve all seen the bottom of a Cup-O-Noodle more than once. So how can you afford to travel? By redefining travel to be more about hostels and street food and less about resorts and cruises, the biggest initial expense then comes down to that first flight out of the country. Some destinations may be out of your budget, but theres no reason why you cant afford getting down to Central America when you can find flights for under $600 round trip. Even parts of Europe are relatively affordable to fly into at times. And once youre abroad, holy shit do you have affordable options. You can learn everything about tango in Buenos Aires, catch some good karma at the Chao Phraya temples in Bangkok, and get crispy brown at clothing-optional Greek beachesall for free if you just get your ass over there.

Kidnappings, murders, rapes, and robberies happen everywhere, all the time. The truth is, Americas violent crime rate is higher than that of many industrialized countries all over the world. Places like Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway have incredibly low stats when it comes to crime. Sure, if you go to war-torn territories in the Middle East or stand around aimlessly in the border towns of Mexico, shit will go down. Cure your fear with knowledge (e.g., the book youre holding in your hands) and simple common sense.

Realistically, your biggest travel health concern is diarrhea, and you can have a fatal case of the shits. But cmon, diarrhea is something weve all had some experience with. The true fear here lies in the crap our media drills into our heads about foreign germs and bird viruses. If you get the flu, break your arm, or just feel plain shitty, every country has a hospital, clinic, or pharmacy that will take care of you.

Hostels sound like a bunch of dirty, disease-spreading halfway houses, inhabited by crackheads and creeps, right? Despite what youve seen in the movies, hostels are generally safe and fun budget accommodations that allow you to meet like-minded travelers. You can exchange travel stories, cook meals, and, if you get sneaky, have the sexytime. Still not sold? Options like Couchsurfing or nailing down a decent Airbnb abroad will also get you into a bed for cheap.

We all had to learn to speak at some point. Before then? Well, there were a lot of hand gestures and noises to get our points across. You can resort to your baby body language in foreign territory and get by fine. Additionally, a good portion of the world will probably understand you, even if youre speaking only English. You can also tutor local college students in English and barter for help with their native language or take a few formal courses while youre there.

Your parents may think that traveling is a huge waste of time, all about getting drunk and partying (and some of it should be), but it has real value that your lame day-to-day routine at home just cant match. Add up your morning commute, time on Facebook, and those days youre just too bored with life to get out of bed. Whats that equal? A whole bunch of empty time. Every minute of travel is an opportunity to learn something new. You can really milk the value of traveland add value to your rsum and college applicationsby volunteering or studying abroad.

This book isnt organized like a traditional travel guide, and we dont spoon-feed you information on any one destination. Instead, weve split the book up into three parts. The first is a collection of oddities, traditions, fascinating events, and happenings in various destinations around the world, divided up by interests. The second section is all about the practical logistics of travel and will help you get your shit ready for takeoff. The last section is a sampling of the work, study, and volunteer opportunities available abroad to help you continue traveling with purpose once youre hooked.

Sure, you could convince yourself of a million reasons why youd love to travel but just cant swing it right now. But what would you do if you werent afraid? Get a backpack, book a flight, order a drink, and stop making excuses.