Why this book:  I’ve heard Tim Ferriss refer to this book several times, and I listened to  his interview with the author Rolf Potts. It sounded like something that I would like, given that I’ve got the urge to visit in a less structured way, some interesting, exotic, and out of the way parts of the world.

Summary in 3 sentences:   A short and easy to read book which is not only a philosophy of how to travel simply with an open mind to maximize one’s experience, but also a resource guide for finding out more information about whichever mode of travel suits one best, as long as it is not guided tourism.  He recommends  travelling apart from the standard tourist packages, which promise to keep you comfortable and unchallenged, and insulate you from dealing with the the realities and occasional discomfort of being in a different culture.  Vagabonding is full of the wisdom of the ages, offered from vagabonders past and present, and if looked at broadly, is also a philosophy for living more simply and more openly at home.

My Impressions: I loved this little book.  It is short, unpretentious and not only provides great practical advice for travelers of a wide variety of “persuasions,” its philosophy of unstructured, adventurous and open-minded/ open-hearted traveling  can be applied to open-minded and open-hearted living in one’s “normal” life at home.  I read it several months ago, and in reviewing it to write this review, I realize that it is a book I need to read again, and again.  It is redolent with the spirit of Walt Whitman’s Song of the Open Road, and it inspires that in me, and hopefully it will in you as well..

Rolf Potts distinguishes “vagabonding’ from a “mere” vacation where one is merely trying to get away and relax.  Vagabonding is a deliberate adventure, where one expects the unknown and unexpected,  anticipating both wonderful and not-so-wonderful experiences. The traveler intentionally travels with an open mind and heart.    He calls it “a rediscovery of reality itself.”   Isn’t that something we should aspire to every day?

He suggests that the vagabonder try to be more a “traveler” than a “tourist,” noting that travelers truly “see” their surroundings, whereas tourists merely “look” at attractions.  He also adds that vagabonding includes both, but encourages more traveler behavior than tourist.

He stresses repeatedly to default toward simplicity.  “What should I plan to bring on my travels? As little as possible, period. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to travel light.”  (P. 7) It is a guide to simple living, and his advice reminds me of the old NOLS saying which opens the door to creative and expedient solutions to having limited resources at hand: “If you don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

He provides guidance on different versions of “vagabonding” and offers tips on pursuing whichever version may appeal most to you.  He offers guidance on going it alone, vagabonding with a partner, how to prepare to travel  while avoiding over-preparing, guidance for “senior” vagabonders, vagabonding with children, guidance for solo women vagabonders,  guidance for engaging with the locals, as well as with other travelers one meets on the road.   He offers guidance on eating strange food and staying healthy, and how to be appropriately cautious, and minimize the chances of being victimized or exploited.

He offers great guidance on negotiating awkward cross-cultural experiences, and warns against too quickly falling in love with the new and exotic, while still appreciating different cultures.   He gives advice on how to deal with  occasional unwelcoming behavior, to expect to be insulted and demeaned, as well as to be welcomed with open arms, loved and celebrated.  “After all, if you can find joy in insults – if you can learn to laugh at what would otherwise have made you angry – then the world is indeed ‘all yours’ as a cross-cultural traveler.” (p. 119)

He warns against travelling with a fixed mindset regarding political ideology, cultural values, or ingrained prejudices that become blinders that get in the way of seeing and appreciating things as they are.  He also warns against vagabonding with an agenda focused too much on “fun” or “partying” – a tendency he’s often seen, especially in younger travelers.  While certainly not recommending abstention or teetotaling,  he warns that  “falling into a nightly ritual of partying… is a sure way to overlook the subtlety of places, stunt your travel creativity and trap yourself in the patterns of home. “(p. 168)

This wonderful little book includes a rich collection of great quotes scattered throughout, from wise teachers down through the ages, as diverse as Aristotle, Bertrand Russell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edward Abbey, the Upanishads, Thoreau, Garrison Keillor, Bhagavad Gita, John Muir, Vonnegut, Melville.

Each chapter concludes with an extensive “Tip Sheet” with URLs to websites that provide guidance on the topic of the chapter, as well as recommended books, magazines, and other resources to help the aspiring vagabonder prepare.  The conclusion of each chapter also includes one page of “Vagabonding Voices”  – quotes from regular folks who have had experiences relevant to the topic at hand, as well as a one page “Vagabonding profile” – a short bio piece on well known and not-so-well known people with experiences and insights relevant to his theme.  The more prominent include Thoreau, Walt Whitman, John Muir, Isabelle Lucy Bird, Annie Dillard.

He concludes with chapters on how vagabonding can and should feed one’s creativity, and one’s spirituality (that’s small “s” spirituality) by opening our eyes to the wonder and the sacred in everyday life.  In the final chapter he addresses the challenges of coming home, reintegrating one’s changed self into the world one left behind, which will seem not to have changed at all.  He challenges us to “Explore your hometown as if its were a foreign land and take an interest in your neighbors as if they were exotic tribesmen.  Keep things real, and keep on learning. Be creative, and get into adventures.  Keep things simple, and let your spirit grow” (p. 208)

To me, Vagabonding reverberates with themes from Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey – leaving one’s known comfortable environment, often to go abroad, to face new challenges, expecting to be surprised and challenged, to take risks, to fail, to succeed, to experience joy and disappointment, and to learn and grow from the experience. And then to return home stronger, wiser, and more resilient, and thereby positively transform the world to which one returns.   In Vagabonding, Rolf Potts says that “Of all the adventures and challenges that wait on the vagabonding road, the most difficult can be the act of coming home.” (p. 205)  In Vagabonding, as in Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, Rolf Potts points out how coming home can be the  most important part of the journey. It is where we cash in on the longterm investment of having left the comforts of home, to head out and face new challenges and deal with them, as best we can, come what may.