As a kid, I was told the future would be vastly different. “A hover car in every garage!” my parents said. “Vacations on the moon!” they said.

Most of it hasn’t come true. While personal gadgetry has certainly advanced (an entire record collection now fits on an iPod), revolutionary transportation options lag far beyond.

For this reason, we’re forced to imagine through movies and tv shows the changes we can expect. What forms of travel don’t exist yet, but should?

1. Tube Transport System (TTS)

Illustration: Futurama

Why rely on pneumatic tubes to deliver inter-office memos when one can merely state any destination in New York and get sucked along for the ride?

Futurama’s tube transport system is revolutionary and scenic, allowing tube-goers the opportunity to pick up some fresh Popplers at Fishy Joe’s “tube-thru”, and see the best of the city from above and below.

Unfortunately, even this form for transport isn’t beyond rush-hour traffic; city officials may have to commission the construction of several new tubes, causing delays throughout the system.

WARNING: The tube should be entered headfirst. Failure to do so will result in serious head injury or death.

2. Wormhole Opener

Photo: Sliders

For every action we take, there exists an infinite number of alternate actions that play out in parallel universes, continuously splitting like forks in the road.

Now suppose you had a wonderful device (like in the tv show Sliders) that allowed you to travel in and out of these alternate worlds… “a world where the Russians ruled America.. or where your dreams of being a superstar came true… or where San Francisco was a maximum security prison.”

Perhaps you might even come across a universe identical to our own in every way, except there no one argues about the difference between a tourist and a traveler.

3. Teleportation Deck

Photo: Star Trek

Teleportation may not be too far off. Instead of dealing with ridiculous security sweeps, checking baggage, sitting for hours, and eating tasteless food, why not eliminate it all by standing on a transporter pad and arriving across the world in less than a second?

Haven’t you ever imagined where you would go and what you would do if commuting times were essentially reduced to zero?

Live in Paris, grab a sushi lunch in Tokyo, kayak down the Amazon in the afternoon, relax with some meditation walks across the barren South Pole, then follow it up a real Mexican dinner and Thai fried bananas fresh from the street stalls for dessert.

4. Hover cars

Photo: Noah Nipperus

Despite the promise of these wonders as a child, hover cars have yet to arrive – though MIT students may have accelerated the schedule by producing a prototype.

The Terrafugia personal air vehicle is to be released by 2011 and provide all those who can afford it the chance to drive their “plane” from their home to the airport for takeoff.

Perfecting this flying car technology should be the least of everyone’s concerns, however. We all need to make sure it’s kept out of the hands of The Fast and the Furious creative team… just think of it… a movie with flying cars, Vin Diesel, and no plot whatsoever.

5. Jetpacks

Illustration: Rocketeer

All the early 20th century sci-fi books promised everyone in the future would be zipping around in jet packs to go to school, play high-altitude basketball, and enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon flight.

Well, now it’s the future, where’s my jetpack? The latest developments in jetpack technology seem to come from Glenn Martin of New Zealand, whose own design has been proven to hover at three feet for at least thirty minutes.

Although regular commuters may as well stick to the transporter, there’s something about having complete mastery of the skies, nothing between you and the Earth for thousands of feet.

6. Infinite Improbability Device

Photo: capt tim

With this technology from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the more improbable it is that something will happen (e.g. your arm turning into a delicious looking bag of potato chips), the more likely it is to happen with the drive engaged.

“…based on a particular perception of quantum theory: a subatomic particle is most likely to be in a particular place, such as near the nucleus of an atom, but there is also a small probability of it being found very far from its point of origin (for example close to a distant star). Thus, a body could travel from place to place… if you had sufficient control of probability.” – Source

Travelers should be careful not to turn the device to full infinite probability, as it would cause everyone and everything in the universe to vanish in an “unlikely” explosion of ice cream.

I think I’d still prefer this over dealing with the airlines…

Feature illustration: Steve Thomas

What forms of imaginary travel do you wish you could use in the real world? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Who wouldn’t want to visit Rome at the height of the empire? Photo: Carla216

Two hundred years ago a traveler had to wait months to traverse oceans. We now have the means to wake up in New York and fall asleep in Sydney, all in the same day.

The trend: travel is becoming exponentially more accessible to the common man.

But the tradeoff is that culture and history are being lost. Remote islanders maintain their outdated tribal customs merely to get a buck from the nearest walking wallet with a camera. Cities that in ancient times were considered quaint and romantic have become nothing more than identical concrete jungles.

We’re losing the remnants of human history with each passing day – why not find a means to time travel for leisure? Where would you go if you had a weekend in any city in any century?

1. Rome, Height of the Empire

No one in living memory has ever really seen the Colosseum. Whatever your religious beliefs, there used to be gods in that city; watching over the empire from their marbled countenance, and ensuring trade on one of the first greatest centers of business in the western world: the Roman Forum.

Imagine being able to walk down the epitome of civilization; they didn’t call the period after Christianity spread and the empire fell The Dark Ages for no good reason. ..

2. Kyoto, 16th Century

Giesha Girls in Kyoto / Photo: Anna Pearson

In the 1500’s, Kyoto served as the national capital and home to the imperial family. Tokyo (then Edo) was little more than a fishing village at this time, not yet placed on the map by the empowering of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

In modern times, many travelers journey to Kyoto to discover only remnants of what was once one of the most beautiful and mystical places on the planet. Back in its heyday, this Japanese city would have been the richest and most populated next to Osaka.

The predecessors to geisha gently walking in their kimonos, made from imported Chinese silk; visions of the mountains to the north and east not yet lost in a sea of grey; everything under ten meters high.

The only downside? Not much fresh fish or sushi: transporting the latest catch from Osaka to Kyoto took a while to perfect, and sushi was still in its infancy.

3. United States, The Old West

Back to the Future had the right idea – many people at one point imagine themselves as a cowboy or cowgirl.

What would you give to be riding on horseback on a cool summer morning in the undeveloped expanse of the western territories? Nothing for hundreds of miles in any direction, except perhaps the whistle of a steam locomotive and wandering tribes of Native Americans.

Of course, if you go back far enough in history, any land can be considered unexplored or undiscovered, but there’s a certain romantic connotation that stirs up when thinking about the American movement to the west.

It’s the promise of the unknown – traveling towards the Pacific, having uprooted everything stable, everything civilized in the east, and seeing where the Oregon Trail took you.

4. Ancient Egypt, c. 2500 BC

Imagine it like this…only newer. / Photo: liber

Watch the building of the pyramids and learn more about archaeoastronomy – skylights in the pyramids were carved so that certain constellations could be viewed at a set time of year.

Even the great structures themselves were arranged on the sand corresponding to the placement of three stars overhead. Discover the meaning of the Great Sphinx – who knows why it was built? Maybe some pharaoh just had a mutant pet.

Cairo will surely be hot and dry during this period in history, so remember to pack light loose-fitting clothing and plenty of sunscreen. If you wait around for another five hundred years, you might catch the finishing touches on Deir el Bahri.

5. London, 14th Century

“…the truth was that the modern world was invented in the Middle Ages. Everything from the legal system, to nation-states, to reliance on technology, to the concept of romantic love had first been established in medieval times.”

- Timeline, Michael Crichton

Everyone wants to be a knight in shining armor or a princess fair and true. Chivalry isn’t dead. In fact, if you choose to travel to London roughly seven hundred years ago, you’ll find it quite alive and well.

A walking tour of this city will let you face the first real London Bridge, providing the only access across the Thames. Canterbury Tales by Chaucer paints a rather vivid picture of this era. Many of the buildings in London we associate with medieval times were already in place: The Tower of London, Westminster Hall, Westminster Abbey.

Remember to apply insect repellant liberally, as the Black Death was known to pass through Britain and France in this century.

6. Chang’an, Han Dynasty

The origin of The Silk Road and a golden age in Chinese history, when Confucian principles laid down the foundation for society and Buddhism was just beginning to spread. Travel west along this trade route and in a matter of months, you’ll reach the Roman Empire.

7. Chichen Itza, 5th century

Although you may not be in a temple of doom, it’s wise to heed the words of Indiana Jones and “protect your heart!” As one of the largest Mayan cities on the Yucatan Peninsula, Chichen Itza was the site of human sacrifices.

It’s true that quite a few of the largest temples are very well preserved in modern Mexico, but I challenge you to find another time or place in which ancient games that could rival basketball were played. Best to arrive before the Toltec siege.

8. India, c. 600 BC

The Buddha had about forty-five good years of teaching from the time of his reaching enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree to his death. Don’t waste them. Meeting the Awakened One and learning the dhamma firsthand would be an experience for which almost anyone in Asia would trade his or her life. Try and eliminate the suffering in your heart before your departure…

9. New York City, Roaring 20’s

By the time the 1920’s dawned in New York City, the modern version of a cityscape was already formed: Macy’s department stores, the public library, Grand Central Terminal, and the then world’s tallest Woolworth Building.

Unfortunately construction on the Empire State Building won’t commence until after the crash of ‘29, but take advantage of this period in history with your choice of taxicabs or horse drawn carriages. Watch Lindbergh start his journey across the Atlantic. Gaze at the audience of women in hoop skirts and men in all too stiff and uncomfortable suits.

10. Babylon, c. 600 BC

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the hanging gardens of Babylon. As one of the first empires in human history, Babylon was built in the shadow of ancient Sumeria near the Euphrates River, and may have even been the source of the legendary Tower of Babel with its own Temple of Marduk.

I’m sure there are many asking “Why not see some dinosaurs?” Think a little practically in this impractical form of travel and question if you’d prefer camping in the late Cretaceous (and being trampled to death), or blending with the masses and observing the election of a Roman consul firsthand.

Besides, if a Tyrannosaur doesn’t get you, the meteor will later on.

Community Connection

You’ve been to the past, now meet travelers that we still remember tale. Read 10 Travelers and Why Their Tales Made History. Also, what other trends might we see in the future of travel? Check out 6 Predictions For the Future Of Travel.

Where and when would you go if you had a ticket guaranteeing a weekend of fun in any place at any time?

That’s one happy baby / Photo Silwertand

We travelers all tend to look inwardly at times, searching for the source of our desire to travel.

Whether we’re exploring Buddhist meditation or just walking along the street to work in a different country, each of us may arrive at unique conclusions. Were we always this way? Probably not, but it’s hard to imagine at what point in our lives we finally decided to run with our dreams.

Maybe you were exposed to more culture at university than that which existed at home. Maybe you set out to spite the author of your less-than-appealing high school prophecy.

Maybe the actual source of your wanderlust started back at a time when you cared for nothing but sugar and Saturday morning cartoons.

What animated classics most influenced us twenty-somethings in our passion for travel?

1. Ducktales

It’s always one travel adventure to the next with each passing episode of Ducktales.

Join Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack, and the nephews as they travel to Scotland and match wits with everything from an ancient Druidic cult, to the heart of the Yukon to pan for gold, and to ancient temples to discover buried treasure and hidden tombs.

Ducktales taught us to reach out into the world, while never losing sight of that enormous Moneybin waiting back home.

2. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

The franchise that spawned a cartoon, a successful line of computer games, a board game, and even a game show.

Where is Carmen Sandiego?

Somewhere in the world, that’s for sure, and only through a series of geography and history questions will you find your way to the next clue, and that much closer to catching the elusive woman.

3. Talespin

Talespin is the ideal cartoon for those with their minds on Alaskan bush pilots or island-hopping the Polynesian chains.

Although there are a few episodes completely land-locked, the bulk of the series is all about flying from island to island in search of adventure with Baloo and Kit Cloudkicker in the SeaDuck.

Dodging the dangerous Air Pirates, stopping for a well-deserved drink on Louie’s Island, and flying “free as a bird… the skies are yours!”

And from later years…

4. Pokemon

Despite the marketing intent backing the Pokemon cartoon, kids still have the chance to pick up on some valuable tips, not one of which is “gotta catch ‘em all”.

Ash Ketchum does in fact teach us the appeal of traveling by foot for the majority of the journey. When he and his team arrive in a new town, they immediately turn to the nearest “Pokemon Center” for local information, food, and company – I suppose the equivalent would be youth hostels.

And every week it’s an adventure to a different town and a new world of possibilities.

5. Dora the Explorer

Many of my generation were in our teens by the time this show premiered, but I applaud Nickelodeon for trying to instill the virtues of travel at a young age.

Each episode features Dora and Boots – her monkey and best friend – venture to three or four new places, meeting friends and speaking foreign languages (depends on the country of broadcast).

Although the show is intended for a very juvenile audience and thus a little repetitive, Dora teaches children the value in being bilingual, to always have a map handy (in her case, a talking map), and to pack for any eventuality (Several ladders, Dora? Really?)

What cartoons influened your wanderlust growing up? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo by Marc Sebastian

So you finally did it. You moved back home. You gave up on your dreams of being a lifetime traveler in exchange for a pension, a steady paycheck, and a stable home environment.

Good for you. The only problem is, we both know it may not stick.

You can feel it already, can’t you? Not exactly a sense of loss, but rather, some part of you is being slowly diluted, your true self fading from a lack of stimulation.

Escape. Get out while you still can. Hit the road, and be grateful you pushed yourself.

How do you know when it’s time to go traveling?

10. Recycled Coffee Starts Tasting Good

You’ve become so complacent with your 9-to-5 cubicle job that that caffeinated mixture of grounds and office sweat is actually making your mouth water. You’re spending too much time staring at an LCD screen. Water cooler talk is fascinating to you.

GET OUT NOW, while you can still remember what sunlight feels like.

9. Celebrity Gossip is the Most Interesting Part of Your Day

Like celebrity gossip? It may be too late…

You watch too much TV. You have excuses for not reading books. You’re unchallenged and unfulfilled. The best way to break this? You need to feel uncomfortable in a totally new environment, do some volunteer work, meet people from different backgrounds. Carpe diem.

8. You Can’t Find Authentic Foreign Foods At Home

The Thai food in Boston isn’t nearly as spicy as you remembered it from Chang Mai. That Japanese fugu tastes more metallic than sweet. Some business executives have no problem driving hundreds of miles for a decent meal.

Although you should be hesitant to take a page from their books, food is a good motivator to cross the border. Satisfy those dormant taste buds.

7. You Got Dumped

Doesn’t have to be a dumping. Any traumatic event that makes you feel like you need a fresh start could work: your boyfriend cheated on you; you got fired; a close family member died; you’re about to get married and feel like one last blowout; a baby is on the way and will surely tie you to a domestic life.

Whatever the reason, you are in some kind of emotional upheaval that only exploration will cure.

6. You Talk With More People Abroad Than You Do At Home

Your friends from Germany on Facebook get more attention than those living a hundred feet away. Go and be a part of their lives again; you miss them, and hopefully they miss you.

5. Sick And Tired of Being Ignorant of World Affairs

“Hey man, did you hear about all this protesting in Thailand?”
“[A market in Iraq is] like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summer time.”
“What’s Mugabe done now?”
Stop listening to others describe it (assuming they even know what they’re talking about, i.e. quote #2). Go and live it.

4. You Have Too Much Money

Even bumper stickers need a vacation / Photo just.luc

Do not buy yourself a dozen iPods or blow it all on a 64,000 square foot mansion for one. You could help out a fellow traveler (perhaps one needing sponsorship for his Antarctica Marathon in 2010… shameless self-promotion), but really, go out into the world yourself, don’t just send your money into foreign markets.

3. The City Skyline Just Isn’t Doing It

The shades of grey towering over the horizon just don’t provide that same sense of excitement or visual stimulation as when you first arrived in the big city. You need a change…unfamiliar surroundings…a new city, a green mountain, endless ocean, ice, ice baby…whatever works for you.

2. Spite

Other people – boss, girlfriend, family – are telling you not to go, or even you can’t go. You’re a rebel. Traveling sounds like the best idea in the world when you’re forbidden to do it.

1. You Don’t Want to End up Like Those Guys in “The Bucket List”

You know: The Bucket List. Two old guys find out they’re dying. They do everything they can before they kick the bucket.

Instead, do it while you’re young and healthy. Keep it up. Maybe along the way you’ll discovery the secret of immortality and eternal youth, in which case, no worries, mate.

What are some other reasons you know it’s time to go traveling? Share in the comments!

Real communication is difficult / Photo BartPogoda

Travelers to Asia know the feeling.

A hundred pairs of eyes bear down on you, judging you, observing you. As a foreigner, you’re a tourist, a D-level celebrity, a possible criminal and a source of information on foreign affairs. You’re simply different.

There isn’t a native English speaker alive in Thailand who hasn’t been harassed by a Tuk Tuk driver or masseuse at least once. Caucasian males in Japan can attract women by breathing.

I am a native English speaker. I can learn foreign languages, but real communication can be difficult to attain.

This communication gap is especially troubling when it comes to intimate relationships. Something is lacking when neither person in a relationship can understand the other’s full intent.

Even with attempts from both sides of an international relationship to attempt serious commitment and communication, well-meaning couples tend to fall back on interactions that are comfortable, shallow and uncomplicated.

If both parties desire something more than a one night stand or a shallow travel companion, the couple is forced to find creative ways of getting feelings across cultural barriers.

Without a common language, how can you communicate your feelings in an international relationship? How can you find meaning with someone from a different culture?

Some Good Lovin’

OK, most of you probably think I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself at this point. Sex? Isn’t this about making a connection before anything physical? Well yes and no.

It isn’t so much about the act itself, but how you’re treated before, and during. Sex happens a lot, and people who can barely understand five words of shared language often find themselves in unfamiliar bedsheets in a foreign country.

How is it possible that a traveler who can’t even ask directions to the nearest hotel finds himself or herself in the arms of a local that evening?

Assuming you have been with someone you loved before, you know the difference between a tender kiss and a shallow desire to simply feel another’s lips on yours. After all, most communication is nonverbal.

Actions always speak louder than words. Ask yourself: is this person merely feeding me a line, picturing me in bed, being false with me? What does her face say? What do his or her actions tell me?

Show you care, in any way you can.

Getting In Deep Too Fast

Relationships move fast / Photo Extra Medium

One advantage travelers have over those barhopping back home is simply the fact we’re not leading a typical life. We constantly expose ourselves to situations in which profound connections are quickly formed.

As travelers, we tend to be relaxed, more open, and just, well, more fun. Even cubicle monkeys need love, but I bet more people are attracted to the “hottie going mountain climbing” next weekend.

As a result, language plays an even smaller role in travel romances; you know what the other person likes because he or she was there right alongside you, reading your reactions like braille.

During my time in Japan, I heard stories from a Japanese woman who married a Romanian. Neither one of them spoke the other’s native tongue, so they chose to communicate in English. It worked.

I dated a Japanese girl for two years before we both decided it wasn’t going to lead anywhere, with me heading off to lands unknown, and her not looking to follow. We parted ways as amicably as possible.

Can Travel Romances Last?

I read books like Experience Preferred But Not Required and watch guys high-five after recounting tales of using foreign women for sex and apartment cleaning (yeah, that happens).

I wonder if there are any travelers out there undaunted by foreign romances. Is there a happy middle ground, or is one side parasitic and the other marred?

Can travelers find someone in the world from a completely different background, and will it work? How will it work?

Will you try hard to make the relationship last, or just give up and buy a plane ticket home after a year of teaching English?

What’s your experience with relationships abroad, either with a fellow traveler or a local?

Photo by kaibara87

Once, after returning on a transpacific flight from a Christmas vacation, I planned to stay in Tokyo for two days.

I arrived on December 30th and stayed out all night for New Year’s, checked out of the hotel after stumbling back in the morning, and then continued to be awake all day until an express 8-hour midnight train to Kyoto to look at some temples.

Unfortunately, I was so exhausted after that train ride that I slept for the duration of my stay in a youth hostel near the train station, slurping ramen and watching DVDs in my few waking hours.

The moral of the story? Don’t travel too hard.

This is advisable for any number of reasons, including the danger of getting drained and unable to function at an optimum physical level.

By forcing myself through all-nights and an unreasonable travel schedule, I not only ensured I would be unable to complete my itinerary, I also drained myself of the ability to do anything spontaneous along the way.

But how to stay in shape on the road when you won’t have regular access to a gym, bicycle, pool, even a jogging trail? Here are 5 tips for keeping fit on the road.

1. Run

Although there may not be a trail, there’s always some place to run if you know where to look. Large lakes are your best bet for a paved, level path, but feel free to speed through the countryside at 5 mpm (minutes per mile, you rookies) and startle those just leaving the house.

A useful website (better than Google maps, I think) can help you chart as-the-crow-flies distances across the globe: Gmaps Pedometer.

Incidentally, if you don’t have room to pack a pair of running shoes and live near open fields, barefoot running is better for your bones and form. Just watch out for sharp objects.

2. Play Ultimate Frisbee

For some reason, ultimate clubs seem to be a global standard for expats. Naturally, there are other choices available to you, but none quite as widespread (probably because it’s a simple team sport requiring the least massive equipment).

Reach out to your local expat community to inquire about meeting times.

3. Find Fitness Centers

Photo by Vanz

Gyms can be expensive no matter where you are, and chances are you don’t want to be tied to a six-or twelve-month membership.

See if your area has a YMCA. If you’re in a small town, try to negotiate a decent per diem rate; better yet, make friends with the owner.

Otherwise, it’s a better idea to save your money and effort: instead of bench presses, have someone sit on your back while you do pushups; bring a small hand weight with you for arm workouts; take advantage of your environment by rock climbing, kayaking, or doing martial arts…you get the idea.

4. Sample Local Flavor

Cubicle life might be stable and comfortable, but now that you’ve chosen to travel, to break the mold, so should it be with how you decide to keep fit every day. Open your body to new possibilities.

Tai Chi in the parks of Peking. Caber tossing in Scotland. Climbing the steps of Aztec temples and Egyptian pyramids (if you care to bribe the authorities).

No one is saying you can’t return to a regular 90 minutes on the weight, 30 minutes of aquajogging, and 17.5 minutes of stretching – just seize what is available to you on the road.

5. Stay Away From McDonalds

Just before I arrived in Japan, I weighed 200 lbs (in a good way… and yeah, a little fat too) and went to the gym regularly. Within a few months, I dropped down to 180 lbs and developed more lean muscle.

Why? The Japanese diet is one of the healthiest in the world. If you’re passing through Narita Airport at some point during your Asian travels, take a moment to just look around. Notice anything unusual?

There are hardly any obese people in Japan. This is in sharp contrast in many American airports. I believe the healthy Japanese diet is due to two differences in cuisine: smaller portion size and less butter and grease.

With fewer familiar western-style dishes in Japan, I experimented with a variety of healthier foods and came to love the local cuisine.

Bottom line

Keep track of your pace while on the road. For anyone who lives an active lifestyle, traveling for long periods of time isn’t always ideal.

Once you’ve had a taste of what it means to be in shape and reach your physical peak – strength, high metabolism, stamina, speed, agility – you start to wonder how you could have lived any other way.

What are your ideas for staying in shape while traveling? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo by Mike Warren

You’re in an out-of-the-way corner of Japan, enjoying a mid-morning ride on a cheaply purchased mountain bike, viewing a landscape that only so many places can offer.

A smoking volcano to the left, and a revolving sushi restaurant on the right, not yet open for the lunch crowd.

Suddenly, the front wheel of the bike jams.

Unprepared for such massive deceleration, your body flys over the handlebars, all four limbs flailing in an attempt to adjust to this new gravity-free world.

Not quickly enough, you realize, as your right hand sickeningly crunches into the ground.

Silence.

Your eyes open slowly. Still sprawled on the asphalt, you’re more than confident you can simply stand up, gather your thoughts, and laugh this off as simply another close call.

That is, however, until your right hand refuses to obey any commands, and you instinctively look at the shattered remains of a limb that was once so reliable, so whole.

For every high-risk, adrenaline-seeking lifestyle, there are ten thousand high-risk injuries that might happen.

The human body is fragile. I repeat: the human body is fragile; it can be broken, bruised, cut, burned, twisted, maimed, strained, overworked, and sickened.

With risk comes adventure, and all adventures that we have on the road, whether they include ascending a vertical ice wall on Everest, or simply lugging groceries back to your beach hut in Thailand, carry the possibility of medical disaster.

If you’re hurt enough to require medical attention in a foreign country, here are 3 points to keep in mind:

1. Learn The Word For Hospital

Hopefully you’ve studied and memorized the necessary words in the native language for ‘hospital,’ ‘help’, and ‘pain’.

What most people don’t do, however, is pick up the skills to describe the kind of pain you’re feeling (dull, sharp, continuous, off-and-on) and from where (head, toe, heart, 3 cm under the left thigh).

Perhaps unearthing a medical dictionary in your country of travel isn’t high on the list of priority items (it’s easier to just play it safe); but you’ll thank yourself if an emergency arises.

2. Can You Pay The Bill?

Consider your financial situation and surroundings before deciding on treatment.

Are you in the middle of the Burmese jungle and will you have to travel for an extended period to reach the nearest hospital? Do you have traveler’s insurance? Maybe you should fly home for treatment, unless it’s life threatening.

Do you trust doctors who won’t necessarily be able to understand your wishes, or you them? It’s all about weighing the risk factors and thinking about the resources available to you.

Work through the pain (yes, even searing pain) and try to keep a clear head.

3. Be Patient

Think about extending your stay. If you’ve got an injury that requires regular visits to the doctor and/or physical therapy, and you’re already a resident expat, you might want to put down roots for the time being.

Beware: it will be tempting to shirk your recovery and hit the road if the pain is bearable. The promise of waking up who-knows-where tomorrow is tempting, but the fact remains you require rest, time for recovery, and follow-up medical care.

Aggravating an injury by quickly returning to an active travel lifestyle will only make things worse.

There will come a time when you will return to the road; keep that running through your head every step of the way, and remember that getting injured and treated in a foreign environment is an adventure in itself.

Talk to the nurses about the kinds of patients they see; make small talk with your physical therapist while he’s torturing your joints. But, never allow yourself to become too complacent.

The wanderlust fire is still burning, just dimmed for the moment.

Have you been seriously injured on the road? How did you deal with it?