The first question I like to ask someone when they are planning a trip is: "Do you want to vacation or travel?" These two words may have similar meanings for many, but over my many years of traveling, I have learned they are vastly different. This post and its tips are meant to help you become a better traveler, not a vacationer.
As a tour guide, Hicham has had the privilege of interacting with people from all over the world. His travel throughout the country and exposure to many different people has allowed him to develop a better understanding of Morocco and the world respectively. The perspective he now has didn't always exist for him. Growing up, Hicham did not even know that there was a country called America. He lived a very different life as a kid and had limited knowledge of life beyond the mountain in which he lived. As he grew older, his life drastically changed several times and each change introduced new aspects of the world to him.
Getting to meet the Vietnamese people was one of the highlights of my entire life. I quit my job to backpack across South East Asia and getting the time that I did with the local people of Vietnam was life-changing enough to justify this entire experience. These people blew my mind and the more time I spent with them, the more I could feel myself changing. As much as I loved the backpacking social life, I found myself slowly passing on hostel happy hours, bar crawls and social gatherings, in favor of local interactions. I became obsessed with spending as much time with the Vietnamese as possible and learning from their way of life.