The ‘Big Trip’ has long been a rite of passage, but for many budding travellers – even those blessed with the bravado of youth – the thought of months on the road can be enough to make you unpack your bags and retire to the couch.

In sickness and health, for richer or poorer, travel has its ups and downs, but the right mindset can weather all storms. Here we call on various schools of philosophy to ease our most common anxieties about that epic stint on the road.

Loneliness ain’t nothing but a state of mind! © Day2505 / Shutterstock

Loneliness… is a temporary state

Face the reality: you will get homesick. You will miss your friends and your family (well, some of them), even your cat and your local coffee . But according to existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, loneliness is part of being human, so you aren’t really that alone after all. Yet loneliness is different to active solitude, which can refresh, rejuvenate and reinspire creativity, so why not get off the grid to somewhere like Bhutan or the Kimberley?

Excessive use of social media can exacerbate loneliness on the road as you’re never here or there; instead make fixed times to talk with the people back home and make those interactions count. Consider staying in a hostel with an active social scene. Or even keep a daily schedule, so you have a sense of achievement and order at the end of each day. You could also base yourself in one place for a few weeks to engage in volunteer work or join a sporting club – anything to help you feel part of a purposeful community.

Don’t buy into the travel myths – freshly-fried street food can be some of the safest grub for travellers © Evgeny Ermakov / Shutterstock

Sickness… can happen anywhere

The naturalist position on biology holds that sickness is a kind of mechanical deficiency. Maurice Merleau-Ponty argues that forced convalescence ‘reduces your phenomenal field’, so that when bedridden you experience only what you can see and hear (and smell) around you. But rather than thinking of this as inhibiting your adventures, you could use that bout of tummy trouble in Bali or Delhi as time to reflect on all the amazing stuff you’ve been through on your journey – and all the not-so-amazing stuff that has been through you.

Still, getting sick is never the preferred path. Obvious precautions include investing in decent travel insurance, filtering your water, avoiding dodgy food and snappy dogs, wearing insect repellent and heeding local advice – but in the end your body will let you know it’s travelling, so listen to it. Be mindful not to buy into too much negative hysteria about foreign medical services. You can find some world-class doctors in surprising corners of the world, often at a fraction of the cost of home. When you arrive in a new place, it can be helpful to identify how best to access medical services, and most developed cities will have plenty of English-speaking doctors to assist you.

Inclement seasonal weather can scupper even the best laid plans (and hairdos) © Emma Sparks / Lonely Planet

Safety… is a risk assessment

The Bayesian ideal of rationality says that all statements about the world should have a definite probability attached. For example: ‘air travel is x times safer than car travel’ and ‘Switzerland is y times safer for travellers than South Africa’ (unless you ski). Extend this logic to help you make a slew of safety-first decisions. Sleeper trains in less-developed regions can be notorious for theft, so take precautions with your belongings. Skirt that dark alley for the slightly longer, well-lit route back to your hotel or hostel. Geopolitical ‘hotspots’ do not mean places that are ‘in’ right now. And know your seasons, especially in the tropics where the wet season can kill a decent perm.

Much of risk assessment comes in the planning stages. Consult your government’s own travel advice and start your journey in relatively safe destinations to get your bearings. As your appetite for risk increases, also increase your due diligence. Having ‘done’ Singapore doesn’t mean you’re necessarily ready to hike an active volcano.

Budget wisely by investing in experiences over things © Yongyut Kumsri / Shutterstock

Financial security… is a prison

Henry Thoreau was one of many who praised the virtues of thriftiness and frugality. In essence, the mantra of the contemporary anti-consumerist movement is ‘don’t buy, do’. You’ve likely saved for this trip by committing to do stuff, rather than have stuff. Apply a similar logic when on the road. Figure out a weekly budget so you don’t become a bore, but be realistic about the price of fish. Don’t travel the Trans-Siberian Railway on $5 a day just because your uncle did. That was 1985, when Back to the Future was a box office smash and the whole world dreamed of hoverboards.

Practice keeping a budget for a month or so before you leave, so you get a better handle on the ins and outs – including itemising your expenses at the end of each day and allowing for unexpected costs. Another way to overcome the money hurdle is to keep some cash under the mattress (or in a bank account) for when you return home. Arriving home with your finances firmly in the red may overshadow the wonderful adventure you’ve just had. You could also pick up a few dollars along the way through a working-holiday visa or by legitimate cash-in-hand work, depending, of course, on each country’s labour laws.

Less is more when it comes to social media on your travels! © Ricardo Canino / Shutterstock

FOMO… is all in your head

A product of the digital age, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is essentially an anxiety about how we spend our time compared to others. Socrates’ famous maxim ‘know thyself’ is a handy general rule to help deal with FOMO. Perhaps a more practical strategy is to detox from social media, but even that’s far easier said than done, especially as travel affords so much downtime perfectly suited for mindlessly scrolling.

Still, you can at least curtail your usage, especially a few weeks either side of your heavily documented farewell. And don’t worry, you won’t be short of a social event once you commit wholeheartedly to the GBWOT (Great Big World Out There), especially if that world is the dance floors of Ibiza or Miami. Snap! Do spare a thought for the stay-at-home suckers, though – FOMO is much stronger for those left behind.

Forget the future and be in the present – worries about home can be easily washed away with a beautiful sunset, a new companion or a cocktail on the beach © Nopkamon Tanayakorn / Shutterstock

Life plan? Let go!

Our Zen friends wax lyrical about the perils of ‘future tripping’, of prematurely anticipating and subsequently overthinking the imagined future. Your propensity to plan your life out in great detail means you are by default avoiding the present – and in the present lies the truth. If you’re worried that that hot internship, apprenticeship or potential courtship may be sailing from your reach while you drift around the globe, then try spilling the wind from your sails and slow down. Much like Thich Nhat Hahn implores from his meditation retreat in southwestern France: ‘walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet’. Because before you know it, you’ll be back on home soil!

Even by the pearl-studded standards of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is a jewel. Visitors flock here for the rich and diverse culture, beautiful sand-sprinkled beaches and astoundingly varied wildlife. Elephants, monkeys, leopards and sloth bears are the stars of the show on land, while whales and dolphins vie for attention off-shore.

Leopards stalk the jungles of Sri Lanka’s national parks © Jamie Lamb – elusive-images.co.uk / Getty Images

However, Sri Lanka’s record on animal welfare is not so rosy, especially when it comes to elephants, which are often subjected to cruelty or kept in poor conditions, frequently in chains. Even in some national parks, the crowds of wildlife spotters can be visibly distressing to wild animals.

So how do you enjoy the island’s incredible wildlife in an ethical manner? Here are a few suggestions for responsible animal watching in Sri Lanka:

Elephants drinking their fill at Uda Walawe National Park © Joshua Paul Shefman / Getty Images

Uda Walawe National Park

Often cited as Sri Lanka’s best national park, Uda Walawe rarely disappoints. Thanks mainly to the landscape of low forest and grassland, animals are easy to spot, especially elephants, with a total of around 600 animals inside the park boundaries, often seen in herds up to 50.

Park tours are by motor vehicle, rather than on elephant-back, but crowding these wild animals can alter their natural behaviour. Tell your driver to keep a healthy distance, and avoid the road-side stalls on the approach to the park selling fruit to feed to the elephants. This erodes their fear of humans, as you’ll see from the elephants waiting by the park fence, effectively begging for food.

Langur monkey relaxing in Bundala National Park © Stefan Huwiler / Getty Images

Escape the crowds at Bundala National Park

If you want to avoid the crowds hemming in the wildlife in larger national parks, compact little Bundala is a mesmerising mix of islands, lagoons and dunes, and a wetland area of international significance. Often overshadowed by Yala National Park, its famous neighbour, Bundala is less frequently visited, so animals are relatively undisturbed by human presence.

Commonly seen residents include elephants (between 10 and 60 depending on season), langur monkeys and crocodiles, while four species of marine turtle (olive ridley, green, leatherback and loggerhead) lay their eggs on the coast between October and January. The wetlands mean superb bird-watching too, and there are fewer visitors to scare them away.

A lone elephant in Minneriya National Park © Tunart / Getty Images

Navigating Minneriya & Kaudulla National Parks

In the flatlands of north-central Sri Lanka, the national parks of Minneriya and Kaudulla form a giant corridor for elephants to move relatively freely across a large area. The parks are most famous for the annual ‘Gathering’, from August to October: this is when elephants congregate in vast herds as lake water recedes, giving way to fresh grass.

However, thanks to the parks’ popularity, sometimes people outnumber elephants, and there have been reports of animals being chased and corralled in by jeeps so passengers can get good photos.

When we visited, drivers kept a healthy distance and the elephants seemed undisturbed by our vehicles; we saw two young bulls stroll casually between parked jeeps as if they were nothing more than a clump trees. To give the herds breathing space, bring a long camera lens and encourage your driver not to participate in the scrum to get close to elephants for photos.

Blue whales are one of the most impressive visitors to Sri Lanka’s waters © Patrick Meier / Getty Images

Whale-watching at Mirissa

The southern coastal town of Mirissa is famous for two reasons: its beautiful beach is a favourite backpacker party destination, and it’s an excellent place to see whales. Top of the bill are blue whales, as well as fin whales, sperm whales and various species of dolphin. Boat tours are easy to arrange and, best of all, Mirissa has reputable operators who respect welfare guidelines about cetaceans.

Ethical operators take small groups on small boats, approaching pods slowly and avoiding practices such as ‘leap-frogging’, where boats race ahead of whales so that animals will pass close by for photos. Cetaceans are so abundant here that there is no need for operators to crowd the whales, and better operators will move on in search of other whales if a pod is already being observed by several boats.

Abbey Road with elephants © Olivier Schram / Getty Images

Ethical elephant encounters

‘Elephant orphanages’ are popular tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, but many are little more than commercial zoos, breeding elephants in captivity for public display. The good news is that there are some ethical operators. Near Uda Walawe, the Elephant Transit Home is a centre for young elephants whose parents have been poached or captured, and rehabilitated elephants are released back into the wild.

The work here is supported by the Born Free Foundation, and viewing platforms keep a safe distance between humans and jumbos, while providing a vantage point for an up-close look at the youngsters in an environment that is not distressing to these traumatised animals.

Dolphin acrobatics off Sri Lanka’s east coast © Dhammika Heenpella / Images of Sri Lanka / Getty Images

Cetacean encounters in Uppuveli

As an alternative to well-developed Mirissa, the northern beach village of Uppuveli, near Trincomalee, is staking its claim as a whale and dolphin-watching destination. Boat-trips leave the beach every morning, but tourism is a fledgling industry here, and responsible wildlife-viewing remains a new concept.

Understandably, the local boatmen are eager to please their clients, but there have been reports of boats getting too close to the animals (with a risk of propellers causing injury). Tourists can play a part in promoting good practice by insisting that boat operators keep a responsible distance from wild cetaceans. Seeing whales or dolphins from further away will still be a highlight of your trip.

Elephants and plenty of jeeps © HildaWeges / Getty Images

Responsible animal watching in Sri Lanka – making the right choice

In some places, operators are already aware of the best ways to approach wildlife without disturbing these wild animals, but tourists can do a lot to encourage responsible animal watching in Sri Lanka. Here are some tips:

• Go wild The best way to see any wild animal is, er, in the wild. In Sri Lanka this usually means in the country’s national parks (or the waters off-shore).
• Be wary of orphanages You should think carefully before visiting any place billed as an elephant ‘sanctuary’ or ‘orphanage’. Some are genuine, others are only marginally better than the zoos, circuses and logging camps they claim to be rescuing elephants from. Investigate any sanctuary before visiting so you are very clear on their actions and motives.
• Don’t ride elephants Although Sri Lanka has a long history of elephant riding, there is growing awareness of the harm that this can cause. Animal welfare bodies cite mistreatment from handlers, cruelty in the way elephants are trained to accept riders, and spinal injuries caused by wooden howdahs (saddles) used to carry passengers. If a place offers elephant rides, do the ethical thing and walk away.
• Safari solo When visiting national parks, it’s usual to hire an open-top ‘safari jeep’ and driver, and if you hire your own jeep, you can tell the driver to avoid getting too close to elephants or other animals. Sharing the ride with others may reduce costs, but other passengers may not share your concerns.
• Watch whales responsibly When arranging whale and dolphin-watching trips, make it clear when booking, and before you pay, that you don’t want to have a negative impact on the animals. Seek reputable operators, and avoid rogues who promise ‘very close shots’ or ‘swimming with dolphins’, as both activities can distress or injure the animals.
• Speak out Wherever possible, let local operators know that you won’t pay for tours where animals are harmed, and explain your concerns to boatmen, drivers, guides and trackers to raise awareness. Many operators are used to visitors who want nothing more than a selfie next to a whale or elephant, and responsible wildlife-watching is a relatively new idea in Sri Lanka. Only by education will opinions be altered.
• Put your money where your mouth is Financial leverage is just as important. If enough travellers boycott bad operators, and only pay for trips that follow ethical standards, operators will shift their practices accordingly. As a traveller, you can play a vital part in encouraging change, and improving the future for Sri Lanka’s animal populations.

When the Image of Chile Foundation set out to discover Chile’s most emblematic symbol abroad, the result was not Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda or the moai of Easter Island; it was wine. Yet, up until a few years ago, the world’s fifth largest wine exporter didn’t have a single bar in its capital city showcasing premier bottles from the surrounding vineyards. Fast-forward to present day, and there are now nearly a dozen wine bars in Santiago.

Chilean wine holds a legendary place in world viticulture © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

Most of these newly opened vinobars have bilingual sommeliers and seasonally changing wine lists, making them vital spots to check the pulse of the nation’s rapidly evolving wine scene. If there’s a new trend in Chilean wine, you’ll find out about it first at a tasting or winemaker-led class in one of these seven wine bars.

Start your Santiago wine tour at one of the city’s originals, Bocanáriz © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

Bocanáriz

Santiago’s original wine bar is an intimate space in the trendy Lastarria neighborhood with exposed brick walls and hearty dishes that complement the long list of Chilean vinos. If you’re not sure what to drink, you can always sample your way across the country on a flight of three wines united by a common theme (region, grape, style, etc). The English-speaking sommeliers are more than happy to steer you in the right direction. They also run workshops, blending courses and introductory classes for those seeking an insider perspective on the Chilean wine world. Advanced reservations are a must.

Taste the best wines in South America at La Misión © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

La Misión

The owners of Bocanáriz expanded their horizons when they opened up their second wine bar, La Misión, in the ritzy Vitacura neighborhood. La Misión not only showcases wines from across Chile, but also the rest of South America, making it one of the only places in town where you can sample a Tannat from Uruguay, a Malbec from Argentina and a brut from Brazil all in one sitting. Like Bocanáriz, you can choose from flights of wine themed by region or style, and there are typically up to 20 primo vinos available by the glass. Grab a table in the leafy interior patio, order a charcuterie board, and get ready to hobnob with the upper echelon of Chilean society.

Try one of the thousand wines on the menu at La Vinocracia © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

La Vinocracia

Slightly removed from the tourist circuit in the residential Ñuñoa neighborhood, La Vinocracia boasts one of the largest wine lists in South America with more than a thousand labels on the menu at any given time. Of course, Chile is the protagonist here. The wines come from the surrounding valleys, the seafood is plucked from the Pacific coast, and the décor resembles that of a rural Central Valley casona (replete with an underground wine cave!). The best day to visit is on Monday when bartenders uncork up to 50 premium wines and offer them by the glass for just CH$1,000 (US$1.50) apiece. Check the website for weekly winemaker-led tastings (in Spanish only) and live performances from local bands.

Order a copa and a pastel de choclo at Barrica 94 © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

Barrica 94

This two-story wine bar lords over the tourist-friendly Patio Bellavista complex and lures foreigners with its seven-page wine menu and flashy décor (think jet black booths with Merlot-purple accents). There are three-dozen Chilean wines available by the glass, and each appears on the menu with tasting notes and recommended pairings such as ceviche, empanadas or a traditional pastel de choclo (corn and beef pie). Themed flights of four different wines are also available so you can taste the flavors of the cooler coastal regions (like the Leyda and Casablanca valleys) or try Chile’s B-side grapes (like Carignan and País). Take note: this is the only wine bar open on a Sunday night.

Sample Chilean and French wines alongside tasty cheeses at Les Dix Vins © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

Les Dix Vins

Want to see how Chilean varietals compare with their Old World brethren? This is the goal of the oh-so-sleek Les Dix Vins, which offers a small and ever-changing menu of Chilean and French wines to enjoy alongside lavish cheese boards. This store-cum-bar lies in the heart of the ‘Sanhattan’ financial district, and gives suited santiaguinos a reason to visit every night of the work week. They come on Mondays for free cheese tastings, Tuesdays for sommelier-led wine classes, Wednesdays for free wine tastings, Thursdays for oysters and bubbles, and the last Friday of every month for live jazz. All events are in Spanish only, pero si no hablas español, you can always smile and nod as you sample the goods.

Indulge in organic wines and mouthwatering charcuterie at Polvo © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

Polvo

With its walls lined in shelves of empty wine bottles, Andean earthenware and jars of pickled vegetables, Polvo fits right in to the bohemian Bellavista neighborhood. This homey-chic restobar sources only organic wines from small producers that reflect the character of their origin. The seasonally updated wine list might include unconventional red blends, uncommon orange wines or even rarer sweet wines from the Atacama Desert, among a host of viticultural curiosities. Even wine-haters will dig the pequeño menu of gastronomic delights, which include gourmet twists on grandma-approved Chilean staples and mouthwatering cheese and meat boards (there’s an entire charcuterie station outside the kitchen!).

Savor premium wines at La Cava del Sommelier © Mark Johanson / Lonely Planet

La Cava del Sommelier

Santiago’s newest wine bar is located in the gentrifying Barrio Suecia neighborhood (which was formerly known for its debauched nightlife). This classy yet approachable restobar was the pet project of Ricardo Grellet, president of the National Association of Chilean Sommeliers, who had a mission to offer the best local wines at the lowest prices possible. Though you’ll find more than 300 labels available by the bottle, your best bet is the weekly menu of six premium wines – all of which you can try by the (small) glass for under CH$10,000 (about $15). The sommeliers here are some of the finest in town and, as a policy, won’t even accept tips.

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