The best part of travelling is that wonderful moment of immersion, the point where you lose yourself in a foreign culture, a foreign experience. Immersion allows you to go deeper into another world, not just dip your toes in it. When you get so close to a culture, you see, at the same time, both the amazing similarities and the minute, subtle differences between two worlds. Add that to all the other amazing benefits of travelling, such as meeting new people trying out new foods, and a new insight into the world, and you see why people get so easily addicted to it.
Now, immersion is not easy to pull off. You need to learn a bit about a culture to actually do this. You also need to go with the road less travelled, so to speak. Essentially avoid their regular pitfalls travellers face, and choose something a bit more unconventional. While tourist traps have gotten a bit of a harsh rap recently, they are nice to visit. What they won’t give you, however, is the deeper experience you want.
Understand what Australia has to offer
Australia isn’t just beaches, barbecues, and sunshine (not that there is anything wrong with these things). There is much more it has to offer. First of all, it has a vibrant and powerful art scene that you can check out in some of the many galleries and museums Australia has.
There is a strong outdoor culture in Australia as well. Known for its rugged landscapes and beautiful nature, you really mustn’t miss out on these elements. And finally, the indigenous people that live here have an amazing culture that must be explored. Read up on their stories, visit museums that showcase their culture, or even visit approved Aboriginal sites.
Get your foundation ready
A very important part of travelling is actually letting go. You need to relax, you need to throw yourself into “the wild” and see what happens. However, travelling at the same time is not a joke. You are going to a foreign country, to an unknown place, where you don’t have any friends (yet) or any serious help. Far away from home, in a distant land, you need to keep your bearings. So it’s obvious that you need to find a way to stay safe and protected. You may now be thinking – how to maintain a balance between the spontaneity needed to relax and immerse yourself in Australia culture, but at the same time stay safe and not think about whether or not you’re going to get home in one piece. To do this, you need to plan.
You should plan and prepare properly early on, before your trip even starts. Then, you can completely let go and relax when you’re on your trip. Think of planning and preparing as a safety net that is there to keep you from hurting yourself if you decide to be wild. You won’t have to stress about where your passport is if you keep it in close to your body in a separate bag. Or going through a part of town at night won’t be as risky if you know which areas to avoid. Wearing slash proof bags can save you from thieves, and keeping your more expensive gear in one place is also important.
Having the numbers and addresses of local clinics, dentists, and hospitals can also be useful. Have them both on your person on a piece of paper, and on your phone. In case you end up in a silly accident, a public liability claim can cause a lot of headaches. For this reason, we advise you have a phone number of a good local attorney as well.
Keep a diary
The obvious purpose of a diary is to record what happened throughout your day, and to record your thoughts and feelings about certain things. You also get to record memories in a much more intimate way. Accessing them again require you to only take up your diary and read them. However, there is an added, in-the-moment benefit of this. Namely, it will force you to be there, to integrate yourself more deeply. By forcing yourself to think about the things that happened in your day, and the emotions you felt, you may just access something that you didn’t know was there. You may feel something that you didn’t feel was there until you actually sat down and thought about.
Conclusion
If you truly want to immerse yourself in Australia’s culture, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. First of all, prepare properly. This will allow you to relax, as you’ve created a safety net for yourself in case anything happens. Then keep a diary and meditate on what happened during your day of fun. Finally, actually, learn more about Australia, avoid tourist traps, and immerse yourself completely.
Bio: Alexander Hunkin is an Australian based startup advisor with in-depth experience in growing business. His meaningful and strategic advices have helped in setting and growing many startup companies in Brisbane and Perth. At the moment he is working as an external consultant with a group of NSW compensation lawyers.
