Reader Question: How difficult it is to learn Mandarin and is it isolating to move to Taiwan if you don’t speak it? The language barrier is my biggest fear, especially because I plan to travel in there by myself.
Is Mandarin really hard to learn?
If you spend any time at all in Thailand, or any Asian country, you’ll immediately notice that rice is essential to the local diet. Many people, especially from the older generations and in the countryside, eat some form of rice three times a day. Having spent so much time in Asia, Charlie and I have also become a little bit addicted to rice, and quite happily eat it seven days a week, and sometimes for breakfast too!
So naturally I was keen to visit Phu Ruea Ruean Mai resort, an organic rice farm, and learn more about how some Thai people are trying their hand at ecotourism. The rice farm is run by Nu Dee, a young, well-educated woman from Bangkok, and her mother. Nu Dee is one of a small handful of people bucking the urban migration trend, and she argues that there’s more to life than sitting at a standstill in Bangkok’s notorious traffic jams.
After Charlie flew home to see her family, I immediately signed up to a language school in Guatemala. The problem was that I was currently in Nicaragua, 766km south of my destination, leaving me to answer the question: how could I get from Nicaragua to Guatemala in one piece?
I decided to take the Ticabus as they had got me from Costa Rica to Nicaragua without any problems, and at a reasonable price. However, when I saw that the ride would take a mind numbing twenty-seven hours, a completely unplanned few days in San Salvador to break up the journey seemed like a better idea.
The Corn Islands are a Caribbean cliché located 70 km off the Nicaraguan coastline, complete with virginal white beaches, trouble free skies and soothing blue waters. Shack up in a beach hut by the sea for under £14 ($20), and enjoy a carefree culture that is more Creole than Español. Whilst Big Corn Island is the first stop for travellers, the smaller and generally more loved of the two islands is Little Corn.
In most places, when you step out of the airport you are greeted by someone holding a sign with your name and a nice clean car. On Little Corn Island, you’ll jump out of a boat and be greeted by someone with a sign holding your name and a fairly heavy-duty wheelbarrow. Little Corn simply isn’t like anywhere else, and the fact that there are no cars on the island is just one of them. Don’t get too excited – that wheelbarrow’s not for you. It’s for your luggage, which will be wheeled along a dirt track to your little hut on the beach.
Leon is a shabbier, more streetwise and arguably more authentic brother to Granada. There’s no doubt about it, Nicaragua an ideal destination for budget travellers. With private rooms to be found for $8, rice and beans available on the street for a quick eat and things to do that easily come in at under $5, Leon is an awesome place for backpackers to explore.
No, is the short answer. You don’t need any teaching qualifications whatsoever to teach English in Taiwan. With teaching gigs offering full time employment in an interesting profession and excellent pay compared to the price of living, it’s little wonder many English speakers are considering leaving their home country.
Anyone here familiar with the ‘iron triangle?’ Originally a management term, it’s also a useful way to plan your travels, wherever you are going and whatever you plan to do. It suggests that when we undertake a travel project, whether that’s volunteering in Poland or backpacking through Vietnam, we can have whichever two sides of the triangle we want, but not all three.
In other words: if you want to travel in a way that is good and fast, then it won’t be cheap. If you want it cheap and fast, then it won’t be good. Or you can have it good and cheap, but you sacrifice speed.
Want to know our secret to not getting robbed while travelling in Central America and the rest of the world?
Everyone told us that as tourists, we would be obvious targets in Central America. People who had never even been to that part of the world all had horror stories and travel advice to share. From our safe, friendly and crime-free experiences in Asia, we knew to take their advice with a pinch of salt. But when we landed in San Jose, which is a jungle of razor wire and iron bars, it looked like they might be right…
Everyone loves dolphins, right? These social animals have been known to save beached whales, become lifelong friends with one another and play with human swimmers. But dolphin watching tours are harming the Bottlenose population in Bocas del Toro…
Flee the really rather average Rivas by boat to the beautiful volcanic island of Ometepe. Though Ometepe is a small place, it’s very much geared up for travellers. In fact, there are probably more backpackers than locals, but once you escape into the island’s nature you won’t even remember.
As somebody who has failed miserably to learn three different foreign languages, but is having middling success with my fourth, Spanish, I feel uniquely unqualified in sharing my tips for successfully learning a foreign language for free. Enjoy!
Unlike what my grandparents believed, speaking English slowly and loudly doesn’t quite qualify as communicating in a second language. While the prospect of learning a foreign language can be daunting, there are also many benefits.
Not only will it save you a few pennies, or help you avoid accidentally ordering a plate of unnamed innards, it can also make you a better communicator, boost your understanding of different cultures, spur on new friendships and even make you live longer.
We’re Charlie and Luke — UK travel bloggers, adventurers and storytellers. We travel slow and write about sustainable travel. We want to make responsible travel choices and help you do the same. Get to know us.
