One place I look for inspiration sometimes is the Happiness Project blog. Written by author Rachel Rubin, the blog offers insights about how to achieve happiness. With each post, Rachel shares with her readers what works and what doesn’t.  She’s also developed “12 Commandments” that she lives by.

Rather than expecting her readers to apply these rules to their lives, Rachel asks them to develop their own lifestyle guidelines.

This got me to thinking about coming up with my own set of travel commandments.

Visit Supermarkets. But I wasn’t the first person to think of this. A few years ago, the Nerd’s Eye View blog featured a post listing “Rules of Travel.” It’s worthwhile reading. My favorite rule is “Visit Supermarkets.”

When we were in Puerto Vallarta this summer, my wife and I both enjoyed our visits to the grocery store across the street from our hotel. Besides being introduced to entirely new types of junk food, we learned how to purchase baked goods in Mexico. You use tongs to place each item on a metal tray. After loading up the tray, you take it to an attendant who wraps your purchases for you.

I’d like to keep a running list of “travel commandments.” Here are some that I’ve thought of:

• Take the trip you want. It’s important to be flexible, especially if your traveling with others. But make sure to go places and do things that appeal to you. Many times your travel companions will begin to understand why you like the activity or place so much.
• Do the “tough stuff” first. For our family’s Mexico adventure, we visited the museums and other cultural attractions in Guadalajara before hitting the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. This gave our kids something to look forward to during the “educational” portion of the trip.
• Speak the language. Even though my Spanish is lacking in many respects, I find that trying to speak it sets the right tone. Oftentimes, the person I’m addressing will speak to me in English. But even then, I’ve delivered an important message: “I recognize that I’m a visitor here and I respect your culture.” Also, focusing on the language can yield interesting insights. For example, a common phrase in Mexico is “ni modo,” which roughly translates as “nothing can be done about it.” This is a foreign concept to most norteamericanos who are quick to find fault and file lawsuits when something isn’t working. (CancunCanuck wrote a good blog post on this).
• Talk to strangers. One of the great aspects of visiting new places is interacting with other tourists and the people who there. There are plenty of things to talk about that don’t involve your personal information.
• Focus forward. Chances are something will go wrong on your trip. When it does, it’s important to give it your full attention. But once it’s resolved there’s no need to dwell on it. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. In a few months, you’ll look back fondly at even the bad parts.

Here are some more commandments, some of my friends on Twitter have come up with:

• @apez7up 1) be flexible, 2) try new food, 3) learn new things, 4) have fun, 5) don’t be judgemental!; and 6) Don’t travel with people who embarrass you or complain all the time.
• @glothy 1) get lost 2) talk to strangers 3) keep your shit together
  
• @lindajacksonmex Taste everything.
• @jillosophy No sneakers!
• @wanderlust13 Be curious.
• @laurably: Be humble.

What are some of your travel commandments?

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik (Via Creative Commons)

After enjoying a breakfast at Sanbornes (Mexico’s answer to Denny’s), we set off for a long walk on Guadalajara’s sidewalks to the arena where the Mexican rodeo or charreada is held each Sunday at noon.

Navigating the pedestrian walkways was tricky because most of them were in a semi-demolished phase of what looked to be a mammoth city repair project.

“I just want to go back to the hotel and swim in the pool,” my son said about half-way into our walk. “Can we just take a cab?” my daughter asked.

These reactions were somewhat irritating. It was not an ideal soundtrack for my wife and I while we were enjoying some exercise and an up-close view of the city.

Never Asked to Go to Mexico. But our kids never asked to go to Mexico. The only reason they were there was because their father was fascinated by Latin America.

What they liked and disliked about their experiences on our trip will shape their own travel philosophies–which will probably end up being decidedly different from their parents’.

But this process didn’t begin with my kids. It goes back to my attitude about the trips I took with my parents. The ideas behind those excursions were at least partly the result of their feelings about the vacations they took when they were growing up.

I looked at how my childhood experiences shaped my travel philosophy and the influence this will likely have on my kids in a guest post yesterday for MatadorLife.