To Guide or Not to Guide?

As promised, I am going to elaborate a bit more on this trip to Turkey (and show some pictures). Specifically, the merits of having a guidebook or wingin' it on some vague information and a prayer. The was a first time event for me-traveling without a Lonely Planet of my very own that I keep by my side as if it was my last dollar, use as a pillow, and lovingly caress before I go to sleep each night.  You think I'm joking. So venturing to the city that marks a division between East and West sans Lonely Planet was one small step for my fellow travelers, one giant leap for me.

During the weeks leading up to the trip, I had plenty of time to head over to Amazon, find my book, click and buy. Aahhh, that shiny, glossy, Blue cover, just begging to be bought. Yet each time I looked, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Perhaps it was my inner traveler begging me to do it just once, just ONCE go wild and free! Live dangerously and don't figure out in advance how to get from the flat to the metro! Don't find out how to say thanks! Find the bus station by following the crowd! However, I suspect it was actually my inner cheapskate preventing me from purchasing LP's guide to Istanbul. Those of you who know me and/or have traveled with me, know I am frugal by nature-I travel on a dime and only splurge on the big things. I have been known to get out of a cab because he charged us a dollar (one little dollar!) more than I thought was fair. And with a wedding in the very immediate future and the myriad of expenses that go along with it, I decided that this one time, I would forego the Blue.

My resolve lasted until just off the runway after an Amsterdam layover.  The lady in the row ahead of mine had what I coveted. I could practically read along with her if I angled my neck just right. I was sitting beside the birthday boy and we both realized how little we knew about where we were going. I started to feel panicky, and completely uneducated about this foreign place. What if I never made it to the must-sees? What if I missed the best place to find a kabob? What if I never learned a single thing to educate my students? Seizing the moment when she laid the book on the seat beside hers, I pounced. "Excuse me, but do you mind if I look at your book for a few minutes?" Looking somewhat nonplussed and startled, she handed it to me. High on life! I felt how an addict must feel when they finally get a fix. I crammed all the pertinent info into my weary brain and sat back, somewhat relieved.

Now, fast forward to our first morning there and we are all making our plans to head out for the day. I am somewhat confident because two other people have Blue, so I know our day's journey will at least be well-informed. But I don't have it, so I feel like I am missing a limb. Or my eyesight. Again, I am not kidding. Even as I write this, I realize how crazy I must sound. But when I travel, my M.O is to have the logistics down (how to find transport, rough costs of food, fees,  ideas for hostels, etc), and then the plan will fall into place. I usually only know for certain where I am staying the first night and then the rest just happens.  As we head out, I realize I cannot be in control of anything, because I don't actually know anything. As we proceed through that first day and encounter innumerable mishaps, confusing directions, and the loss of various people at different points, the awakening occurs. I am FREE! I have no book, therefore I have no authority, I have no pre-obtained information. By the third day, when we all proceed en masse to the wrong ferry dock, only to find that not only were we at the wrong dock, but at the right dock, our ship had already gone and sailed down the Bosphorus without us. I stood back, amused, and without a slight care in the world. I had no book, I was not in charge, I was not responsible for incidents like this one. Pretty cool huh?

Will I be adopting this as my mode of travel from now on? Nah, probably not.  I am on to planning the honeymoon and I have not one, but two guidebooks.  Disclaimer: both were given to me.  Next stops: Vegas and Grand Canyon! But it was pretty nice to not have the Blue, I will admit.   After all, isn't the adventure in the journey, not the destination? (I know, I know, some other wise person authored that quote, but it fit pretty nicely here to wrap up this post).

What do you fellow travelers think? How do you like to travel-guide or no guide?