One of the best ways to travel is to backpack across countries. If you want to cross from one country to the other, you can try to opt to travel on container ships. Yup, container ships are the way to go nowadays, especially, on some areas that do not have cruise ships.
Container ships go from country to country, they usually carry cargoes of rice, food, retail items and even apples. They are literally hundreds of them in an area at one time. They are different from a cruise ship in a sense that they do not have a pool, nice suite rooms, bingo parlors, cabaret and a gym.
Container ships carry a few tourist on board, is industrial looking compared to a cruise ship, does have a bunk which you might get to share with another crew or tourist. They have Karaoke on board, instead and you are treated to a barbeque instead of a buffet.
Container ships also cost less to travel. Usually, the cost is around USD500 to USD1,000 depending on where you are going and the best part is that you can bring more than the usual baggage than say taking the plane or cruise ship. Some container ships allow to an almost 200 kilos of baggage, but make sure to check out with your travel agent or in most cases, the captain of the ship.
Usually during a trip, you are most on your own. It’s a slow trip with more time for yourself to do some serious reading, thinking or even writing. The crew won’t be there for you since they also have work on their shifts. Most of the time, things move slow, you have three meals a day, and you get to enjoy a game of billiard or table tennis with the crew after sundown. You might also want to check the ship’s position from day to day.
The important thing is to check with your travel agent, and you have to be flexible with your schedules. Sometimes the container ship that you might want to take, might divert and not call the port that you are in for a week. Some might even be diverted to another city, which was not on your itinerary. It might be a little hassle, but with planning you can enjoy a very good vacation.
