Your bags are packed, you head out into the world full of wanderlust and some nerves, you start your adventure but then you’re hit by traveling realisms! What do you do?
There are two sides to every story and It’s no different with long term traveling. There is the mind blowing, creating unforgettable memories, experience things you couldn’t imagine, life changing side and then there is the other side..
(Please note: The traveling realisms posts in this series mostly applies to those looking to or are budget or solo traveling/backpacking long term. I.E 6 months+. To those only traveling for a few days or a couple of weeks, these posts probably don’t have any relevance to you.)
It’s the side we don’t like to think about, the side that doesn’t get talked about much, because…well It’s not glamorous, not pretty or appealing – It’s the traveling realisms & realities of everyday life, the things that get edited out of what you read and see.
Have you ever noticed how when you research traveling you’re mostly only shown the shiny side? You get told about the adventures, you see the jaw dropping picturesque scenery, the incredible stories but where is the in between stuff?
For example you read an article about experiencing a night market, it talks about the vibrancy, the mouth watering food, the atmosphere but there is no mention of the communication issues. Or you see pictures from the highest peaks, tempting you, telling you how you can experience it, but it conveniently leaves out the struggles, and arduous journey it took to get there.
Before your long term travels begin, you will read and see so much about how easy it is to pack your bags and travel the world without mentioning or making you aware of the nuts and bolts, the everyday life.
- Next to no mention about downer days
- Times you will feel lonely
- Times you might run out of money and low on funds
- How to replenish depleted funds
- The possibility of falling into a party lifestyle
- What happens when the novelty runs out
- The possibility of getting bored
- Feeling like crap, accidents, things going wrong, making bad decisions
- Transport and accommodation not being what you expected
Our fault too
All the blame cannot be placed on the things we see and read though, we have to shoulder the blame too because we don’t want to really think about it.
We are all guilty of it. When the time comes to plan a trip, the excitement, nervousness, fear and anxiety takes over, we seek out all the amazing things we will experience. We think of the highs, discovery and adventure but we rarely think about what everyday life will be like. We build pictures in our heads, thinking of jumping from one adventure to the next, we don’t think about the in-between days, or how we will feel months into our travel life once the novelty runs out.
It’s only once we experience it for ourselves that we think ‘Oh I wish I knew about this before’.
Helping you become aware of traveling realisms for your future travels
This traveling realisms & realities series was created to help you for your future long term travels whether that’s solo or budget traveling. It’s to help you be aware of the traveling realisms & realities, so when you’re faced with the situation you will know how to cope, overcome, adapt and even thrive rather than panicking.
I’ve traveled all over the world for over a decade, I’ve been through most situations, I’ve cursed that I wasn’t made aware of certain things beforehand and I’ve met so many first time travelers who didn’t know how to deal with situations because they just weren’t aware. So this series is to help prevent that happening to you.
Traveling realisms series covers
Long term travel can be gruelling at times, there are times you have to dig deep, find motivation to keep the lifestyle going and you do have to have mental toughness. It’s not a long holiday that’s for sure.
You have to be willing and prepared for both sides of the coin, the good and the bad, take the rough with the smooth. However the series of posts below will help you prepare for when traveling realisms appear for you.
The traveling realisms posts covered in the series:
- Adapting to hostel life
- Reasons you can get stuck in one place long than anticipates
- How to cut costs and make money stretch when funds run low
- Learning to deal and cope with language and communication problems
- The backpacker party culture
- What everyday long term and backpacking life is really like
- How to deal with loneliness when it hits
- How the backpacker hostel bubble can turn into a trap
- How long term travelers can lose sight of reality
- How to cope & deal with constant hello’s & goodbyes
Long term budget traveling realisms series:
BEFORE YOU GO
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61 Comments
Harmony, Momma To Go · October 13, 2017 at 12:43 pm
I am not interested in backpacking, but I follow some blogs of families, like mine, that do a Round the World Trip and I bet that is amazing and you see so much, but I know I would miss my friends, family, you miss holidays and events. I think my kids would go nuts without other kids to play with. I would miss nights out with
the girls!
Jimmy · October 13, 2017 at 8:32 am
I am past the stage in my life where I would do long term solo adventures, however the idea of it intrigues me, as I know I would probably go everywhere imaginable. I love traveling, but I also love family life. Today my family and I travel the world together and amazingly have seen a good part of the world as a family – over 20 countries! Great info for the solo traveler though!
Stacey Billingsley · October 13, 2017 at 2:21 am
Long-term traveling looks so cool, and maybe if I had known about it when I was younger, I might have given it a shot. When I would have been able to do this, the Internet was in its infancy. Now I am 42 with a college kid and an eight-year-old! I do love exploring with my family, though, and we do as much as we can as time and money allow. This is a great post for those who are considering long-term travel. It’s great that you can share your experiences!
Exploring Curiously · October 13, 2017 at 1:36 am
You make a lot of very good points about long term travel that most people don’t think about. It is definitely very different to be gone for a month or longer than just a week or two. Without the end in sight, you are more able to immerse yourself in daily life where you are and find your own rhythm.
Kate Rebel · October 12, 2017 at 9:03 pm
I love that you wrote about this! A lot of people only see the good things because it sounds pretty romantic to travel all the time. I have to admit that I am not a solo traveler at all – it’s kinda on my list just that I get to have this experience but I don’t really feel comfortable about it. Maybe it’ll change my mind but not sure haha.
I love your blog posts as they are always super informative and honest. Thanks for sharing all of your experiences!
foreverroamingtheworld · October 12, 2017 at 9:13 pm
Thanks for your comment Kate ? one 9f the reasons I actually started the blog was because I meet so many people traveling who are painted this picture of it always being glamorous but then in utter shock when it’s not, I have to say it was the same for me when I started to travel …my main aim of the blog is to give an honest account …the awsome times (which as you know are plenty) but also the not so good …glad you enjoy my posts ??
Patti · October 12, 2017 at 11:45 am
Great post! A lot of bloggers glamorize long term travel but I love that you are giving people a realistic view.
Jajwalya · October 12, 2017 at 4:17 am
I love travelling but going on solo trips is something that I am not completely comfortable with. It is probably to do with the deeply ingrained safety paranoia haha! However, I do live vicariously through people’s stories. People like you! Thanks for the info! My favourite bit was the expectations vs reality of hotels. It rings a true sound in such backpacker countries like Cambodia.
Medha · October 11, 2017 at 6:04 am
I love travelling but I know (and reading your post confirms it) that it’s not something I want to do as a long term thing, not only because budget can run dry and that can be very discomforting but also because I do quite like the feeling of coming back home at the end of a trip, it gives a certain feeling of comfort and belonging which I really like. I don’t mind being on the road very often but I do need a place I can call Home and be at every few weeks ? This is very insightful Amit, like all your posts x
Vanessa · October 11, 2017 at 3:49 am
Love this post! I’ve only done one big backpacking trip in my life and it was 7 weeks in Europe with two of my college friends. I definitely had the rose-colored glasses on when we started out, but never anticipated how hard it would be. The hostels and overnight train rides were not always glamorous, I was exhausted most of the time, and we definitely had to pinch pennies in most cities. When we could crash with friends or family, it was so nice. This series is a great way to give people a reality check about backpacking, and traveling in general.
Wallis · October 10, 2017 at 10:13 pm
I can relate to this post. The freedom and adventure of long term budget travel is super rewarding, but it’s not always roses and sunshine. Long hours in a crappy bus, smelly dorms in the hostels with people that are not always very clean or respectful, missing friends and family. It’s good to prepare for that before you leave. I like to, once in a while, get myself a nice hotel room for one night just so that i can catch up on sleep and feel more comfortable!
foreverroamingtheworld · October 10, 2017 at 10:17 pm
Your dead right, I do the same in certain countries, if I can afford it, get a hotel room and just unwind more than anything. Don’t get me wrong I love budget traveling, and like you said it is rewarding but for me, there was a lack of information on what it was going to be like, so I’d like to give first time long-term budget travelers some advice from my experiences to help ease them into it.