Yes, I confess, another idea for a post that I got from the website Wild Junket. I hope that Nellie and Alberto, the blogging couple behind Wild Junket, feel honored and not offended;-) That I love travelling and exploring unknown places and people is beyond any doubt, hence this blog. That does not mean, however, that I love everything about it all the time.
Here are the 10 things that I dislike the most:
Which things don’t you like about traveling? Recognise some things in my list? I would love to hear about your travel annoyances;-).
All drawings made on iPad with app Paper and two stylos by me.
Here are the 10 things that I dislike the most:
1. Flying
First of all I suffer from a mild fear of flying, as I revealed in my post 10 things you didn’t know about me.
Secondly it usually involves a lot of formalities, checks and waiting, waiting, and waiting.
Third: it is very uncomfortable. Being squeezed in too small seats, no leg space, smelly or noisy neighbors, too cold, too hot, terrible food, etcetera.
And last but not least there is the dreaded jet lag after arrival, that sometimes not only gives me a disturbed sleep for a week, but also triggers a cold or flu.
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Then again, it does bring you quickly from A to B, and that is ofcourse magnificent.
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| And the views can be quite spectacular from up there;-). |
2. Formalities
Wether it is acquiring a visa, renewing your passport, buying a ticket, checking in, going through customs…it can be a very frustrating process.
The rules and regulations are not always clear, the queues and forms long, the officials grumpy and nasty and you unexpectedly may find yourself for a closed door or office. It involves a lot of waiting, time and money.
Usually it’s best to keep quiet and accept it, although I also heard stories where getting angry actually speeded things up.
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| These Indian women were quite zen about ‘waiting’ for their train. Just lay on the platform, chat a little and sleep a bit. |
3. Touts
One of the biggest annoyances for me are the numerous touts that jump at you in many countries. Yes, I know, they are just trying to make a living. Therefor I will always try at least not to get angry and -if I have the energy- to be civil enough to say:”No, thank you.”. But man oh man, they often made me run away from a certain place and/or took away all the pleasure out of my experience.
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| Getting annoyed after the 25th vendor in 2 minutes;-) |
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| Ok, I admit, these were not touts. They were honest market women, whom I was negotiating with. And yes, I bought three sarees;-) |
Being in my two home countries, Holland and Singapore, always is such a relief, since there are no touts there!
4. (Un-)packing suitcases
The number of times that I packed and unpacked my suitcase the last 4 years is enormous. And I hate every bit of it. Staying within the limitations on allowed volume and moreover on weight remains a challenge. Bringing too little or too much clothes. Forgetting, breaking or loosing items along the way. The lifting, pulling and carrying. The baggage checks….
No, not a fun aspect of traveling.
5. Toilets
Is there a (public) toilet around? Is it clean? Is there toilet paper? Is it squat or sit? Is there any privacy? Can I wash my hands afterwards? Carrying around your own toilet paper just in case…
Fortunately nowadays we travel quite luxurious, so we usually are ok on the toilet thing;-).
6. Insects
So the hotel gave you a room with a view and a gorgeous, private balcony. You sit there to watch the sunset. Only to be eaten alive by a zillion musquitos! (Despite repellant, coils and what not)
Or you stand under a cashew nut tree, your guide explaining about it, and dozens of red ants suddenly crawl over your feet-in-slippers, making you jump and scream in pain.
Do you know these moments? When those little buggers completely ruin your moment? Grrrr….
7. Illness
Even being down with a ‘simple’ flu is not funny while traveling, but all the health risks due to the traveling itself are extra scary for someone like me. Meaning someone with a delicate health, diabetes, high cholesterol, too low blood pressure and eczema.
Many travelers are quite zen about it:”Ah well, if I get sick, so be it. I will recover.”. Not me, I tend to be very cautious and careful. Making me eat with long teeth often, or even not at all, scared as I am that I will ‘catch’ something.
8. Saying goodbye
Being on the road all the time, involves always saying goodbye to someone. When I leave Holland, I leave my friends, family and cat behind. That makes me sad. I know by now, that once I arrive at my new destination, that’s fine as well. So then I arrive in Singapore, happy to see my friends there again. Then I leave for India and have to leave my Singaporean friends behind. Sad. Same process. Arriving in Pune. Happy to meet my Pune friends there. And so on….
Popping in and out of the lives of loved ones.
But hey, I feel blessed to have friends in different places, and I love every minute I get to spend with them.
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| E.g. missing my dear friend Luus in Holland |
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| Or Shariff, the dog of a friend of mine in Holland |
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| And above all my beloved cat |
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| Reconnecting with friends in Singapore, after three months. |
9. Missing out and missing stuff
“Hey, my yellow vest will go great with these new pants! Oh…no…that vest is in Holland.” “Oh, I have a fantastic dvd about New Orleans. Will lend it to you. Oh…no…that is in Singapore.” Etc. You have everything divided and spread over several places, so there is always something that you have, just not in the place where you are at that moment.
Or this cool artist is giving a concert in Singapore….two days after you fly back to Holland. And vice versa.
Fortunately I learned a long time ago, that nobody can have and do it all, so that you better desert the concept of ‘missing out’ all together. And to just count your blessings. Usually that works for me;-).
Or this cool artist is giving a concert in Singapore….two days after you fly back to Holland. And vice versa.
Fortunately I learned a long time ago, that nobody can have and do it all, so that you better desert the concept of ‘missing out’ all together. And to just count your blessings. Usually that works for me;-).
10. Poverty and cruelty
Being exposed to poverty, misery and cruelty. In Holland and Singapore I am blessed not to encounter any of that on a regular basis.
In other countries, like India e.g., there is no escaping.
And it cuts right through your soul. Yet there is only so much that you can do, as I wrote in my post about dealing with beggars and poverty in India.
In other countries, like India e.g., there is no escaping.
And it cuts right through your soul. Yet there is only so much that you can do, as I wrote in my post about dealing with beggars and poverty in India.
Which things don’t you like about traveling? Recognise some things in my list? I would love to hear about your travel annoyances;-).
All drawings made on iPad with app Paper and two stylos by me.
This is a great post and I fully agree with every point especially the poverty and cruelty. Some of the things I’ve seen while travelling have really stayed with me and I still think about them years on.
Yes, I can imagine, Becky, and I have that too. I do my best NOT to let things come in too much, but I find that very hard to do.
Wow, yeah I think most of these apply to me as well.
Are these actual watercolours or it’s drawn on a computer? They are beautiful!
Hi, Natalia. They are made on my iPad. The app Paper53 is wonderful!
I completely agree with all of these. I’m in the ‘formalities and packing’ stage of planning a trip to New Zealand now, and it’s so time consuming. I also hate saying goodbye to all the amazing people I meet on the road, but it’s far preferable to not meeting them in the first place.
I totally agree with you there, in being happy to have met these awesome people;-). And good luck with the preparations for your New Zealand trip. Is it gonna be your first time there? I have never been there yet, but hope to go there one day.
Touts and unpacking are my bugbears and of course missing people! 🙂
Can totally relate, Becky!;-)