What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before My Round The World Trip

My round the world trip may be far from over, but after over eight months on the road there are some things that have happened or that I have experienced on more than one occasion that it would have been really nice to have known about beforehand. Things that people don’t always necessarily think to tell you once a trip is over, things that get forgotten about amongst all of the amazing moments and wonderful memories.

So I figured that while I was still travelling and these thoughts were still fresh in my mind, I would share a few of the realities of long term travel for those considering it, and impart some wisdom that I wish I’d been privy to before I set off.

Some of your friends may be jealous, resent you or just downright forget that you exist

This is one of the toughest ones and I really hope this doesn’t happen to everyone, but for me this has been one of the hardest aspects of travel. I totally understand that everyone is busy, everyone has got lives to lead and other things going on. I also totally understand that once the initial excitement of your trip has worn off, people quickly become bored with hearing about the new town you’re staying in or the mountain you just climbed. (Apart from you guys, of course. You still love me, right? Guys?!) But when friends who you were so close with back at home suddenly take longer and longer to reply to your emails and Facebook messages, it hurts. When friends who were so happy for you and seemed so invested in your future suddenly forget your birthday, simply because you’re no longer within texting range, it hurts. Any petty jealousy or resentment or just plain old boredom aside, you should never take friendship with an “out of sight, out of mind” approach.

You won’t fall in love with every place you visit

I’ve spoken about my feelings on this in the past, and this is sometimes one of the hardest things to accept when you’re travelling. You spend months dreaming of the places you’re going to visit, and then you get there and feel totally underwhelmed or just downright disillusioned. It’s difficult to accept that every place you have seen in guide books and spent months learning about is just as inconsequential to you as your home town was before you left. But that is life. Sometimes you’ll love something and sometimes you won’t. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just move on to the next place and eventually you will find that spark again.

You will end up spending money on things you have never budgeted for 

This is one that I think probably slips by unnoticed for many backpackers. We all make daily budgets for food, accommodation, alcohol, transport and excursions. What we never consider in these budgets is that our clothes will rip or fall apart after months of wear and need to be replaced. That we may travel within different climates and need to post clothing home or get sick and need to buy medicines. Oh, and your toiletries? They will all run out at exactly the same time and all need to be replaced in one big drug store bill. How the hell that always happens, even when they’re purchased at different times, will always remain a total mystery to me.

You will make some obvious mistakes and will kick yourselves for them afterwards, but it’s all part of the experience 

You know those times you’re watching The Amazing Race and are frustrated with the stupid team who keep walking past the building they’re looking for? Well, my friends, that will happen to you at some point too. No matter how many countries you visit, how travel-savvy you think you’ve become, something will happen to bring you back down to earth with a bump and make you realise that you’re not as invincible as you thought. Whether that means losing something of sentimental value, getting something stolen through lack of vigilance or just simply long travel days and different time zones making you weary to the fact that the taxi driver is ripping you off. It happens to everyone.

There will be times you’ll think about your life back home and wonder how you’ll ever fit back into it 

Sometimes homesickness will strike and you will long for certain comforts that you left behind, but whenever you try to imagine yourself back in your old lifestyle and routine, it will be as though there is no place for you any more. You will wonder how you will ever adjust to paying bills and running errands again, waking up to an early alarm and battling rush hour traffic or settling back in to a workplace atmosphere. But until you actually go home, you’ll never know. Maybe things will have improved because you’ll know yourself better. Maybe your travels will have made you realise that you don’t want to live in your home town any longer, but instead a different area of the country. Although going home will always seem scary once you’ve left, nothing is ever as bad as we imagine it to be in our heads. And despite what I said above, there will always be that handful of friends waiting to welcome you with open arms.

My intention in writing this post isn’t to scare people away from long term travel. In fact, quite the opposite. Travel is one of the best things you can ever do for yourself and your outlook on the world. And I have never regretted it. Not once.

But there are sometimes you realise that it would have been nice to have known that other people have gone through exactly the same thing that you have and still had the time of their lives. I want people who are in the throes of planning a big trip to realise that although there are some tough aspects to travelling, the experience itself is everything.

Anything else that happens is just a footnote to a wonderful adventure.