Travelling is not as fun as others may have pointed out. BELIEVE ME.
Travel can be one of the most rewarding things in life, but it can also suck if you’re really not into it. I’m in my early twenties and I’ve been a backpacker for years. Travelling will let you experience a lot of new things and it will let you see a lot of breathtaking sceneries. But as you indulge yourself to these merits of travelling, you will also find yourself losing a lot more than you expected.
If you are still a traveler-wanna-be, then I suggest you stay that way. That is, of course, if you can’t face these consequences while travelling.
1. The lost of time and money
Time… Money! Two things that are considered valuable in a man’s life. And now, it’s the two things that you must give up when travelling.
Travelling is time consuming. You need to plan your itinerary. You need to research every bit of useful information. You need to sit for hours in a bus or any public transportation that won’t bring you any comfort. You need to purposely dedicate your time to travel to a place you are unsure of.
Travelling requires money. Being a backpacker may cost less than the usual but you still lose money regardless. The money you get from working your ass off every day and the money you save from denying yourself life’s luxury will all be spent in a journey that will bring you uncertain experiences. Not to mention the incurring of unforeseen travel expenses.
Practically speaking, it’s not worth it. You will spend all these time and money and will get physically nothing in return. Who would spend their money just to see the beaches in Mariveles, Bataan? Who would spend almost half of the day travelling just to experience the solitude in Tingloy Island, Batangas?
2. The tendency of getting lost
Screw the map, get wonderfully lost.
Sounds exciting, right?
Sounds like a beautiful adventure, right?
Yes?
NO. It’s not that great. You will experience staring in space after you got off the bus just because you don’t know where to go next. You will have to trust a complete stranger for directions event hough that stranger might be a criminal for all you know. You will experience talking to strangers that may pose threat to you just because you need to ask them the directions. You will also experience being stranded because it’s too early/late for public transportation. All the time you spent in researching for information would seem unessential when you find yourself in the road with nothing like the ones written in your notes. With not much patience left, you will literally screw the map. I mean, who would like to sit on the sidewalk, totally drained of energy, while waiting for the next vehicle to come just to swim in Daraitan River, the one hailed as cleanestinland body of water in Region IV? Who would like to speak to unfamiliar person while climbing humongous rocks just to enter the mystifying Tinipak Cave?
3. Life Dangers
You must know that you put yourself in danger every time you travel. The bus you’re riding might be involve in a traffic accident. The boat you’re renting might sink in the ocean. The plane you’re in might crash. There might be a murderer, rapist, thieves, or even kidnappers in the town you’re in. You might be in an accident while climbing a mountain or swimming in the ocean or trekking a river. Travelling can lead to fatal illness which might require an expensive treatment. Fatal accidents can also occur that may lead to death. I mean, who would sleep near a snake just for awe-inspiring view in Kwebang Lampas?
4. Getting Tired
Travelling requires every energy you have. It will drain you until you have nothing left to offer. Fatigue will occur while travelling. Will someone be crazy enough to climb mountains at night just after visiting a remote island just to see the sunrise the next day?
5. Losing Friends
This is one of the most painful parts of travelling. This is both applicable to the friends you have before travelling and the friends you will meet while travelling.
Friends can be lost in different ways:
a. A friend suddenly backs out of the travel plan without proper explanation or acceptable reason. Not one sorry was said. Before you knew it, you will drift apart from each other. A travel plan is like a promise. Once made, it must be fulfilled because if one doesn’t, it will cause a lot of trouble for the rest of the group. Ex. Booking adjustments, travel contribution, etc.
b. You discovered how asshole your friend is after you’ve travelled together.
c. A friend invited people in your journey and those people became the reason of all the travel misfits. You’ve done all you can to correct everything but apparently no one saw your efforts. In the end, your friend takes their side leaving you with your mouth hanging open.
d. Lastly, you met a friend from one of your journey but you can’t stay together because you both have a life to live after.
Who’s willing to lose their ‘friends’ for travelling? It’s better to keep them while staying in your comfort zone than to wake up one day and find that most of them had left… right…?
5. Realizing that arriving to your destination is not that important
After all the sacrifice you’ve done, you now arrive at your destination. You did the all the things you planned to do, visit the places you wanted to visit, and then its time for you to go home. You go back and continue to live the life you left. And one day, after a busy schedule, you will daydream and will start to reminisce all the travel galas you’ve done. But to your surprise, what comes first in mind will not be the moment you arrive at your destination but instead the random memories of your journey to get there. Memories that will show all the hardships of travelling but will now bring smile to your lips. It was then when you will realized that arriving to your chosen destination is not the most important part of travelling, it was the journey you had along the way.
Sounds like a total pain, right? If you’ve been discourage after reading this, then heed my initial advice and never attempt to be a traveler in your life. Travelling is more than visiting a beautiful place. It’s not something that is done for vacation. It is not something that is done for the sake of luxury. It is not something done to take pictures for one’s social account.
It is something that is done to make you a better person. It is something that is done because your soul needs it.
If after reading this, a fire ignited in you, then what are you waiting for? Plan that itinerary! Schedule that travel date! Go and pack those bags! And see you in one of the world’s most beautiful places, future wanderlust!
About the Author
Joy Carryl Ann, aka JCA, is an engineering student and a published novelist that was born in Bataan, raised in Quezon and now living in Taguig City. She, first and foremost loves the moon so much but since no one can give her that, she can settle for dark chocolates, double dutch or queso real ice cream and marshmallows. She loves collecting snow/glitter globes and anything that has a moon design. She’s a certified anime addict and manga lover. She’s a book-parasite that can live without the existence of TV. She’s a true blue pure blooded Everlasting Friend (ELF) of Super Junior and a Ryeowook biased. She has a night blindness and she can’t sleep without light. She’s a proud traveler with motion sickness. And lastly, white roses and the sound of wind chimes can calm her down.
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