You always hear us saying “_______ is fantastic” and “_______ is the best part of travelling”, but what about the other side of being on the road? If you’ve read our blog, you know that we absolutely love our lifestyle and we wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world, but it’s not all sandy beaches and sunsets. Travel can be exhausting and being a goat on the road has it’s downsides. Here are a few of the things that I really don’t like about travelling.
1. Feeling Like A Walking Dollar Sign:
After our first trip to Southeast Asia, Dariece and I both thought that being viewed as a walking dollar sign was just a part of travel. We’ve since learned that it really depends on where you are in the world. In places like Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of the Caribbean, we found it hard to fully connect with the local people. Sure we made some great friends and had great experiences along the way, but many people in the tourism business in these regions see travellers as earning potential, rather than potential friends. After visiting places like China, Iran, Egypt and Turkey, we realized that this isn’t the case everywhere. There are places in the world (even poor places) where people don’t just see you for your money and really want to learn more about you. But these places are becoming fewer and fewer. Feeling like a walking dollar sign is the number one thing I don’t like about travel, but we feel so grateful to be able to live this life that it’s really a small price to pay. We help where we can and where it feels appropriate and try to connect with the people the best way we know how… with smiles!
2. Being Away From Family:
This one is probably tied with number one actually. It’s not easy being away from our families for such long periods of time. Things happen at home and we wish we could be there. Friends have been married, children have been born and grandparents passed on, all while we were away travelling. It’s not always feasible to fly home for the occasion. Aside from missing major events, we both miss just being close to family. We’ve met other long-term travellers who have had their families visit them overseas on numerous occasions, but this just hasn’t been possible for our families. This means that we are reduced to Skype calls and text messages until we return home, about once ever year and a half. Being away from family is a hard one, but we’re very lucky to have a family that supports our travels and our dreams.
3. Long Travel Days:
I know what you’re thinking, “If you don’t like days of travel, why are you travelling?!” Well we do like days of travel but some of them are longer and more difficult than others – like the ones that span 24 hours and take us on 3 different buses, a ferry and a taxi ride, in a country where nobody speaks English. When we first started travelling, we loved these types of days, but slowly (and probably due to age) they’ve started to wear on us and now we actually prefer to spend the extra money to either fly, or take the “VIP” bus. We find that if we have enough food for the journey, it’s usually fine, but if we end up hungry… I get grumpy and Dariece doesn’t get to enjoy the trip as much! 
4. Getting Ripped Off:
This pretty much goes hand in hand with #1 on this list and if you’re a long time traveller, getting ripped off isn’t a matter of if… it’s WHEN! We were actually pretty lucky up until our trip through the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. After 4 years on the road we had only an iPod, cheap sandals and a snorkel mask stolen. But then, high in the mountains, we were taken for $1500 cash and it hurt. It’s always more the principle than the actual cash itself, but getting ripped off is a definite con of travel. Whether you fall for the “free tuk-tuk ride” in Thailand, or have your bags stolen from a bus in Africa, it’s always a piss off to know that someone out there has your stuff. Theft can range from tourist pricing to all out hijackings and no matter how it goes down, it ends with an upset traveller with mixed memories about the country. We’ve learned (the hard way), to not let it ruin the trip. These things are bound to happen and if you’re smart… they’ll happen less often.
5. Getting Sick:
When your travelling the world on a long trip, it’s not a question of if you’ll get sick… it’s when! We absolutely hate being sick but over the years, we’ve contracted some pretty nasty bugs on the road. Luckily, the more we travel, the more we build up an immunity to foreign illnesses, but we still fall ill every once in a while. We recently had a pretty nasty tropical fever after returning from our trip through St.Vincent & The Grenadines. It wasn’t the first time we’ve been sick on the road, and unfortunately it won’t be the last!
6. Hostel Table One-Upsmanship:
We try to avoid these types of conversations like the plague, but they still happen. Sometimes, travellers think that cool stories are a competition and for every fun tale you tell, they have one that’s “way better”. At first we didn’t mind this type of chat and we passed it off as just “excited table talk”. But the more time we spend on the road, the less we want to engage in these types of talks. We love hearing about other travellers’ stories and we’re constantly inspired by our fellow backpackers, but sometimes the motives behind telling the tales are all wrong. We enjoy telling stories back and forth as long as they aren’t competitive. Trying to make my trip sound better than yours just seems like a waste of time. Everyone’s travel stories are unique and exciting for different reasons. If a retaliative travel tale starts with “oh yeah”, or “well, that’s nothing”, we usually just ignore the rest!
7. Nobody Cares:
If you’ve been on a long trip and returned home, you’ll know this one all too well. Friends and family at home are interested for about 10 minutes before the conversation turns and you’re left thinking “I thought we’d talk about my awesome trip for years”. The truth is, your trip isn’t as amazing as you think… at least to people who have been at home. The score of the hockey game, last weekends drink-fest and that asshole at work are far better conversation pieces than your tales of gallivanting around the globe. Why would your friends and family find it interesting? Unless they’re travellers themselves, they have other interests and can’t comprehend what you’ve been through on the road. Although they might love to hear the occasional story of your trip… that’s all you’ll probably get.
This is a hard reality that we all just have to get used to. It’s too bad because travel is all that travellers can (and want to) talk about! All Dariece and I do is travel, live abroad and learn about new cultures, so how can we talk about that annoying person at work? For us, that person is the only other person we can talk to about travel! 
We don’t care if nobody cares about our travels, we still love it and we won’t be stopping anytime soon! We just wanted to share some of the bitter with the constant sweet on Goats On The Road. There are parts of backpacking that aren’t easy, but honestly, they probably add to the adventure and we wouldn’t have learned so much about ourselves without dealing with the low days of travel.
I definitely identify with number 7! Only other travellers really seem to care for more than the cursory 10 minutes. It is hard when you return from a big trip and it is all that you can think about and no one wants to hear it!
i loved this post… it’s literally the exact same things I think. I have a post half-written that is so similar lol. I get ripped off in India which is less frustrating than it used to be.. they don’t know i’ve lived here almost 2 years and it’s my fault not knowing the language. I have been posting all over the internet looking for hindi teacher to no avail 🙁
Hey Guys,
I have recently started following your blog and love the tales that you tell. I can relate to all 7 points, but I get most frustrated by no. 7 – you are right, nobody cares unless they are with you during your 10 month travels. The office idiot takes priority and that is so sad 🙂
Loved this one.
Hey! I agree with all the things you said. The worst thing for me is being away from friends and family. I will soon be on the road long-term again and don’t feel ready to say goodbye. I know you’re never ready. But saying goodbye really sucks. Followed by long travel days 😉
I know! And it’s definitely all you think about! I mean, how could we not, right?!
Cheers 🙂
haha, I think that happens lots with us travellers/bloggers – we all have the same great article ideas! Looking forward to reading yours 🙂 Ya, learning some of the language helps for not getting ripped off, at least they speak English in India. Maybe post up some flyers around to find a tutor?
Cheers!
Thanks Ani! It can definitely be hard to go home and be soooo excited about what you’ve just been through the last year or so and have no one to really share it with. Nick and I are happy we have each other so we can constantly talk about it! haha.
p.s. I can’t help but notice that you’ve used Bruised Passports, Savi & Vid, avatar photo as well as their email address??
It’s hard to say goodbye, but it’s not forever! Enjoy your travels 🙂
Cheers.
Definitely agree with #1, and I especially detest the doubled prices we get because we’re so obviously Westerners. For sure true in Southeast Asia, but it got so bad in Panama that we started to call it “Being Gringo’d.” In Ecuador they just couldn’t seem to understand that most expats are not living there because they’re rich. Hello!?! A whole lot of them are living there because they can’t afford the U.S.!
I agree with hating the scams – very annoying. And also I get a bit annoyed when we are in a place that just has little diversity in food options. After our South America trip I was dying for a place that had more than just a few spices and veggies. The only good part of that was that when we made it to Europe we were overwhelmed with all the choices!
The walking dollar sign gets to me a lot, especially when I hop of the bus with my backpack & hiking shoes on…I’m just thinking “do I LOOK like the type of traveler who has excess cash to spend?” And yes, the secret to loooong travel days is adequate snacks! I’m still at the point where I don’t mind them – probably because they’re the only time I get to curl up and read to my heart’s content without feeling guilty for not working. But I get grumpy, too, if I don’t get to eat all day!
Great article guys! We can totally identify with #1 and #4 right now! We were so exhausted with Indonesia and Malaysia because not only do they thing that way, they treat you that way and its so sad. You’re trying to connect and they are thinking about the best way to extort you while you are trying to engage in casual conversation! We miss our families too. And you are so right, travel isn’t all beaches and sunsets, but isn’t that why we love it? 🙂
I’m dreading these things when I go travelling but there’s more I hate about sitting still. It’s good to have a list that preempts me for all of these things. There are always down sides to everything I guess.
Being away from friend and family surely is difficult but thanks to technology we can stay close. I couldn’t agree more with your last point! I was really surprised and quite dissapointed on how little people cared about my travel stories. Sure their listened and I talked (sometimes I admit that I would get carried away with talking) but quickly I realized that there is only so much they want to hear about. Usually only bits and pieces. I can’t blame them tho, everyone has their own interest and when my friends start talking about redecorating their house or the party they went to last weekend I quickly drift away in my own thoughts to faraway lands:)
I agree with most of your points here too, especially the one up man ship thing. Being relatively young (22) I often find that people try to advise me about things in a patronising manner without actually bothering to ask me anything about myself. “Make sure you keep your valuables safe.”, “Be careful, people might try and rip you off.” etc etc before telling me long stories of the ‘crazy’ situations they’ve found themselves in. Yes thankyou very much!
I hates long travel days especially. There is nothing worser than an image in my head when I know i will have to travel somewhere for more than 24h and change flights twice! And I must say that the more I travel the more I despite flights, planes and anything having to do with airports etc
Man, you hit the nail on the head. What you wrote in number seven — that nobody cares — might sound harsh, but it’s totally valid. It’s really hard to overcome the disconnect between you and your friends and family when you visit home. And the hardest part is that you wish you could share your experiences in a way that gets everyone involved, excited, and hungry to talk about them, but there’s no way to do that, so you go silent, you start to drift apart from the people that you spent so much of your time with in the past. Out of all of those unfortunate truths, that one hurts the most, because it includes family, too.
Traveling is definitely full of highs and lows. But I suppose it’s the great parts that make all of the not-so-fun parts worth it! Being away from family is definitely a tough one for me. My boyfriend and I have been on the road for a year. And we’re moving to Indonesia for another year in less than a week. Saying our goodbyes to our friends and family is definitely hard. That and being a vegetarian traveler can be super frustrating sometimes!
All of them except number 2. I manage being away from my family quite well, but the rest of them, especially number 6 (oneupmanship) really bug me. I hate being sick abroad, and I hate feeling like a walking dollar sign too. I was considering doing a post like this too, but more specific – things that I did and didn’t like in certain countries… although that could be a recipe for controversy…
haha, so that is what we have to look forward to when we head South, hey?! Getting Gringo’d doesn’t sound fun, but it sounds pretty standard. We’ve felt like walking dollar signs mostly in Southeast Asia and Africa so far.
Cheers 🙂
That’s an excellent point that we didn’t think of! We’re such foodies that when we’re travelling somewhere like Mongolia without the best cuisine, we definitely start getting bored with the food options. I’ve heard that S.A. is basically all rice & beans, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough 🙂 Food is such a big part of travel, it’s important to have diversity!
Eating on travel days is very important! I don’t mind long travel days if I know they’re going to be long – it’s when the bus that was supposed to be 5 hours breaks down, stops every 5 minutes or just drives slow and it ends up being like 12 hours! That I can’t stand 🙂
Exactly – in the end, we love everything about travel, both the good and the bad 🙂 I’m sorry you felt that way in Malaysia 🙁 We actually had great experiences there – Indonesia on the other hand…wow, rip off country for sure! We made the mistake of taking local transport throughout our 2 months there and were quoted the HIGHEST prices whenever we’d step into a bemo, which would lead to like 20 mins of bargaining, it got exhausting.
Exactly 🙂 Even though there are some cons, the pros far outweigh them! You’ll have a great trip.
It’s true, we do tend to get carried away with our stories 😉 And you’re right, having technology like Skype and FaceTime really makes being away easier.
Cheers.
Good point Katie! There’s always those people who are full of tips and advice…whether you want it or not! haha. My advice? Follow your gut/intuition and you’ll be just fine 🙂
Cheers.
Agreed. We’ve been on some long, epic 42 hour travel days too. Airports take up soooo much time, being there 2-3 hours before, then the flight duration, then waiting for your bag, etc. etc.
Couldn’t agree more Craig. And you end up feeling bad about talking about travels, so like you said, you just kind of go silent and end up having nothing to talk about – or you do have something to talk about but you find it’s not something that you’re actually interested in, you just want to join the conversation 🙂 It’s a hard one to get over and we’ve drifted from lots of friends and family too.
I can’t imagine being a vegetarian in certain parts of the world…you should go to India 😉
Ohh, that could get ugly 😉 But I think it’s nice to shed some light on the pros and cons for places people may be thinking of travelling to.
I’m confused as to why your final point is something you don’t like about travel? How does someone else’s attention span impact the way you feel about travel? It’s likely not that nobody cares, it’s just that most people have their own lives to live. Would you give more than 10 minutes to listen to stories about your friends kid’s soccer game? Or about your friend’s fantasy football team? Probably not, because it doesn’t interest you, just like your travels only interest them in small doses. But that shouldn’t impact how you feel about traveling? Why do you need other people’s approval to validate your travel experiences?
I’ve found #6 to be quite common with “nomadic” travelers and travel bloggers. The “Hostel Table One-Upsmanship” is no different than a blogger saying “look at how awesome my life is, don’t you want to be like me? Let me show you how you can be awesome, like me”. It’s the same dialogue, just a different outlet.
Sorry, I’m not intentionally trying to be a dick (even though I know it comes across that way), I just don’t see how #6 and #7 have anything to do with actual travel.
Oh I hear you on this. My husband eats “normally” and I’m a vegan. We travel through rural and small town America a lot, and people look at me like I’ve just spontaneously caught on fire when I try and explain what I can and can’t eat. And a lot of the times, there is just not choice aside from fruit, dry bread and a bottle of water! I found far less hassle when I traveled through South East Asia.
Hey Marc,
Thanks for your comment. Coming home to disinterested friends and family is a part of travel, and it’s a part I don’t like all that much. Not that I need their “approval” but I do spend time truly interested in their kid’s lives because their kid’s lives are part of my life. As the article states “why would they be interested in my trip”. I think you’re reiterating what I said but spinning it negatively.
Also, I love swapping stories with travellers. There are just some travellers that think it’s a competition. Not a problem just something I don’t engage in.
Both of these things are just my opinion. I’m not sure what “being a blogger” has to do with it? I hope our blogs don’t come off as one-upsmanship. We try to inspire… not compete.
Travel is different for everyone.
You didn’t come off as a dick… just angry for some reason.
I hope your experiences in travel are all 100% sublime.
As a vegetarian I definitely find some countries easier than others. I can often see my husband rolling his eyes as we wander around from restaurant to restaurant looking for something on the menu that I will eat. Most European Countries have now added a good selection of vegetarian based meals to their menus but I remember when I first started travelling 20 years ago as an 11 year old vegetarian with my parents – we did gain some very strange looks when we asked for things without meat – it simply wasn’t heard of in heavy meat eating countries back then.
Hey guys,
Just came across your blog and absolutely loved it! And you are right – most people think that travel is all joy and no tears. I say that it’s like love – its exhilarating and joyous; it make you a better person; you can’t do without it – but there are some days which are really frustrating! 🙂
The only point I would have to add – and this is only applicable to me – I hate getting back to work after long journeys 🙂 I have been travelling fairly often in the recent years, and with every trip, getting back is turning to be more and more difficult. 🙂
…and in America you can communicate in English – it would be much harder to put into words in Mongolia! haha. There are definitely some great options in SEA.
That’s the great thing about travelling in places like Europe, North America or OZ, they’ve heard of vegetarians and vegans and are pretty good at catering to them. I can’t imagine what it would have been like 20 years ago! You should travel to India – great selection of foods there for veggies 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Saishree! It’s soooo hard going back to work after being away on an awesome trip – no matter the length. We did that after 13 months of travel, and only lasted one more year at work before deciding that living on the road was what we were meant to be doing.
Enjoy your travels, wherever they may take you 🙂
Oooh, I laughed right along with all seven of these. Spot on post! The number one for me is feeling like a dollar sign as well. I definitely experienced it most when I was living in central and east Africa – more than anywhere else so far. This past year, as I’ve been living in Europe, has been a nice little break from that. 🙂
Yeah! I can totally relate to these things that you don’t like about travelling especially about telling stories that are competitive. I loved the thoughts that everyone’s travel stories are unique and exciting for different reasons.
We really felt like walking dollar signs in East Africa as well. It’s a hard thing to deal with, because we were trying to make real, connections with local people, but all they were interested in was our money (not everyone, but many people). I suppose that being from western countries, maybe it’s something we’ll never understand…
Thanks for commenting and enjoy Europe!
It’s true, we LOVE hearing about other people’s travel tales, but just don’t like to be in a competition, you know?
Happy trails 🙂
I could listen to your stories all day.
Thanks Charlie 🙂
Thank you.
Very nice.