It’s no secret that I travel a lot. Some of that is due to work but the majority of it is due to my passion for seeing the world, my love of that feeling I get stepping foot in a new place, experiencing the amazing destinations our world has to offer. I travel for so many reasons, but the main reason is to experience our world, to learn about people living all around it, to fill my life with experiences.
Travel (at least as much as we do), is incredibly fulfilling, yes, but it also brings with it many things that most people never hear about or see on travel blogs. I come home from my travels with Nick’s gorgeous photos, with experiences that I’ll remember forever and words to describe what I saw, how I felt and the lessons I learned. But what often times you don’t see here is the “dark side” of traveling, if you will. I don’t often share the moments of pure frustration at delayed flights, the days you’re wandering a foreign country sick, the moments you’re lost and haven’t a clue where to go and don’t speak the language. Often those moments get lost in the span of the amazing moments while traveling and honestly, 99% of the time, the good far outweighs the bad.
But I want to be honest here in this space and with all the incredible, life changing travels I’ve done, also come some “cons” that aren’t often talked about. Traveling the world can be a misconception in itself. No one steps off a 14 plane ride and feels amazing, yet often that seems the case. So today, we’re covering some of the most common travel misconceptions. However, at the end of the day, traveling is a choice you make, accepting both the good and the bad.
Yes, travel is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling but it’s also downright exhausting. And yes, that is a picture Nick took of me sleeping on the floor of the Toronto airport a few years back en route to Rome when our flight was canceled.
Traveling is exhausting whether you’re sleeping on an airport floor or getting upgraded to business class, believe me, I’ve done both and no matter how you swing it, you’re going to be tired and drained after you get off a 10+ hour flight. There really isn’t much you can do to get around that except take care of yourself while you travel and power through the exhaustion.
Jetlag. It’s such an annoying part of traveling but a part we have to live with and just do the best we can. I’ve dealt with a lot of jet lag in my life, probably the worst when we lived in the Middle East, as we were facing a complete opposite 12 hour time difference when we’d come back to the States and then the same thing on the other end when we returned home. I can remember so many sleepless nights and having to go to bed at 1pm.
But even in more recent years, even closer time zones can throw you off. Perhaps the worst jet lag I’ve experienced in the last few years was our trip to Iceland, which was only a 7 hour flight from Seattle and I wasn’t expecting to get hit very hard with the fairly short trip. I was so wrong. And perhaps it had something to do with me being sick or the short daylight hours, but we arrived and basically slept our whole first morning, only then to explore in the afternoon and not make it past 4pm thinking we’d sleep the whole night. We woke up at midnight and being wide awake and starving, we ventured out into Reykjavik to find some pizza. Even though at the time, we were miserable, it’s still a story we reminisce about often so I guess, in the end, jet lag sort of becomes that horrible thing that ends up a funny story.
This is the one thing about travel that hits me so hard after each trip, catching up on life when you return. The thing is, life doesn’t stop when we travel, in fact, often a ton of stuff happens while we’re gone. Everything from emails overflowing, all the mail to go through, unpacking and laundry, not to mention work and other commitments, seems to all explode upon our arrival home after a great trip. There is nothing that says “vacation is over” like catching up on everything when you get home.
This is another huge travel misconception that isn’t often brought to the forefront but that always makes a big impression on me. I find on every trip that when I fall so in love with a place I’m traveling to that when I come home, often it’s hard to readjust. For example, I love Europe and I always feel like Europe just “gets me,” I feel at home there, I get accustomed to incredible fresh food, old beautiful buildings and the aura that only Europe seems to have, that when I come back to the States, I’m often thrown into a few weeks of readjustment. I have to readjust to seeing people grocery shopping in their pajamas, fast food on every corner and all the other things that come with American society that aren’t as prevalent around the rest of the world.
I often go through a few weeks upon return getting back into my “American life” as well as readjusting from vacation mode to regular life, yet every time it hits me as hard as the time before.
There is really no way around it, at the end of the day, traveling does cost money. I know that’s a big deterrent for people and the main reason why more people don’t travel and yes, I put a large amount of money into my budget to be able to travel. We have a small apartment, no kids or pets and we have a certain amount of disposable income at the moment that we put into travel because that’s our priority. And I certainly realize that not everyone has the extra cash to throw into traveling, but here’s the thing, we invest in our educations, we invest in our futures and for me, I add another category to my investments. I add money to invest in travel because it’s not only offering me more opportunities to learn, it’s also investing in the world’s future.
While yes, often times I think about other places that money could go, mainly a bigger apartment, I always end up realizing that I don’t mind giving up other things to be able to travel like we do, because at the end of the day, for me, that’s what’s most important.
Melanie Fontaine says
Great post, Casey! I wholeheartedly agree with every point you make: As much as I love traveling and all the amazing experiences it has given me, it can also be an emotional drain at times. Frequently adjusting to different cultures and climates can be incredibly exhausting and I certainly had bad moments when I was sick or simply plain tired and couldn’t enjoy a trip as much as I wanted. But as you have mentioned, luckily, the good always outweighs the bad by a lot and that’s why I keep on traveling! 🙂
Casey Martin says
Thanks Melanie! You’re so right, often times life happens and things get in the way, but again, that’s only a small percentage of the amazing things about traveling!
Eyes Hermes says
true true true!!!! this is one of your best posts Casey. Although travelling is amazing it has its cons. I love travelling. It is like a blank canvas where i draw my own & unique experiences.
Well done.
http://eyesofhermes.blogspot.co.uk/
Casey Martin says
Thank you so much! It really is amazing but like anything, it definitely has cons!
Kayla C says
So many great points and all very true!!! Awesome post Casey! I have a few photos like that first one Nick took of you from Mike…one of them is of me sleeping, mouth open *GASPS* on the airport chairs with Zorra (our puppy) sleeping on my lap! Ohhhh airport naps and travel delays….
Casey Martin says
Oh yes, sometimes you just can’t help it!
Amanda says
Amen on travel exhaustion. It’s ridiculous how tired changing planes and sitting in airports can make you! Thankfully I seem to have been blessed with a gene that prevents jet lag (knock on wood!) x
Casey Martin says
It really is so amazing how exhausted you can be from just sitting! And that’s amazing if you don’t jet lag, I don’t get hit too hard on the way to a place, but when I get home, I get knocked out by it.
Jenn @ A Country Girl's World says
Such a great post! Josh always makes fun of me for #3 because for the week before we travel, I spend the week cleaning, doing laundry and everything else so that when we come home I don’t feel overloaded and it actually does help. and #4 soooo true! I came home from a month in Europe and it took a very long time for me to readjust, it’s definitely not easy! and #5 also soo true! Josh and I already have a plan to start saving for travel after our wedding. Unfortunately it’s gone on the back burner due to the cost of even a simple wedding but I am glad he is on board with giving up certain things in order to be able to travel 🙂 Fantastic post!
Casey Martin says
It’s so true! Making sure you leave home with everything done, helps so much when you get back!!!
Yevgeniya D says
Just wanted to compliment you on your makeshift pillow/blanket/jacket bed on the airport floor. I usually go for the painful head on the seat option. Haven’t traveled for more than 7 hours, but I totally understand. Traveling is exhausting, especially if you do it often. Your mentality just changes into prep mode (or a superpower to know the best way to sleep in airports).
http://www.volumesofwords.com
Casey Martin says
Haha… I was so tired at that point, that I didn’t care what sort of bed I had, as long as I could sleep!!! 🙂 Travel can be so exhausting!
Annie says
Yes to all of this. I’ve had people envious of the places I’ve gotten to visit and then they hear about my flight itineraries and I imagine they’re second-guessing how great it was. (24+ hours of travel aside, it really is so great.)
What I think is the worst about traveling is when you arrive back home and get slammed by jet lag and real life all at the same time. Usually I think, when you’re traveling to a place, the excitement helps combat the jet lag you experience upon arriving. But when you arrive home, you’re tired from traveling and from everything you did while overseas and then have to catch up on everything.
Casey Martin says
Totally… people don’t often think about all that goes into a lot of traveling. It’s definitely a lot of work, both preparing for the trip and getting to your destination!
Erica says
YUP. and it takes a lot of time to do the necessary research- there’s something to be said about being spontaneous, but if you don’t do any research at all, you’re kind of wasting your time. Especially when you only have a week or so to enjoy a place.
Can I also add the recycled air of the cabins? Bad for your teeth and terrifying when someone obviously has a cold- ew!
But in the end, it’s all worth it. The day it’s not is the day I will stop traveling.
Casey Martin says
Totally… a lot of time researching before you go!
tiarenie says
“i have to get used to seeing people grocery shop in their pajamas”.. haha! i feel like that every time I’m “home” in the US! we are moving back there soon and i have this crazy fear of me turning into one of those people : /
Casey Martin says
I know, seriously!!! I’m always like, “come on people, it doesn’t take that much more effort to put jeans on!” haha. Where are you guys looking at moving back to?
Jamie Gunter says
Amen to all of these! I am always overwhelmed at the laundry part, especially with tiny UK washing machines. I haven’t been back to the States yet but I can imagine it will be extremely difficult to adjust to American life again. Great post 🙂
Casey Martin says
Totally… the laundry thing is always overwhelming!