Not all of my travels are great. This post is about the not-so-fantastic parts of my adventures – the misadventures. Trust me, there are many ways to ruin a trip – a weekend travel in particular.
So let me warn you that what you are about to read will discourage you. But I’ll offer something to make sure you get over the bumps on the road – if you promise to stay with me for five minutes.
Ways to Ruin a Weekend Trip
Like it or not, your trip depends on many hands. Whether you travel solo or with friends or total strangers, bad luck always finds a way to ruin even your best-planned weekend getaways.
Let me give you a few examples:
- Rescheduled trips – tickets were sold out so you have to wait another two hours to board. Or flights are delayed for hours so you have to occupy yourself by staring at strangers in the airport (If you haven’t brought a book). This isn’t exactly the scenario you have imagined – but it’s happening anyway. Not everything will go according to plan and “getting stuck” at the port is the most common grumble of travellers – myself included.
- Lack of sleep and energy – if you can, try not to travel when you are sleep-deprived. To me, the effects are catastrophic. It’s like flushing your money down the drain. Fatigue numbs your capacity to marvel and enjoy.
- Nasty comment from a customer service staff – you’d rarely find rude, overly blunt staff in tourist destinations (they are supposedly trained to treat their customers with respect) – but it could happen. When it does happen, it could ruin your mood throughout the day. Rudeness is the last treatment you’d expect from a holiday retreat.
- Uncooperative weather – Alas! Aren’t we helpless when nature exploits her power? There’s no way we can turn a rainy evening into a dry, journey-friendly one – unless you’re God. When bad weather strikes, complaints are out of place – at best, they are useless.
- Emergency text or email from work – Say what? Who checks emails or text messages while island hopping? Apparently, most millennials I know. Shame, I’m included in this stereotype. It wrecks a holiday for two reasons: (1) you get annoyed that the wi-fi is sucky; and (2) yes, Facebook loads eventually, but so do emails from work. The last thing you need is a reminder of mounting work awaiting your return.
I hate to be such a buzzkill but traveling has taught me these hard truths. Now, press on to find out how we can kill these travel monsters and make the most out of your trip.
Killing the Travel Monsters
- Bring a book, a kindle, or anything that you can immerse yourself in while waiting during delayed trips. It also doesn’t hurt to pack a large dose of patience.
- Catch some snooze anywhere possible – inside a van or jeepney, a boat, a plane, or the rest house. But the best option is to sleep right days before the trip. Sleep deficit results from consistently ignoring snooze signals.
- Our instant reaction to rudeness is to strike back. “You poor, ugly creature uttering nonsensical speech” was what monsters would say in response. But unleashing that beast only affirms other people’s power over our character. I’d rather admit I was wounded by the remark and say so. (By the way, I allow “bashing” if we’re friends but a stranger has to earn a pass to enter that zone.)
- Pray before and after a trip. The former reduces arrogance, the latter exercises gratitude.
- I wish I’d used Facebook more, says no dying person. Once I recite the line, I quickly realize that the purpose of my trip is to ‘experience’ – to exercise the ‘sense of wonder’ planted in the hearts of all human beings.
I learned a lot from my misadventures. So can you. The wonderful news is, we can put together our not-so-pleasant experiences and be wiser. Plot your next journeys with these in mind and you’ll enjoy a trip like never before.
P.S. I’m dying to know what you think about this post. Does it make you feel anything? Or have you got anything useful out of it? Let me know please. 🙂