Travel & Hotspots

10 REasons why a world trip isn’t such a good idea

I went on a world trip with my boyfriend a couple of years ago. I must admit that in reality, it was a ten week long trip through South-East Asia. So not the kind of world trip where you rush to and through each continent, but it was far away, tropical and we stayed for more than three weeks. Anyway, I was really looking forward to it. Excited with a capital E. This trip was timed perfectly, because I had been stuck in a rut for a while. It wasn’t all that bad, but there were just some things in life of which I wasn’t sure I was still happy with. Such as my job, my house, my friends, my clothes, my hair, my bike, my shoe collection – OK fine; I was totally clueless. But I wasn’t worried, because I read that a world trip wasn’t only very sunny and made you look better, but it was also super life-changing and clarifying. Man, was I gonna gain a lot of new insights. So, we booked the plane tickets, got the OK to take time off work (with a LOT of begging and praying) and off we went.

“Don’t worry, this won’t be a long read about dusty dirt roads and helpless children in need”

Don’t worry, this won’t be a long read about dusty dirt roads and helpless children in need. I just thought I should tell others that are thinking of going on a world trip everything about what I’ve learned along the way. It’s up to you if you still want to go by the end of this post. Here it goes:

Lesson 1.

Going abroad doesn’t mean you’re leaving yourself behind. This is something I didn’t think of before I went. But along the way I realized that your problems, worries, doubts and fears don’t miraculously disappear once you’re chilling in a hammock at an awesome Thai beach hut. That’s not to say that the location and six Chang beers don’t help, but trust me: you don’t just stop worrying about your problems just because you’re in a beach hut.

Lesson 2.

Don’t believe everything you hear from the spirited guys that never went back home. I was really jealous of every beach hut owner there, but just so you know: those beach huts and diving schools looks incredibly romantic and sunny, but even those guys have their own problems. Don’t think that they’ve figured everything out and you haven’t.

Lesson 3.

You have to be able to handle people that eat loudly well during a long trip on the bus so you don’t spend most of it desperately wishing for the bus to crash.

“And FYI, they just LOVE bare legs”

Lesson 4.

An undiscovered beach scores a lot of hearts on Instagram, but there are millions of sand fleas on these beaches because they’re totally deserted. And FYI, they just LOVE bare legs.

Lesson 5.

They haven’t heard of wine. Or they just don’t like it. Or they hid the bottles just to annoy me. Anyway, it’s really hard to come by. At one point, I was on a Thai island in a resort of which I’m still not sure why they call it a ‘resort’, when I was suddenly in the mood for a glass of wine. They didn’t have it. I even used my own phone to call their other resort on the island (it wasn’t within walking distance), desperately asking for wine, but all they got from that convo was that I wanted to order a speedboat. Right.

Lesson 6.

You lose a lot of weight if you don’t drink wine for ten weeks. And if that isn’t an added bonus, I don’t know what is.

Lesson 7.

If you follow Lonely Planet, you’ll be a little less ‘lonely’ than you would’ve hoped for.

Lesson 8.

Vowing to never let yourself get caught up in the chaotic Western way of life ever again is easier said than done. I remember crying a little every day for two weeks when I got back, because I felt myself getting sucked back in our way of doing things.

“Gaining a lot of insights during your trip is a job half done”

You’ll be dreaming of the days that you would take an easy 5-minute ferry boat trip across the pond once you’re stuck on a rickety wooden speedboat with 30 people, crashing into every wave at full speed.

Lesson 9.

Nothing has changed when you get back home. Of course they’ve all missed you, but after a night of storytelling over a bottle of wine it’s pretty much old news.

Lesson 10.

It’s hard to make life changes when you’re traveling. You really have to go back home to do that. Because that’s where it happens, that’s where you’re life is. As I’ve said earlier, you gain quite a few insights along the way, but it’s a job half done. You have to take care of the other half at home. Home sweet home, which isn’t too bad after all.

Still want to go on that trip? I couldn’t agree more. Secretly I wouldn’t have missed it for the world (pun intended). You can find a few tips on going on the best trip of your life here.

And also make sure to check out how to take cool shots here.

What was an important lesson you learned during your world trip? Share it on Facebook!