Let’s get this straight: We love traveling more than anything in the world. Having been hooked to travel since more than a decade ago, we even gave up our career in engineering for a life on the road. It’s what brought us together, it’s a passion we both share, it’s something we just cannot imagine life without.
But even for travel addicts like us, there are just days when we want to ditch our backpacks and throw in the white towel. As much as we hate to say this – sometimes, we really hate traveling. Here’s why:
1. Delayed flights and missed connections
We love flying almost as much as we love traveling – especially on long-haul flights when we can cozy up under a blanket and treat ourselves to a movie marathon. But when flights get delayed, it almost completely ruins the excitement of flying. Waiting for the next flight wouldn’t be a problem if we weren’t missing my connecting flight chocking up extra expenses and wasting valuable time.
2. Jetlags
We finally get to this exotic destination about hours of flying and – bam! – we’re hit with this sudden wave of sleepiness, at two in the afternoon. And after days of adjusting to the time difference, it’s already time to head home.
3. Touts
“Come, look at my shop!” You see and hear them in every major tourist destination – from Cairo to Bangkok and Morocco. Unfortunately they’re like a plague that you just can’t get rid of. Steer clear of the tourist-cluttered markets and attractions – those are their favorite hangouts!
4. Too many travelers
Picture Rome without the throngs of camera-toting tourists, or Bangkok without the backpacking hippies with the signature baggy pants — the world we live is now overrun with travelers. According to (WTMO), over a billion people traveled in the year 2012. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why I tend to seek out unconventional destinations – like Madagascar instead of Mauritius, Albania instead of Italy, and North Korea instead of South Korea.
5. Visa applications
As a Singaporean, I rarely need to travel with a visa (thanks to the good ties between Singapore and other countries). But there are still some countries where this kind of formality is still necessary, and it is not always easy to get past it. Long processing periods or a lack of embassy or consulate of the country on your current location can hinder your plans and stop you from visiting.
6. Dorm rooms
Days of meeting fellow travelers, cooking together, swapping stories and partying in the hostel were fun and we still love hostel vibes. But there just comes a time in life when you get too old for dorm rooms. During a recent hostel stay in Ushuaia, Argentina, I had a bunkmate who snored louder than a hippo, another one who couldn’t stop bragging about his travels, and one who was obviously suffering from smelly feet. As much as I can enjoy some company during my travels, there are just some moments when I need some extra privacy and comfort.
7. Sleeping at airports
There comes a time in every frequent traveler’s life when one has to spend a few hours stranded in some airport, far away from your final destination. If you ever had to spend the night in an airport, you must agree with me that it’s almost sadistic the way some of them are laid out. No seats anywhere to be found; and when you finally find one, someone has purposely added separations between each seat so that no normal person can lay down and have some rest. Not cool people, not cool.
8. Feeling dirty
On my six-month trip in South America, we probably spent 20 days or more without showering. Days spent hiking in the Amazon Rainforest and on safari in the Uyuni all involved tons of sweat, plenty of mud, and no showers. By the end of the trip, my hair was developing into a mess of dreadlocks and my skin was covered with layers of dirt – yikes!
9. Guidebooks
We’re all guilty of that. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve got a whole collection of guidebooks – I’ve even co-authored one before, but there is one thing about guidebooks that is not doing destinations (and the travel industry in general) any favor. When everyone has the same guidebook and everyone follows it like a bible, where is the fun of traveling?
10. No public toilets
Ever found yourself with a severe stomachache only to realize that there’s not a single public toilet in sight? It’s a common problem regardless of where you go. Through the years, we’ve grown accustomed to carrying a roll of toilet paper everywhere we go and being able to ‘go’ whether we’re in the mountains or the savannas.
Do you hate traveling at times? Why? Share with us in the comments field below.
I do hate all of these things too! And also noise in the hotels/hostels, snoring people, being picked up late for the tours …
Thanks for dropping by Alex! At our age, we can no longer bear sharing dorm rooms with other travelers – especially those who snore like pigs! ;D
All so true. I sometimes hate the fact that I miss out things happening at home while I'm away. Even if I'm travelling somewhere really cool, I still hate to hear about this one legendary party I wouldn't have missed out on if I hadn't been travelling. Although most people would have probably swapped with me, but still…
haha true! I hate that I missed the birth of my nephew, and I missed the wedding of one of my best friends… and so many more.
Too many hours in an economy airplane seat — especially if:
1) a small child is seated behind me kicking the back of my seat
2) that small child's infant sibling is screaming for much of the time (I am not a heartless curmudgeon. I used to bring both ##1 and 2 on flights back in the day—but at least I told my 3 year old to stop kicking the nice lady's seat. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about a screaming infant—except to distribute drugs to all other close by passengers.)
3) I have the window seat and the person in the middle seat has not bathed recently, is hogging the armrest and occasionally falls asleep on my shoulder; and,
4) the fact that my finally reaching the rest room (closet) seems to cause air turbulence that makes the pilot turn on the fasten seat belt sign and the flight attendant to insist that I return to my seat (with an now uncomfortably full bladder) and then have to climb over that guy in the middle seat.
LOL! You cracked me up. ;D True, true and true! Every time we see a baby on a plane, we hope and pray that the baby doesn't end up sitting near us. A screaming infant is the biggest nightmare for travelers! How about a chatty seatmate? I love socializing on planes but sometimes it can get overwhelming especially when he/she doesn't stop talking on a 16-hour flight!
All great points. But the toilets for us is the biggest issue. With the change in diet, finding a toilet can be very time sensitive.
It can be quite a pain. We were hiking the Jesus Trail in Israel recently, and I had a massive bulk of diarrhea, which I unfortunately had to deal with in the bushes. That was one of those moments I wish I was somewhere else!
All these things are frustrating but I still feel that a bad day traveling beats a good day at work!
Love that line! Well, for us, traveling is work – so I guess nothing beats that.
You said it right, #1 and #5 are particularly annoying to me!
Same here Nellie…
I hate all these..
I always suffer from all problems.
Great post!
I think nothing is as bad as unavailability of public toilets though! Visas, hostels, jetlag – it all pales in comparison to that last point!
That's the downside of travelling but overall this nasty experience that we encounter while we are in the trip makes us clever and better traveler.
Haha – so true!
Especially number 8 is currently the case – guess where I am..Right! In South America
But the efforts are worth it – especially if you are out in the nature and you are able to see that orange-purple-red sunrise on the glacier right in front of your smelly tent!
The most annoying thing is too much of the crowd at some places, especially if you are travelling to an Asian place, it's really tough to reach your destination. Visa processing is also an equivalent hated thing.
Those are list really makes travelling a hustle but many of us still continues to travel against all these right?! When you travel you don't only accept the good things but as well as all the hustles we encounter. It's a full package.
Sleeping at airports and feeling dirty….I feel your pain. The luxury of a newly made bed and a nice shower sound like heaven after a few months off the beaten track.
I totally agree, especially about the dorm room noise — I once had a dorm-mate who had night terrors and periodically woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Not cool.
Nice list! Some of these things I also dislike about traveling. But it also has it's charm. For me the most annoying one are touts in tourist area's like Bali and Bangkok. It's good to avoid the real tourist places. This was my reason to visit the Philippines and go to China in the middle of the winter. So refreshing without busses full of tourists! Nice blog by the way! I'll subscribe to your newsfeed!
I did a three day jungle hike in India two years ago, and by the end of the first day I felt filthy. Then having to sleep in a tent out in the jungle with all the heat was horrible. I can remember exactly that feeling now. But luckily all of the daytime adventure made up for the horrendous sleeping enviroment.
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Awesome. The no showers is going to be a tough sell for my gf who seems to shower 3 times a day.
The thing I hate the most about traveling is dealing with visa applications and trying to make sense with the people who normally work at visa services: "you need to apply in your country of origin or residence". What if you don't have a country of residence and your country of origin happens to be on the other side of the world?
The world is not really for long-term travelers!… :S
SO true! For people like us, it\’s really hard to sort out paperwork and banking issues as well.
Some of these factors are the ones I also hate about journeying. But it also has it's appeal.