A year beginning with adventure ✈️
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Can anyone else believe we're already at the beginning of April?
The month of March has been quite a whirlwind! I finished off 6 weeks of travel in India at the beginning of the month and ended with seeing my family and my pup, Nova, in Canada after 6 months of travelling in Asia.
Today I wanted to share about the realities of long term travel, a little Instagram versus Reality if you will. I try to be extremely transparent online about how travel is not always glamorous; it's uncomfortable and sacrifices have to be made to live a lifestyle like that.
Some context for those who don't know, I spend the last 6 months travelling around Asia visiting Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and India. Don't get me wrong, it was a privilege and the trip of a lifetime, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to save up, take a career break, and explore the world! I definitely wouldn't take it back, but here are the things I would do differently if I did it again:
1) Travel slower
9 countries in 6 months was just too many and even though I spent a month or more in some places, it still wasn't enough to even scratch the surface of what that country had to offer. Moving beds every 2 to 4 nights with long travel days in between became pretty exhausting by month 2 and I really had to slow it down. In the future, I would lower my expectations on how many places I can visit and really focus on spending time in a few countries to truly get to know the culture, people, and way of life instead of just visiting the main tourist attractions.
2) Be prepared to get catfished by accomodations
Are you guys aware that some accommodations buy fake reviews on Google, Booking.com and other sites? I had to learn this the hard way when I showed up to a 9.8 property on Booking.com and quickly realized it was more like a 2.8 🤢 A reality of moving locations so often is that there won't always be good, affordable accommodation available. I recommend that you learn how to check for bedbugs and do this first thing when you enter a new space. Also, cross reference the reviews on all booking sites before you book on your favourite booking platform. Check Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Hostelworld, TripAdvisor and Google reviews. Sort reviews from lowest to highest and if anyone mentions "this looks nothing like the photos" definitely avoid this spot. You can also search specific terms on Google reviews so I would always search "bed bugs" "bugs" "linens" "sheets" - this helped me avoid all places with bed bugs and places that didn't clean their bed linens which are two big NO's in my book.
3) Always travel with nausea, motion sickness and diarrhea medication
If you have an iron stomach then travel is for you! But for those of us on the weaker side we need to be prepared for anything. I had a lot of nausea both from transport and food during my travels, so it's important to always be prepared with medication. I would buy nausea and diarrhea medication at local pharmacies when I ran out of my current supply. I always took one before long bus rides and boat rides. Remember to hydrate with electrolytes as well to ensure you are replacing liquids when sick. Don't push yourself and let yourself fully recover before you start out on another adventure. You have to be accepting that you might miss out on some adventures because you're sick but trust me, pushing through and going anyways might end you up in a worse situation.
4) Set expectations that you will get burnt out and that every day can't be an adventure day
Similar to resting when you're sick, I realized about 2 months in that I needed to actually rest from all the travelling. Figuring out what to do and eat each day, reading reviews, not having a routine, lacking healthy food and exercise, dealing with scammers, learning new places - it all really wore me down. Travel puts you in a state of discomfort and stress which will teach you so much and help you grow. But, it will also wear on you because your system is constantly in a stressed, survival or protection mode. Setting aside specific rest weeks by booking an accommodation option where you can relax and create a bit of a routine will really help you reset and re-energize for your next set of adventures. You need to create a system that makes long term travel sustainable.
If you mentally prepare for these four things you will be set up better than I was for long term travel! Have you travelled for a long period of time before? If so, would you add anything to this list? You can reply to this email and let me know.
Upcoming in April, I am prepping for a move from my current home province of Ontario to Alberta. I'll let you know in next months edition how that goes. I'm really excited to explore more of Alberta and put together some great adventures for you. Anyways, that's all for this month!
Talk soon,
Jess 🫶🏼
P.S. Stay tuned for the Asia travel guides coming out in the next quarter!
