My Bad Travel Habits

Travel changes you in many ways you can never imagine but it can also bring out your bad habits or create them. Thought I’d share my own bad travel habits I have exhibited from the beginning and even till this very day. You would have thought I’ve learned my lesson after each trip, curbing the bad habits but nope. Simply, nope. Bad habits manifest deeply inside of you that you don’t even consider them as bad, but more as normal. That’s how I feel.

Planning Too Much

If it’s a city I’m overly excited to visit, I’ll start curating a list longer than my arm consisting of places to visit, eat and shop. Nothing wrong with that right? Wrong. Depending on how many days you’re staying, trying to cram everything can be stressful and can leave you feeling disappointed if everything hasn’t been ticked off. Once I’ve packed my bags and leave, I begin to feel some sort of regret, unfulfilled and not fully content or satisfied.

Or Too Little

Now, this is when I book a random last-minute getaway to just breath and clear my mind. I usually have a rough idea as to what there is to do at said place so I don’t look further into it until I step off that plane. It’s also the going with the flow attitude. There are times where I’m scrounging around the web looking for things to do whilst I’m there, but then it turns out the activities weren’t enough to cover an entire full day. I end up feeling unorganised from wasting a day, a feeling I hugely detest.

Packing Last Minute

I hate packing and I hate unpacking. Whether it’s leaving my house to catch a flight or checking out of a hotel, I always pack an hour or two before setting off. Laziness mixed with the cannot be arsed attitude isn’t really the best concoction. In the end, I’m running around like a headless chicken, making sure everything is packed. This results in either having overpacked or have missed some things. There’s no in-between, even after following a checklist. I never learn my lesson. In my mind, as long as I’ve got the important necessities, e.g. passport, documents, foreign currency etc, the rest can be purchased upon arrival.

Not Resting

The rest is for the wicked as they say. I’m the type who detests wasting time whilst abroad and need to make the most out of every single second. Even when my lower back kicks in or have sprained my ankle, you’ll see me out and about, sporting an ankle support and taking pain medication. I’m still achieving at least 27000 steps per day regardless of the current status of my body. Yep, you’ve read that right. Up to now, my maximum number of steps was 44180 and surprisingly, suffered no repercussions the following day. This was in Xi’an to be precise.

For the ‘Gram

It’s already deeply engraved into our brains. Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you eat, sleep, breathe, we “must” post it on social media. It’s become the social norm now. I have never realised I do it myself until my sister had pointed it out as she is my photographer on our travels. “Can you take a photo of me at this angle, take burst shots, stand further back, lower” etc. I could see the sickening despair on her face. Thinking about it now, I do understand how much it has taken over our lives. If we’re constantly thinking about the ‘gram, we tend to miss the real beauty of our surroundings. Phones cannot capture everything at that moment, such as emotions, aura, scent etc. A camera isn’t comparable to one’s eyes.

Not Staying Hydrated

For some ridiculous unknown reason, it’s never really crossed my mind to carry water around unless I’m in a hot climate or doing something active like hiking. I always opt for tea, juices and other thirst-quenching beverages instead. One reason could quite possibly be less water means fewer trips to the bathroom. Oh, my mind works in weird and mysterious ways.

I’ve got a good habits post currently on draft which will be written up and posted shortly. What are your bad travel habits?