Now, I know some of you are probably thinking what she on is about and the truth is I would have asked the same thing had I not realised a few things whilst on my travels.
Ordinarily, holidays are amazing. They allow you to remove yourself from your every day life, enjoy time alone, with a loved one, family or friends. You can find yourself a beautiful resort, B&B, Airbnb or any place to stay, anywhere in the world. You will usually choose a lovely room, a nice pool, somewhere in or near a city/town that you like the look of or somewhere all-inclusive to make your time away easy. I know this because I used to go on many holidays myself.
That was until I truly experienced travelling (backpacking), when I started in Thailand last month. I realised that it was exciting to have nothing planned and that every day that was unknown was another day of feeling free and alive. For once I had to manage my money carefully and when alone, I made every effort to lose myself and wander around the local sites/town, taking photos wherever I went. I also experienced carrying my bags around, which can be tiring. I spend half my time staring at streets and things, wondering where the hell I am and the other half of the time feeling so chilled out that I don’t know what time or day of the week it is.
Having experienced travelling in Thailand and Malaysia, where I stayed in very cheap yet comfortable hostels, experienced local street food markets, walked miles, hired local bicycles or scooters, spent time on beautiful beaches and with the local people… heading to the cities soon left me feeling unbalanced and unable to travel. Silly I know but it is true and it all started at the end of my stay in Penang.
I had stayed there for almost a week and although my hostel was cheap, I found that I was starting to feel comfortable. I had pretty much done everything, and I knew my way around George Town without a map. Realising it was time to move on, I got the bus to Kuala Lumpur, where I had booked myself into the Sky Society Hostel in the Regalia Residence Suites near Sunway Mall (a little out of the city). Little did I know that it came with a rooftop infinity pool (37th floor), a gym, floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline and towers and an on-site supermarket. Wonderful you say… and yes it was. However, with these luxury’s I was losing my passion for travel, found myself staying on the roof by the pool ‘on holiday’ pretty much every day and was starting to miss home.
I found myself doing the same things every day and night, in a routine and I started to feel like I lived there. I started to realise that I hadn’t taken any photos, or even charged my camera. I didn’t have any local maps and wasn’t interested in seeing anything cultural. The thought of even carrying my backpack or going on any long walks to lose myself, just wasn’t appealing anymore. That’s when I realised. I was feeling like I was on a settled holiday, rather than travelling and having not picked up my bags for a while, travelling to Singapore and the rest of my travels wasn’t looking too good.
That was until two days ago when I was trying to catch my bus from KL Sentral at 18.10. There were no taxis close enough and the next train was a 30-minute wait at 17.38. Trying not to panic, I waited for the train, which finally arrived at my station at 17.50, leaving 20 minutes to get there. Then came hurdle two – the coach (which I did make thankfully)! I had booked with Nice a well-known and usually excellent bus company in Malaysia, however on this occasion, my worst nightmare. Not only was I the only passenger on the 27-seat double-decker coach, it had an infestation problem with miniature cockroaches. They were on the floor, in the seats and all over the ceiling. To make it worse I was travelling at night, so the lights were off, and my driver didn’t speak a word of English.
So, there I was sat on a chair upstairs, alone, with bug spray, feeling things crawling on me and my feet off the floor – neither luxurious or comfortable for the six-hour journey I was faced with. To make matters worse, customs were hot on me due to me being the only person on the coach. The whole experience instantly put me back into travelling mode.
When I arrived in Singapore I only had one day, and I made every effort to explore the city (China Town, Little India, Marina Bay, the gardens and domes, Clark Quay, the water/light show and many markets). In my hand I had a couple of maps and continued asking locals for directions, which came in handy when my phone battery died, and I didn’t know where my hostel was. I did however find myself buying my London luxuries, which weren't cheap and I felt guilty that the money I spent could have funded 10 days in a hostel and probably fed me as well.
I honestly never thought that I would say that having a 'holiday' can ruin the experience of travelling but it can (well for me anyway). You end up spending more money and getting comfortable. If you are like me having lived in a big city, going back to cities like KL and Singapore are nice to do but feel too close to home and they are super expensive.
Travelling isn’t just about the places you visit or where you stay, it is about feeling unsettled, getting yourself out of shit situations and how you fill your time at minimum cost. Rather than eating in nice restaurants or buying expensive coffee, it is a chance to help the locals, experience the cultures and embrace anything that comes your way.
So now I remind myself of this and remember why I came on this trip. It wasn’t to ‘find’ myself or fall back into the routine I had back in London. I did it because I wanted to experience the simple life, challenge myself in the unknown, change my perception on life and see our wonderful planet.
I am about to land in the Philippines where I will be spending time travelling between islands and living a simple life again. With only one night in a hostel booked and an overnight ferry from Manila to Coron tomorrow, I cannot wait to be truly travelling again because that is what it is all about!
If you have experienced a similar situation, please get in touch – I would love to hear from you.
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