Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[whereshegoes]

What do you miss about being on the road?

[hdh]

The sense of adventure. That something new is around every corner.

[His Royal Monkeyness]

Like Dave said, "something new is around every corner". I've expressed it as each day traveling holds so much more potential than a day at home - new places, new people. I miss getting to meet so many like-minded travelers almost daily.

[steph_444]

Well even though I have 18 days left before the home part, I already miss things from being overseas and traveling and I know some things that I will miss when I do get home.
Like the others said, the adventure of seeing and doing new things everyday. The unexpected and unplanned nature of traveling. It's just exciting!!
What I miss already are the people you meet and in my case the ones I've met and have moved on to their respected homes or future travel. It's sad that you meet the best people and then come to the realization that you are from opposite sides of the world and dont get to continue the fun times in person anymore. So definitely the social aspect and the different people you meet each and every day.
Do you ever forget the first time you are in a pub having a conversation with a person from Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the US, and Scotland??? I think one of the quintessential experiences of travel.
Yet while it's hard to miss all these things, I think I'd rather miss them like crazy than to have never experienced them at all.

[whereshegoes]

I miss hostel life...

I miss trying to explain to non-english speakers what Canada is like to using charades...

I miss getting lost...

I miss train stations...

I miss "Traveling Carmella"...

[ScottWoz]

I'm probably coming at this from the wrong angle but everything you've all just said is right.

I love hostel life. I love not knowing in the slightest what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. I love having random conversations with the local people way into the early hours and then arriving at a completely new destination only to receive an email from that same person who just chose to deliver a highly uplifting and heartfelt message as a result of the experience. I love testing the water and getting a smile out of strangers in new places, even if it means approaching it from a different angle a couple of times. I love the hurdles and the temporary problems that hinder your adventure because blasting them into oblivion simply enhances the experience.

I love the discomfort and anxiety that comes with leaving a place, because it means you 'grow when you go', and I love leaving friends behind because it's inevitably in the interest of the friends you've not met yet.

And I love going home, cos' in a way that's exactly what I'm doing..

[wakingdream]

Very nice words Scott. I particulary love these;

because it means you 'grow when you go', and I love leaving friends behind because it's inevitably in the interest of the friends you've not met yet.

What a wonderful and positive way to look at things.

I miss "Traveling Carmella"......

I felt like that for a long time too. I missed "travelling Susie". Sometimes I still do, but I am learning to find her more and more in everyday life. I am finally learning to acheive a balance I never knew how to get to before.

I have spent alot of time wishing I were somewhere else. Coming back from a trip and wishing I were going on another. I am trying (hard) to be comfortable in my skin no matter where I am, but it's hard sometimes. I suppose it's all about reaching your dreams and living the life you love best, and learning how to do that is a path in which all your hopes, dreams, courage and fears unravel. I have a feeling I am not the only one who's ever felt this way.....

[whereshegoes]

I suppose it's all about reaching your dreams and living the life you love best, and learning how to do that is a path in which all your hopes, dreams, courage and fears unravel. I have a feeling I am not the only one who's ever felt this way.....

Well said Susie. I agree wholeheartedly.


But...I still miss "traveling carmella"....wait...What's that? HeY! There She GOES! I'm gonna go catch her...

[His Royal Monkeyness]

having been home for about a month now, i'm having to adjust too. "real life" is kind of boring. guess what i did last week? woke up, went to work, went home, too tired to do anything but veg, go to bed. definately doesn't make for interesting stories. so i've decided to become a crime-fighting superhero in my spare time. i'll carry a travel backpack full of my "gear": laundry clothesline for repelling down buildings, throw a lonely planet book at the criminals to stop them in their tracks, insect repellant to spray in the face, larium tablets to give them "strange dreams", bag them up in a laundry bag full of week old sweaty clothes. Other gear such as the travel alarm clock, sewing kit, ear plugs, immodium and secure waist belt will surely come in handy. and when all else fails, i'll just read to the criminals from my travel journal until they plead for me to stop.


thus begins my new life...

[whereshegoes]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Tom! You're not supposed to TELL anyone! It's secret!!!



The only thing you can tell them is your alias....

So what is it?

[His Royal Monkeyness]

The only thing you can tell them is your alias....

So what is it?

hmmmm, the Mayor of Portland? no, no, i think that's taken. the trekker! er, that sounds kind of star trek-ish. the nomad! did cain in kung fu have a special name? iGuy!!! fully equipped with iPod, digital camera and internet-ready mobile phone! evil-doers BEWARE!

[wakingdream]

went to work, went home, too tired to do anything but veg, go to bed.

Oooooo, this part of not travelling is definitely not my favourite. I know how you feel. I chalk it up to the slow(er) level of activity in the cold months. Cozy sweaters, warm fires, hot toddies. Anything to keep away the cold.

I miss getting lost...

I miss that too.

[whereshegoes]

I miss hearing 5 other languages being spoken at once.

[mizliz]

I miss hearing 5 other languages being spoken at once.

Heheh, just come to Vancouver where you can hear that every day!

[whereshegoes]

I miss hearing 5 other languages being spoken at once.

Heheh, just come to Vancouver where you can hear that every day!

Yes this is true. I remember when I used to live there but I was in Surrey so it was mostly East Indian demographic. I sure had alot of good authentic curries when I was there...

[bloomer]

Might sound strange, but I don't miss anything--there is always something new if you're open to it, I guess. Every day is new if you let it be.

[SamieP]

I miss being able to get up and go... at the moment it's get up and go to work...

Is it wrong to want to go back to my home country and travel there, rather than do the daily grind in a city so far from home?

[battlemonkey]

I miss wide-open spaces. New York City is a little confining for a country boy such as myself. And it lacks one of my favorite landscapes: cracked two-lane blacktop, wandering off over the horizon, rising and falling over rolling green hills.

One more month and I'm back out again.

[lisartw]

I've just come home from an 11 month around the world trip where I had a blast, and how did I find this thread? because I'm sitting at work, at a desk, bored out my head.

I miss travelling lots.

I miss doing something new each day, going somewhere new, waking up and not really knowing what I'm going to do or where I'm going to end up. I miss meeting really interesting people that have a different perspective on life. Finding out about new countries and cultures. I miss the challenges that every day chucks at you, trying to fathom out a new transport system or trying to get yourself understood in your best hand-signals and the three words of the local language picked up from your guide.

I miss the sights, the smells, the sounds and the world of emotions and feelings that you go through when arriving somewhere new. The sense of achievement you get from doing something that scares you out of your mind or tackling an activity or place that's a bit hard and thinking - hey I did that and I'm still here - wicked!

I miss seeing wildlife, having my breath taken away by amazing views, seeing just how much stuff can be balanced on a Honda Dream.

Being home is a culture shock of it's own. It's so grey and miserable here in the UK, people are so unfriendly, so rude, so grumpy and it's all so boring. I know that sounds harsh but surely there's so much more to talk about than public transport, how much things cost and what's on television?

It's hard to do the same mundane thing day after day. Sleep, commute, work, commute, sleep - living for the weekend to make the most of 48 hours. Arrrrrgggghhhh! And ditting at a desk for 7 hours a day when I'm used to being on the move all the time is painful. It's great to see my family and friends but oh-my-word is it hard to settle back in.

One the other side, I don't miss applying insect repellant or sun lotion daily, I don't miss my bites and scratches going a bit soggy because of the heat and humidity (there's, at least, something good to be said about cold climites) and I don't miss chasing a mozzie around the room at 1am in the morning trying to 'get it' before it 'gets me'.

[rbisset]

I've just come home from an 11 month around the world trip where I had a blast, and how did I find this thread? because I'm sitting at work, at a desk, bored out my head.

Tell me about it!! I've been back almost a year and can't stand it. It's grey and miserable every day. I'm obsessed with the weather, moan about UK prices and politics! It's like I never went away.

Sad thing is I'm starting to realise it's going to be at least another couple of years until I can possibly head out on another big trip At least I'm finally getting to the stage where I can afford to start abusing the low cost airlines and make the most of my 48 hours freedom a week