Travel Fatigue, Have You Ever Had it?

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“What are you planning on doing in Jaipur?” our hotel manager asks us.  “Not much.” We say. “Can you point us to a mall?”

Travel Fatigue

We are two months into our trip in India and travel fatigue has already kicked in.  It has been a non stop adventure since arriving.

We have been on backwater cruises, taken yoga courses, have attended numerous festivals, rock climbed and been on safari to name a few. But right now all we want to do is rest.

We don’t want to see the Pink City, we don’t want to see the Monkey Temple or Amber Fort. We just want a mall.

Worlds Largest Calendar at the Mall in Jaipur

We want to barricade ourselves in our hotel away from the noise and the hawkers.  We want to give our minds a rest.

It is exhausting fending off hawkers everyday.  It is exhausting answering the same questions day in day out.

• Where are you going?
• Where are you from?
• Have you seen the temple?
• What is your name?
• One photo please?
• One Rupee please?
• First time to India?

We usually try to be polite. We try to answer their questions with a smile.  And we make a point of not ignoring people when they say hello.

Sometimes it is a little difficult.

Once one person leaves, another person comes along to ask us the same set of questions all over again.  It has become progressively worse in Rajasthan.

It isn’t so bad when it is someone that legitimately wants to say hello or practice English, but mostly it is a person wanting to be our guide or a rickshaw driver that will ask the questions and then go in for the sales pitch once he thinks that he’s got us hooked.

Creature Comforts

When we finally made it to the mall it was a little bit of heaven.  We walked around its sanitized aisles in air conditioning.  We didn’t smell exhaust fumes or urine and we didn’t have shop keepers yelling at us to come inside. We were allowed to just be.

We found a McDonalds.  We went inside and had a McVeggie Meal, we read the paper and we enjoyed the familiar taste of their famous fries.

We then went to Baskin Robins and had ice cream.  I had been trying to get some ice cream for days.  Every time I went somewhere where it was on the menu and ordered it, I always got the reply that they were out, finished.

We stuffed ourselves and promptly felt sick.  It is not wise to gorge yourself on western fast food when you haven’t had it for awhile.

We have been in Jaipur for four days and we haven’t seen one tourist site.

Instead we have watched Sherlock Holmes and Twilight, we have sipped lattes at the Barrista and we have had our dinner at Pizza Hut.  It was so nice to have a simple salad.

We didn’t seem to be alone in our need for the familiar.  We saw many travel weary faces sitting in McDonalds and Pizza Hut.  People read books and wrote in their journals.

Some people had their heads in their hands.

Is Jaipur the stop where everyone just runs out of steam in their travels? It certainly seems like it to me.

We can’t bring ourselves to do anything. I am sure that the forts and palaces are beautiful and I am sure that years down the road we will say that we should have gotten ourselves out of bed to take a look at them, but I don’t think that we will make it to much while we are here.

We leave for Agra in two days to see the Taj Mahal.

The adventure is about to resume whether we want it to or not.

Have you suffered from travelers fatigue on your journeys?
Have you missed out on a famous site because you were just not in the mood to leave the hotel or the coffee shop?
We would love to hear some of your experiences and how you got yourself back on track and in the mood to travel

again.

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You Know You Have Been Traveling Too Long When…

We are always amazed with how much our personalities change while we are traveling.  How we care less about the little things, but sometimes care too much about ridiculous things.  Travel can change your perspective on life, and here is a list of some situations that we have found ourselves in.  Although they seem perfectly normal while we are away,  I don’t think that we would feel the same at home.

We would love to hear about your peculiar situations that you have found yourself in while traveling abroad.  This is just a short list of 10, but I am sure that it could go on and on…

10. You know that you have been traveling too long when you barter hard over the equivalent of a dollar or less. You know they are asking too much money and there is no way you are going to pay that extra 50 cents.

9. You know you have been traveling too long when its seems perfectly normal to have someone pass their kid and a big box containing their DVD player up to you in a crowded truck, where you proceed to hang on to both of them for the next 5 hours.

8. You know that you have been traveling too long when you splurge on a nice meal at an expensive restaurant and while you are eating a cockroach crawls up your leg.  Once you notice what it is,  you simply brush it away and continue to enjoy your dinner as if nothing happened.

7. You know you have been traveling too long when Vang Dalat tastes good.  That is all I have to say.

6. You know that you have been traveling too long when you get on a bus in Asia, and after the ride you say, “Wow, that bus driver wasn’t too bad”. Huh?

5.  You know you have been traveling too long when you are invited in for tea and you watch your nice host rinse out the dirty glass with his fingers and you graciously accept his hospitality and drink it up.

4. You know you have been traveling too long when showering with cold water over your squat toilet doesn’t really bother you.  Or, when showering in a brothel in Ethiopia is heaven.  We won’t elaborate on that one.

4b. You know that you have been traveling too long when you shower one day and then seriously have to think about whether you should shower or not the next.  I mean you just showered yesterday! (showers and toilets deserve 2 parts in a travel list, they are always good for an interesting story or two.)

3. You know you have been traveling too long when you are in a country or city that has a very famous pagoda or temple and you just can’t be bothered to go and take a look at it.

2. You know you have been traveling too long when you stop taking your malaria medication.  I had a severe reaction to my doxycycline, and when I went to a clinic in Vietnam, they told me that I had to stop taking my malaria pills.  I was a little worried, because we were planning a bunch of jungle treks.  But the doctor didn’t seem to care so I stopped taking it and Dave said that if Deb didn’t have to take it, then why should he.

1. You know you’ve been traveling too long when you discover that your hotel room is infested with bed bugs, and you end up staying anyway.
In Thailand, Dave and I stayed in a hotel where he complained for 2 days about being eaten by mosquitoes at night.  I never feel mosquito bites, so I didn’t give him any sympathy and laughed and laughed saying, “I’m not getting bitten”.  Well, payback is sweet (for Dave).  On the morning of day three, I woke up and hopped in the shower.  As I was washing, I looked down and saw a bunch of red marks all over my body, I pulled on my glasses and saw, hundreds of little red bites in nice and neat rows all over me.  I freaked out.  I read my Lonely Planet, so I knew exactly what the symptoms are for bed bug bites were, and this was it. I barely managed to rinse off and ran out of the bathroom screaming; “we are getting out of this place”.  Dave kept repeating, “I told you so.  I knew something was wrong with this place”.  So we threw our stuff together and went down the 3 flights of stairs to the lobby.  By the time we got down 2 flights, we started losing interest and reconsidered.  It was hot outside and we had just settled in, the last thing we felt like doing was looking for another place to stay, so by the time we got to reception, we simply asked for another room.  We didn’t even ask for a discount.  It was pretty pathetic.

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How to Budget to Travel for Months

The best way to save money when traveling is by booking everything yourself.

If you want to budget your travels for the long term, you have to travel independently.

Travel for months and see this

No prepackaged tours here, this is about figuring it out when you get there.  If you follow these points, you just may be able to travel for months on the same budget that you would have spent going to an exclusive resort.

Tips to to budget for long term travel

Baby steps to Long Term Travel

It is easier to travel on a budget when you have the time.  Instead of taking several short vacations each year, take one long trip. It will be a far more fulfilling experience and you will have the chance to really immerse yourself in the culture.  Save up those vacation days and put your holidays and sick days together.  Book during a long weekend or National holiday and you have instantly added more days to your trip.

Better yet, life is short, ask for a leave of absence or take a sabbatical and travel for several months.
For the sake of these blog posts, I am going to assume that you are traveling for months at a time, however these words of advice can be used for a shorter trip of two weeks.  We went to Peru for 16 days and followed the same principals that we always do and had a fantastic time.

Now that you have more time, lets start with the flight.

How to book flights

Check internet sites for flights and call travel agents.  Believe it or not, travel agents can still get you the best deal.  I will take a quote with me from the best fare I found online, go into a place like Flight Centre and they will beat the price by a couple of hundred dollars.  It is worth it to check everywhere. There are excellent online travel sites, but you are wise to compare, arm yourself with all the information that you need and then go to your travel agent to see if they can do better.

Booking from Canada, we are not offered the best deals on the planet.  However, flights go frequently from Toronto or Buffalo to England or France. Remember, flexibility is the key, so if you are willing to fly on any day of the week, you may just find a gem of a deal.  So, don’t book your flight directly to Nairobi or Mumbai, fly to London first and then travel from there.
Once you are in London, you will be able to find a flight to Asia, Africa or the rest of Europe for a bargain and possibly cut your flight expense in half, giving you more money to spend on other things.

For simplicity’s sake, I am going to talk about traveling to Asia.  I know it well and can offer great advice, but you can apply these principals to anywhere.   A great bare bones airline is Air Asia.  It offers reasonable long haul flights to all of South East Asia.

I always like to arm myself with guide books for the destination I am going to.  Rough Guides, Lets Go and Frommers, these are great. Also, if you know of someone who has traveled to your destination before you, pick their brain.  My friend Lana almost entirely mapped out my first trip to Thailand right down to what number bus to take to Phuket.

I prefer The Lonely Planet myself.  These guides give you step by step advice as to what to do once you arrive in a place.  They tell you what parts of town are good to stay in and where you should avoid.  They break it down in price range from cheap to luxury accomodation and they tell you what you can expect to spend on a meal, room or taxi.  They really are handy for advice.

Remember however, that they are just that a travel guide. Nothing is set in stone and things change quickly so you have to be prepared to be flexible.

Plan for long term travel

Before you arrive at your destination, be sure to have a plan.  Booking a hotel in advance will cost you a lot of money, you will never get a cheap deal in Canada. If you book a hotel in Canada, you have just spent $100 out of your budget that should only be costing you $30-$50 per day already cutting your trip down by 2 days. Just for overspending before you even get there.  A lot of people want the comfort of having a place booked when they get there to save them the hassle, but you are just going to have to move the next day anyway and deal with it then.  So why not get it over with and start enjoying your trip sooner.

Here is a way to make landing in the airport and catching a cab easier.  Most airports even have train and busses that head downtown.  I don’t recommend this unless you have been there before, taxis are very reasonable in most countries and they can take you directly to your destination.

Knowledge is very valuable when traveling

Once you land, you need to be armed with knowledge.
Know the area of town you want to go to, and have a choice of 2 or 3 hotels in that area to give your taxi driver.

A great piece of advice is to know a bit of the local language.  Hello, thank you and goodbye can go a long way in breaking the ice and making you seem like a more informed traveler than other people.

Know the exchange rate before you go and have a calculator on hand at all times.  I never settle on a price until I do the calculations into Canadian.  Sometimes the price will sound great in their local currency and then you do the conversion and you have just over paid by a mile.

Don’t fall for the taxi drivers seeking out fares in the airport.  Ignore them and go straight outside to the lineup of cabs on the street.  The airport guys are usually a scam and will charge you far more that a registered taxi.

Every country has official taxis and every developing nation has the people who pose as taxi drivers.  I can’t fault them for trying, they are just trying to make a living, but they are not usually the safest or cheapest way to get around.  Look up in your guidebook or on the internet, what a real taxi looks like. They will have distinct markings that will distinguish them from the fakes. Not all official cabs have meters. Some cities have metered taxis some don’t so be prepared to barter.

Know the cost of things before you arrive

Before you get into the taxi from the airport, know how much it is supposed to cost to go to your location according to your guidebook.  Ask them the price and do the calculation. If it is close to what you were expecting go for it.  If they are way off and have doubled the amount, say No and barter.  Prices change but double and triple the amount is unacceptable. Once you have bartered down to a reasonable price, which will most likely be a little more than what is suggested in the book, tell them what hotel you want to go to, what district it is in and what street it is on.

Conquering Common Travel Scams

In countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia alright, almost everywhere, cab drivers will receive a commission for bringing people to a pre-determined guesthouse.  Don’t fall for this.  Be firm and tell them where you want to go.  Act like you have been there a hundred times before.  Study the map of the area, so that you sound like you know exactly where it is.  Dropping phrases like, it is near Kho San Road, or Siam Square makes you sound like an authority and they most likely won’t be so quick to scam you.

I know it sounds terrible to talk about all of the scamming going on out there, but it is a fact of life in developing countries.  Everyone is trying to take advantage of the western tourist because they think we all have money so the more armed you are with defenses against it, the better time you will have.

When you arrive at your hotel, ask if they have a room, how much it is and if you can see it before you decide to check in.  I have made the mistake of taking the room based on the price and then they stick me in the worst room in the place.  Once they know that you are smart enough to ask to see the room, they will make sure to give you a clean, comfortable room that is worth the price of the night.
If it is not up to your expectations, or it is too much money, move on to the second choice on your list.

Budget Travel Means Lower Standards

Places like Thailand are definitely developing quickly and you will find all of the modern amenities that you need.  But be prepared to have lower standard than at home.  Unless you want to spend a lot of money at a luxury hotel, (which I only recommend to do every few weeks of a long trip) you may have a squat toilet in your room and no TV, maybe only cold water to shower in.
However, we have paid very little for rooms as low as $4 to have satelite TV, Hot water and comfy beds with breakfast included.  The accommodations will vary greatly, just be prepared to be flexible.
Dave and I are not hostel travelers and you can travel on a budget by staying in hotels, bungalows on the beach and guest houses, you just have to be willing to give up a few of your creature comforts for an adventure. Besides you don’t want to spend all your money on accommodation when traveling for a long time. You are there to experience the culture, cuisine, sights and scenery, not to be stuck by the pool living the way you would at the Hilton here in Canada. You can stay home to do that.

Stay tuned for more long term travel and budgeting advice.

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