Travelling, pain and unexpected
How do we embrace the lows of our traveling experiences?
Being present in our experiences and embracing traveling as it is, with ups and downs, is something I never thought I would struggle with. After three years of traveling full-time, I was foolish to think that there were no things that could surprise me when it came to traveling within Europe.
But how do we embrace the lows of our traveling experiences?
Traveling long-term might resemble a triathlon where you have to juggle different environments, different roles, and different levels of energy, but there is no actual finish line.
That’s why sometimes, no matter how much you prepare yourself, life can and will surprise you - from weird accommodations to noisy neighbors to health problems. All of this is part of a traveler's life and can either ruin your experience or somehow become part of it.
"It's precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive--or at least a partial sense of it. Your quality of experience is based not on standards such as time or ranking, but on finally awakening to an awareness of the fluidity within action itself.”
Haruki Murakami, [What I Talk About When I Talk About Running]
Escaping pain is a way of being and living, and let’s be honest, usually, when we travel, the last thing we desire or expect is pain. The simple idea that you have to deal with pain in a rather new country might sound anything but appealing.
But pain and unexpected wrong situations are part of the journey, so embracing them should be part of our experience.
There are no clear guidelines on how to deal with this, and each of us has its own processing mechanism, so here are some things that worked for me:
Speak Up
Do you have problems with your accommodation, and the reality of it doesn’t match the expectations or the actual description? Don’t let things stay as they are, and hope for the best.
From trying to speak with the host to actually contacting the rental platform, don’t skip any steps.
I know there are a lot of stories out there about rental platforms and how they deal with these types of situations, especially around Airbnb. From my experience, it is very important to analyze your accommodation in the beginning, to see if any major issues don’t match the description and are problems for you - from Wi-Fi to cleaning or amenities, any of those are relevant to check.
I can only speak from my experience, which has usually been with Airbnb. So when I encounter a mismatch between the description and reality, I usually first talk with the host and tell them the exact problems.
Before renting any apartment, I usually DM the host and ask about the internet speed for that location.
This gives me two safeguards:
1. That the host exists! This might sound silly, but I've had situations where I booked without checking, and when I arrived at the location, there was no location or host. It's not frequent, but it can happen.
2. That the internet is good enough to work from home. Some hosts tell me they have amazing internet, and usually, when I ask for a speed test, it's actually very low.
Having this information can also help further on.
For example, I booked an amazing listing in Madeira with amazing views. After arriving there, we realized that even though the owner had sent us a speed test, the internet was not working. So we contacted the host, and after several talks, we did not conclude with him. So, I decided to contact Airbnb. The process with them took less than one day, and the final resolution was that we would receive all our money back; they also offered to help us find a new place.
On the other side of the coin was our last experience in Sicily, where the apartment had a water pump that made a horrific sound almost every day for 2-3 hours, and there were also things in the apartment that didn’t match the description on Airbnb. So we decided to talk with the host. He found temporary solutions to only some of the problems and told us he would fix the others throughout our stay. Guess what - one month later, he never fixed anything, even though we constantly asked him about it.
The bottom line is that these situations are part of the journey, and for your peace of mind, it's better to fix them and take radical solutions rather than leave things as they are and hope they are something temporary.
This brings me to my second point.
Having a safe fund is not optional.
Even if you don’t have much money to put into this fund, consider starting to build it because it will help you a lot. From airline tickets that got canceled to the need to find new accommodation on the spot, to medical expenses or any unexpected expense - having a separate amount of money to cover them will give you more security in making certain decisions.
You can start with a small amount and add some of your earnings to that fund each month, or you can have a bigger sum in the beginning. No matter how you do it, consider this when deciding to travel long-term because it will be a game changer.
Reflect on Your Experiences
Being in constant changes of environment, people, context, etc., might challenge you more than having a stable life.
Writing down your thoughts might be hard initially, especially if you never done it before. Still, if you give yourself space and trust, you will move from one or two sentences to more complex lines of thought.
Start by describing your day. Think about your reactions and feelings regarding certain situations. Review your experience so far - highlight the highs and lows. There are hundreds of paths you can take if you start.
This book can help you with some inspiration to understand better how to start.
Whether your traveling journey is extremely insightful and gives you a lot of context to learn from, or you are having a hard time figuring things out, writing down your thoughts and closing the loop on certain experiences will bring you more clarity and space to think.
You can either collect experiences like stones that will burden your backpack, or you can transform them into power tools that will enhance your experience.
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running, and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore.’ The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.”
Haruki Murakami, [What I Talk About When I Talk About Running]
Nomad Listing's Recommendations
We’re close to the end of a new year, and a new chapter in our life will emerge. In this edition, I will explore accommodations available at the beginning of the year, both in warm and cold places. Usually, January or February splits us up, and there is always team skiing and team sun, so no matter what team you choose, I tried to give options to both teams.
⭐Top 3 accommodations⭐
Don't forget; if you want to understand my criteria for creating these recommendations, you can check them out here.
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See you next time, fellow nomad!