You understand You’ve Been travelling A long Time When…

We’ve been travelling for over 3 years now as well as one thing has ended up being rather apparent: not much phases us anymore! You name it, we’ve seen it, as well as most likely even done it. Some things we may not be as well happy of, however that’s the life of a backpacker.

So, without even more ado:

You understand You’ve Been travelling A long Time When…

1. A cockroach tries to take your food as well as you believe it’s normal.

A cockroach was actually pulling away a few of Nick’s’ rice someday in Malawi as well as I stated rather calmly “Nick, there’s a cockroach stealing your rice”. He flicked the cockroach away as well as brought on eating the rice as if it were a completely typical occurrence.

2. You bargain down the last dollar, even penny.

We’ve bargained for everything: passport photos, bus rides, souvenirs, meals, entrance fees, guide fees, garments as well as more. even though it’s typical to bargain for things in many countries, we’re working on not bargaining too, as well low. That cent might truly assist a shop owner.

Bargaining for products is a big part of travelling the world…just don’t go as well low.
3. mishaps don’t phase you.

We’ve seen much more mishaps than we’d care to say.

We were in Luxor trying to organize a shared trip with some backpackers as well as a taxi driver. When the taxi chauffeur opened his door, a motorcycle rode directly into the opened door. The 4 of us looked at the carnage as well as continued talking about the journey, unphased. Don’t worry, regional people were there to assist the man out.

4. six people on motorbike doesn’t even make you turn your head.

3,4,5, or even 6 people on a motorbike/moped is typical in SE Asia. the most we ever saw on a motorbike were 3 adults, one teenager as well as 2 youngsters being held off to the side in Cambodia. Hang on!

5. You choose squat toilets.

I believe squat toilets are utilized much more around the world than western style toilets. as well as you understand what? We now choose them! There’s nothing worse than sitting on a public toilet that others have sat on, why not just squat above it? It’s much more sanitary in our opinion.

6. You squat much more than you sit.

In this situation I don’t imply the toilets. When travelling there is barely anywhere to sit while you wait on transportation. We’ve been squatting next to our backpacks numerous a time.

Nowhere to sit. waiting on a bus with some locals in Myanmar
7. You’ve slept on much more flight terminal floors than you can count.

It makes sense to spend the night in the flight terminal rather than getting a hotel space only up until 3am. We’ve slept at numerous an airport, as well as I’ve gotta say, it’s typically not comfortable!

Just a day in the life of a backpacker – sleeping at the Kuala Lumpur Airport, Malaysia
8. You carry out the “smell check” before putting on clothes.

Not only do we wear the exact same attire over as well as over once again while on the road, we sadly aren’t able to do laundry all that frequently. each time a wrinkled, filthy piece of garments is pulled out of our backpack, we have to odor it as well as gauge whether or not it’s wearable.

9. getting on the roofing system of a bus is no huge deal.

Even though this may noise dangerous, it’s quite basic in parts of Asia as well as Africa. No space inside the bus? get on top! FYI – view out for low-hanging tree branches…

Riding on the top of a ‘bemo’ is typical in Indonesia, just view out for low-hanging branches!
10. discovering hair in your food is ok.

If we sent back food everytime we discovered a hair, bug or even toe nail (yes, toe nail), we’d never eat! just pick it out as well as bring on.

Pulling a nice, long, black hair out of our tofu meal in China…and yes, we continued eating

11. A 10 hour journey is a short one.

We’ve spent so numerous hours in transportation, it’s unbelievable. getting from point ‘A” to point “B” is not always a quick jaunt. Our longest journey was 42 hours on trains in India! now if we discover out a journey is 10 hours long, it’s thought about a short one.

Settling in for a long train journey in China

12. You’ve been ill much more times than you can count.

Getting the dreaded “Nile Piles”, “Delhi Belly” as well as “Yurt Squirts” are all part of travelling to different parts of the world. We’ve had food poisoning much more times than we’d like to state as well as we’ve been seriously sick about 4 times. Dont’ fail to remember to pack your Immodium…

I don’t feel good! ill in MoroccoThe life of a backpacker is certainly an fascinating one! It may not seem all that glamourous, however we don’t always travel to 3rd world countries where the above things would typically happen. Either way, it makes for fantastic stories around a hostel dinner table as well as they are the moments we keep in mind many when we tell people back house about our travels.

Good or bad, it’s all part of the journey as well as we like every minute of it!

What do ya think? Anything to add to this list? Leave a comment below!

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