Travel advice makes no sense a lot of the time.
In a hyperconnected world of influencer-led social media and plain wrong advice, travelers love to tell each other the ‘rules’ of travel.
“Don’t go there, you’ll get ripped off” says Karen tapping into her phone (as it’s painfully obvious she couldn’t barter or negotiate).
“Avoid peak-season, it’s too hot and wayyyyy to many tourists” says, ironically, a tourist.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. They create debate and conversation. The key is to take them for what they are – the opinion of a single person on their personal experience.
“This brings me to the weird, wonderful and sometimes confusing world of the paradoxes of travel. Things that come to light when we experience them personally. Where the set travel rules contradict themselves all the time and get proven wrong all the time”
The paradoxes of travel can’t be observed through a YouTube video, a blog post, or even from your mate, Robbo, who came back all spiritual and enlightened after his Bali trip.
Travel paradoxes challenge your assumptions (yep, you’re wrong again) and force you to look at the world through a new lens.
They can be confronting, pleasant or just annoying. With that being said, here are seven travel paradoxes that have had me scratching my own head at different times.
The Paradox of People
The more you travel, the more you realise that we have way more in common with other cultures than you think.
The values of family, work, health and relationships are, for the best part, universal. Despite what American Cable News, Social Media and Politicians around the world tell you.
After visiting nearly fifty countries and living in four, I can confirm that people are generally pretty cool, willing to help and love to have a chat to find out a little more about you.
But there is a line.
“You’re different remember that. You stick out more than you think. But, no one really gives a shit. They’ve got their own stuff going on”
In saying that, I’ve never been totally accepted anywhere other than my home country. You’re different. Get on with it. As much as one of the travel rules is to ‘live like a local’. You can’t. Because you’re not a local.
Like everywhere, there are local weirdos. But they stick out like they do at home. Just give them a wide berth.
The Paradox of Time
The most underrated skill of travel is one that many do not possess.
The ability to wait. To be patient.
We live in a world of schedules, appointments and routines. Without our phones and knowing what time of the day it is, our world at home would be chaos.
“When you travel, a lot of this disappears. That’s why you come home from a trip feeling refreshed. The mental energy you spend every day at home drains you without you even realising it”
You often think back to trips and wonder how fast they went. They went fast because you were living the moment. Not thinking about the past or future school pickups.
The flipside is that time when you travel can seem like it drags forever too. A delayed connection can mean waiting for hours (which feels like days) or a long-haul flight can feel similar. I know many people who won’t travel for that reason alone.
The mindset shift is significant.
But when you understand that time is just perception, it gets much easier to live with.
The Paradox of Packing
The internet is full of travel packing advice.
Tips, tricks, must-haves and what you can leave behind. It’s overwhelming. The irony is it’s only when you travel that you understand what YOU really need.
Your unique style of traveling and your requirements won’t be the same as what Alice the Travel Blogger recommends. There are times when recommendations are important, but for 90% of the time, it won’t.
“In most cases, people bring way to much stuff with them. So many items for the ‘just in case’ scenario which are never used.”
I’ve written about this before but before every trip, write down your travel packing list, then cut it in half.
After a while, you become a packing pro. But only after several trips, where you can only learn on the road what you need and what you don’t.
There is a bit of flexing these days about traveling only with carry-on luggage. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but check-in luggage is fine too.
You do you.
The Paradox of Missing Home
I’m a global citizen.
Having lived abroad for well over a decade, I’ve lived a lucky life having experienced different cultures, countries and ways of living.
But home is always home.
I call BS on most people who declare having no connection with their home country, never to return. It’s psychologically ingrained in us as human beings to have a connection to where we come from. Or where we spent our formative years.
“Whenever I’m away from New Zealand, I miss my local beach, a Steak ‘n’ Cheese Pie and Goody Gum Drops Ice Cream.
Yet, when I am at home, I’m forever dreaming of returning to the ancient villages in Europe and having a pint in my favourite Edinburgh pub.
This travel paradox is a relentless cycle, but one I’m prepared to put up with.
Only when you travel do you get to experience the cultural differences around the globe. Having the opportunity to experience this is one I’m grateful for.
The Paradox of Wanderlust
The more you see of the world, the more you realise how much more there is to experience.
I’m probably like you. I have a bucket list. Not one I write down, but just a list of places in my head I would love to see one day.
But, ironically, for every trip I take, the list just gets bigger, not smaller. It might be to return to a city to see more of it or to visit another region that I had never heard of before. My bucket list just continues to grow.
“As much as I rant about traveling with your own dreams and goals in mind, social media has massively contributed to this. On my last European trip, Instagram influenced me to visit more than a couple of places that I had never thought of”
For every place you visit or fellow traveler you meet along the way, advice and recommendations are impossible to ignore. By adding everywhere to your never-ending list, you will only set yourself up for disappointment.
The way to live with this is to embrace every travel experience you have for what it is. Even if it’s not a particularly enjoyable one.
The next one just might be the best.
The Paradox of Solo and Group Travel
This one gets tribal.
Here we go. What side are you on?
“Ladies and Gentlemen, in the blue corner, weighing in at only 15kgs of carry on luggage, with a journal and a cellphone, it’s the Solo Traveler!” Cue shouting and boos from the opposite corner.
“And her opponent, in the red corner, weighing in at 40kgs of check in luggage, with a friend for moral support, it’s the Group Traveler!”
Don’t know who needs to hear this.
TRAVEL IS ABOUT YOU AND YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Not about impressing anyone else. Not your parents, your loser ex-boyfriend or your precious friends on Insta.
“Travel is a forever intertwining world of experiences that does not default to a single category. No matter how hard people try and shout for their corner”
I’ve done it all.
Group/Solo/Family/Backpacker among other ‘types’ of travel. Guess what, we all mix in together. On my solo travel journeys, I probably did more things with other people. Likewise on group trips, some of my favourite memories were when I ventured off alone.
Get my point? Your travel experience is unique to you.
Call yourself what you will, but for the amount of noise these categories make, it just isn’t worth it.
The Paradox of Culture Shock
Every traveler knows it.
The WTF moment you get on your travels. For some, it happens more than others.
It might just be the moment you get your pants pulled down bartering in Vietnam. Or watching bullfighting in Spain.
Whenever you leave your comforts of home, you experience a new way of life. It’s inevitable. Some are more drastic than others, but the moment you find yourself trying to figure out how to pay for something in a new currency, you are experiencing something new.
I experienced this when I moved to London on my own at 19. It was, let’s say, challenging as it felt like I had to learn life from scratch again.
Depending on what is happening, you might feel overwhelmed, uncomfortable and unsure. That is totally normal. But you felt the same way when you first tried to ride a bike.
“But like with anything, you get better at dealing with it. It doesn’t take the initial discomfort away, – you just manage it better”
It is on the other side of this that you learn. It leads to a greater sense of personal growth as you gain a deeper understanding of the world.
The paradoxes of travel will continue to frustrate, enlighten and teach travelers that the world is not what it seems.
The greatest benefit is keeping these life lessons to yourself.
Because everyone learns something different.
Another great post my friend!
Great common sense and directness as always Marc
I agree 100% that you are never a local when you move somewhere. You need to accept that and enjoy being ‘different’ !
Best wishes to you