10 Realities of Your First Month of Backpacking.

Nomadic Lifestyle

Apr 12

Our First Fortnight in Australia...

1> You have permanently dirty/blistered feet. Trainers are your friend some of the time but in hotter weather, flip-flops are all you feel like wearing. So the result is a mixture of usually blackened soles and sore heels.

2> You more often than not look at fellow travellers in a hostel with the gaze of a scared animal. Especially if they also look back at you with the eyes of an assassin/frightened puppy. And ignore your meagre attempt at a hello that came out like a squeak.

3> You look like a scared child much of the time due to the sudden MASSIVE LIFE CHANGE of leaving everything comfortable behind, not knowing where you will be sleeping in two day's time, carrying your whole life on a backpack/front-pack, always wondering if you will ever again have pretty feet.

4> Not yet experiencing the panic of realizing your money is only depleting, not growing. But knowing, that feeling is coming.

5> Writing down every single transaction you make in a little notepad, not that it will stop you having that burger at a restaurant or that box of cider, but just because it seems the responsible thing to do. All in all only serving to make you acutely aware of how expensive travelling is.

6> Realizing all your usual phone apps and website escapes were dull and mindless all along, you just needed something more interesting to do, see and experience to divert you away from endless scrolling.

7> Instagram is still addictive though. And Facebook. In fact you and most other travellers scavenge and steal WIFI exclusively for updating those platforms.

8> Being a mixture of tired and not yet settled in, so that you aren't sure if you are having the best time of your life, or just going through the motions. Then realizing you can't enjoy every town and city you find yourself in, because the beauty of travel is not that day or moment or particular hostel, but the people you meet and the possibilities and adventure you are opening yourself up to.

9> You'll never get used to budget meals, and you are already sick of pasta. But you feel strangely fine and OK with the bland food, and the occasional treats your budget allows feels all the more special, tasting so much better than it did back home.

10> Finding yourself feeling actually pretty happy, amongst the tiredness, the hungry belly and the occasional yearnings for home, as it dawns on you that you are living out your passion and your curiosity. Feeling like your life just got a whole lot more exciting.