Keeping Yourself Sane – in Transit

 

I’m traveling to Asia with my sister in September. I’m really, really excited as she’s never left New Zealand before and the largest city she’s been to is Auckland. A part of me is also pretty nervous though, because she’s never been on a plane for more than 1.5 hours. We have a bunch of crappy cheap flights, including a decent stopover in Sydney before an awkwardly timed flight to Kuala Lumpur. During my three years of traveling, I’ve learned lots of tips for keeping myself sane in transit. I’m meeting up with my sister tomorrow to go over some finer details of our trip, and I was thinking of what I could suggest to her to make the flight more bearable and the waiting times in airports less uncomfortable, when I figured I’d share them on my blog. 

 

 

Listening to something while you’re in transit is much, much easier than watching a movie or TV show at times, because you can simply plug into your iPod, MP3 player or phone. It’s also a better option if you’re hoping to dose off to sleep, as you can sit there with your eyes closed. While music is great and I always travel with music, in recent time I’ve come to really appreciate listening to audio books when I’m in transit. There are an overwhelming number of books available, they’re easily downloaded and take up no extra space in your bag, unlike a traditional book. Another bonus? Audio books are super cheap – often much cheaper than buying a kindle or paper version, which is perfect for the budget friendly traveler. After some research online I know exactly what I want to download next to keep me busy on the plane. I will go for the Hobbit audiobook which can be found here. I have read the book years ago and I am really looking forward listening to the story again to refresh my memories of the journey of Bilbo Baggins.

 

 

My memory is pretty average and I find myself failing to remember people’s names I met once or certain things I did along my travels. I’m also very sentimental, as in I like collecting things during my travels and looking at them takes me back to that place in time. I never had a travel journal on my first trip; I had a notebook that I wrote my feelings in, but I wish I had a purposeful travel journal that I used to document my trip. I regret not having a book that my travel buddies could write in and I could look back on laugh about now. As it’s my sister’s first trip, I’m going to buy her a travel diary and encourage her to use it regularly so it can be kept as a keepsake of her first international adventure. Having a journal that you can write in, doodle on and read when you’re bored in transit is a great way to stay sane. I found some super cute ones on Etsy. This is my favourite travel journal which I think she would like best. 

 

 

Shit goes wrong when you’re overseas. I wish I could tell you everything will be magical and you’ll float from one airport to the other, without delay or issue. That your bags will never be lost, you’ll never miss a connection, break anything, lose anything or have anything stolen. Stuff goes wrong all the time, sales people lie in order to get business. You will be, at times, disappointed on your trip. The language barriers will frustrate you. You’ll be tired, miss home and wish that things were just as they were back home – but it’s all part of the journey and the adventure. Learn to laugh at the things that go wrong, because there’s actually nothing better to do about it (unless something serious has gone wrong). There’s a quote “Travel is only glamorous in retrospect” – it’s true. Sometimes it bites, but learn to laugh and know that everything works out in the end. 

 

 

When I was young I fancied cards, but then I became distracted by the Internet and TV. Cards took a backseat in my life and only were brought out during drinking games – until I went traveling. A pack of cards is relatively small, doesn’t take up too much space in your backpack and is a great way to pass a few hours cruising down a slow boat in low, or waiting at an airport for your next connection. The great thing about traveling with a pack of cards is that you don’t need power or WIFI for it to work. Anywhere in the world, with a few willing players and a deck of cards, you can create an engaging game to pass the time. My all-time favourite game is shithead which is super easy to explain to friends/travel buddies or the random stranger in the airport lobby. Make sure you know the rules for at least one game before you head off on your holiday. Online you can find the rules for shithead and pretty much any card game. 

 

Travel certainly isn’t seamless and there have been countless times when I’ve struggled to stay sane, especially during a 36 hour bus ride from Laos to Vietnam. Planning ahead, such as loading some good audio books onto your phone and buying a cheap deck of cards can go a long way in ensuring your happiness during those boring parts of travel. 

 

Do you have any tips for staying sane on the road? I’d love to hear them!