What 100 Days On The Road Has Taught Me
100 days into our year-long worldwide trip and I feel like the game has completely changed. Fernando and I had an idea of how hard travelling for a year would be (we had enough people warn us) but of course, like most things in life, you need to experience it for yourself to believe it.
I thought I would spend a bit of time to write about some of my learnings so far and the reality we are facing. I love Instagram and the way you can build a beautiful, visual story of your life but of course nothing is that perfect. My purpose in writing this is to build a more complete and realistic picture of our life on the road, beyond the beautiful Instagram shots, so if you are reading this I hope you can learn a bit more about my and Fernando’s experience thus far.
So here it goes, what 100 days on the road has taught me...
1. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle on the road is hard work
Cycling Japan's Shimanami Kaido bike route
People who know Fernando and me would probably think of us as fairly disciplined, healthy people. We like to stay active, eat well (most of the time) and keep up with our various hobbies and interests. What I didn’t know when we embarked on our trip was that I would be more or less leaving that lifestyle behind.
Every day on the road is different. We have been moving cities on average every 3 days, which leaves little room for settling down or establishing routine. The things we rely on (and take for granted) back home to maintain a good diet and fitness regime such as: good weather, space (to do a workout or yoga), availability of fresh/healthy foods and produce, a kitchen and cooking utensils, safety/ease of navigation of surrounding neighbourhood (for runs) etc, are available at varying and random times. This is not even mentioning the time aspect - finding a moment in the day to do a workout when you have a long day sightseeing or limited time in a city is a hard exercise in managing priorities. As a new vegetarian, food has also been a huge challenge. In countries such as Malaysia and Japan I often had to resort to bowls of nutritionally-empty soupy noodles as there simply was nothing else I could eat.
This is where a huge amount of discipline comes in: to make the time to work out, to buy produce and cook meals when you can, to keep healthy snacks on hand and to go out and seek healthy meals. I’d love to say that we have been doing these things but the truth is we haven’t, we have been too busy travelling the world! I knew I had to say goodbye to a lot of things that I considered to define “me” when we embarked on our trip; my wardrobe, my profession, my friends and family, but my healthy lifestyle was not something I considered. This is just another part of letting go that I have had to come to terms with in order to embrace this nomadic life and learn to go with the flow.
Having said all that, here are a few sneaky ways we try to fit in some exercise here and there:
- Fernando found a great hotel room workout, it’s super fast (20 min), very straightforward and is pretty effective.
- I brought a compact yoga mat with me, for yoga/stretching (when there is enough space to roll out the mat, that is!)
- Now that we are heading into Europe I plan to do a lot more running. Running in Asia wasn’t really an option in most places due to the heat and crowds.
- Active sightseeing like cycling or hiking
- Walking - everywhere! We aim for 12,000 steps a day. Ironically this is a laziness thing too as most of the time we can’t be bothered to get the subway or bus (working out public transport is tiring).
2. Long Term travelling is a mental exercise
On the move from Kazan to Samara, Russia on an overnight train
I assumed our year long trip would be like lots of little holidays one after another; yes, this was naive and yes, I was very wrong. What I have come to realise is that our trip is more like a marathon, whereas all previous holidays I have been on are more like sprints. In a sprint holiday you have limited time, so you want to see and do as much as possible and wring out every single minute of your time, you also have the energy to keep up a fast pace. In this marathon of a holiday, however, it becomes much more of a mental game, you can’t think of the finish line because it’s too damn far away so instead you need to break it down into sizeable chunks and work that way, keeping a slow pace with lots of breaks so that you don’t get fatigued.
Here are some of the biggest mental challenges I/we have had to deal with so far:
- Being okay with doing less: Just as maintaining a fitness regime comes down to discipline and prioritisation, so does giving yourself adequate break days doing nothing. This can be really hard when you are moving often and have limited time in each place, but it is so important to take time out and rest. I have definitely felt very guilty at times, taking the afternoon or day to just chill out and watch netflix in our room when there is so much to see outside, but like I said; marathon, not sprint.
- Being constantly on the move: all I can say is thank god for our small bags. People constantly ask us how we can travel so lightly, but honestly I don’t know how we could do it otherwise. Packing and unpacking every couple of days is incredibly tiring, and so is train stations and airports with a big bag on your back. It's also really hard when you fall in love with a city and are forced to move on.
- The changing cultures, languages, social norms, transport systems etc: with each new country/city there are new things to learn, to remember and to keep in mind. Even though we have only been in Asia and Russia so far, the cultural differences between the places have been huge. Going from the rigid organisation of Japan to the “every man for himself” mentality of China was incredibly challenging. Also, having to re-orientate yourself in each new city (how to get to/from the airport/train station, where’s the nearest supermarket, cafe etc) can get really tiring. And just as you start to work your way around a city, it’s time to move!
- Handling frustrations: this is one I didn’t expect; when travelling you are constantly dealing with people in the service industry, at restaurants, train stations, airports, hotels/hostels, tourist attractions etc. Bad service/systems mixed with language difficulties can wear down even the most polite, patient people (i.e. Fernando). Get enough of these experiences in a row and it’s hard not to blow up on the unlucky nth person to do it. Practising acceptance and understanding that things work differently everywhere is something we try to remember but unfortunately isn’t always put to practice.
3. Travelling, even as a couple, can get really lonely
Amongst the crowds in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, China
This may come as a surprise to some people, it certainly did for me. Fernando and I luckily get along very well even when we spend every moment together and 3 months in we have had very few fights (I put this down to his unwavering patience and ability to put up with me). However well we get along, though, being two people in a foreign place day after day can get very lonely. The times we have managed to catch up with friends, or make new friends, have been some of our best moments. Having a friend or kind local show us around a new city, how to use the public transport system, where the good restaurants are etc is the best gift we could receive, I can’t convey how much it means to me when someone takes the time to do this for us.
4. Living Minimally is easier than I anticipated
Moving Day in Hiroshima, Japan
Living out of a 38L bag was always a daunting thought before we set off, I spent way more hours than I care to admit thinking about each and every item that I was going to bring. Whilst I am glad for all the preparation I did (it does pay to bring functional, good quality clothing), I also realise now that I really didn’t have anything to worry about. The beauty of moving every few days and being surrounded by strangers most of the time is that you can wear the same thing over and over without a care in the world! I have completely relaxed in this sense, not caring as much how I look, wearing a lot less makeup, buying a piece of clothing here or there out of necessity but ultimately just rotating the few pieces I have. Also, when you have to handwash your clothing every few days it helps to wear less!
5. Gratitude takes constant practice
Little pleasures: Beers on our hostel's rooftop in Chengdu, China
As is the human truth in life, you can get used to anything. I’m sure others have experienced this when travelling; how many beautiful cathedrals can you see in Europe before they start blending into each other? Fernando and I are blessed with incredible, inspiring, interesting sights pretty much every day, there is always something new to see, something to learn. What gets hard after travelling for a few months, however, is maintaining that sense of awe and reminding yourself to feel grateful for the present experience. Fernando and I try to keep in mind the bigger picture, that’s why we like to celebrate our milestones, like our monthly anniversaries or 100 days on the road.
6. Our relationship with money has been a challenge
Enjoying our huge hotel room in Samara, Russia...definitely a luxury!
Digging into our huge meal in Beijing, China. We could eat like kings on a tiny budget
Of course I knew that money would be constantly on our mind, with us having no income for a whole year and living off a limited reserve. But I thought it would be worthwhile talking about how it has affected us so far. We are very lucky, we have a good budget for the year and don’t have to worry too much about money; having said that, we need to stay mindful and not blow our daily budget or we may be coming home earlier than anticipated. The challenge for us has been striking that perfect balance between staying smart with our money but also staying free to enjoy ourselves and be in the moment. To be honest, it has been pretty easy so far, (apart from Japan) Asia and Russia have been blissfully cheap and staying on/under budget hasn’t been too difficult. But the reality is Fernando tracks every single expense we make, no matter how little or big, and we review how much we have spent every day. This level of tracking is very tiring but I believe it’s a vital part of our trip.
100 days in and this is our reality. Far from complaining, life on the road is a beautiful adventure: it’s filled with daily challenges yes, but we are constantly learning and growing both together and separately, discovering the world one piece at a time. This is exactly why we set out on this journey.