4 WAYS TRAVEL CAN BRING OUT THE WORST IN YOU

Over the years, I've read multitude of articles on how travel makes you a better person - more interesting, knowledgeable, street smart, and even sexier. A lot of them tell the truth and I wholly agree on the merits that travel has on a person's perspective for life-in-general and on your social and cultural interactions. Of course, it can be life-changing. Of course, it can be exhilarating. Of course, it teaches you heaps of virtues like patience, tolerance, and empathy.... But as with everything, there's a flipside to it. I've met and engaged with enough travelers to surmise that it can also turn you into the worst version of yourself. Heck, on occasion, I have become one or two of these "types." ;-)

1. YOU BECOME AN INSUFFERABLE SNOB.

This type purses their lips in distaste when someone regales them of travel stories that are not up to par with their standards. I'm not just talking about the high-class jetsetter who sashays into an exotic destination in private jets (or first / business class) and stays in 5-star hotels; this malady can affect even that seemingly down-to-earth backpacker.

Oh, you flew into Vladivostok from Moscow instead of taking the 3rd class seat on a Trans-Siberian train that takes you across the REAL Russia?! You booked a hotel on Ipanema beach instead of living authentically with the cariocas inside Santa Marta favela?! Mannnn, you've never truly experienced Machu Picchu if you a took a train instead of hiking towards it for 4 days!!! All that traveling and you haven't gotten a gold-platinum-diamond-titanium-stardust airline miles card?! ....

You get the drift.

One long-term backpacker I met in Puno, Peru asked me why I was staying in a lakeside hotel instead of a local pousada in the town center (TRANSLATION: you call yourself a REAL traveler?!). I sensed that he had a sheer and utter distaste for travelers who stayed in nothing less than a grotty, bedbug-ridden, window-less room in a dodgy alley that smells of urine and broken dreams. I answered him with a hateful glance and said, because I can AFFORD TO!.... Just because someone has a different way of experiencing a destination doesn't mean that her travel style is more inferior to yours.

So what if I some travelers can glam up their travels & afford nicer accommodations? Doesn't make them less of a traveler. Taken at AmanJiwo, Yogyakarta

2. YOU BECOME ANNOYINGLY COMPETITIVE.

There will always be that one traveler who will vie with you for the most inane travel-related things. That one person who obsessively checks ALL your social media accounts and blog to see if you've broken her 27-days-without-a-bath-in-Africa record. They will compete with you on who has more countries under her belt, or who has more UNESCO Heritage sites visited within a month in Turkey, or who has dodged death in some of the world's most dangerous roads, or have stayed the longest in an authentic Mongolian ger camp with the barest of facilities. Who has eaten more bugs in Thailand or Cambodia, or has a better filter on Instagram for that iconic landmark shot. Or who spent more on shopping at a local bazaar, high-end mall, or outlet store - or who spent the least, if affordability is their game.

You were writhing in pain from the Delhi Belly while in India? Dude, I ALMOST DIED when I contracted elephantiasis/ yellow fever/ rabies/ ebola/ got bitten by a lion/ beheaded by an uncontactable tribe while in so and so place! Yep, there's no point one-upping this type of traveler because they always want to win: they want to be the mostest, bestest, most authentic, most local, extremest, cheapest-esstt, richest, most badass traveler that's ever walked the face of the earth. They're also the a**holest of them all.

CNN has written about them here - and Huffington post, too, in this article.

3. YOU BECOME UNIMPRESSED & JADED.

Happened to me after seeing Angkor Wat and Borobodur, I almost skipped Bagan in Myanmar because I was thinking: REALLY, ANOTHER TEMPLE?!! Pft. Or bypassing d'Orsay because, whaaaat, ANOTHER MUSEUM?! ... I had to check my sense of privilege because truly, I should be grateful I have the chance to travel. I guess it's easy to brush off this kind of indifference after having traveled to many destinations because at one point in your traveling life, everything can look and feel the same. You're looking at another temple. Another lake. Another UNESCO sight. Another obelisk. Another cave. Another beach. Another church. Another stained glass art. Another mountain.... It can all feel repetitive, unremarkable and frankly, JUST MEH.

I think this is one of the reasons why I always harp on how coming home can also help improve your travel experience: you take a break from all the amazing experiences, get back into the grind, and then travel again when that urge to feel in awe resurfaces. Coming home grounds me in a way and helps my brain (and heart) recover from all that awesomeness I experienced on the road - that's just how I'm hardwired - and the reason why long-term travel is not for me. I need to pause and absorb it all it. Sometimes too, I blame it on the typical traveler's affliction of being overwhelmed by a variety of experiences that the rest may seem underwhelming and unimpressive. At least attempt to find a silver lining in whatever destination or landmark that you initially thought didn't deserve another day or minute of your attention - surely, there's a historical, cultural, religious or social importance to a certain tourist spot, right, no matter how plain they might seem to us. Otherwise, if it really is one big letdown, just shrug it off and refrain from saying vitriolic remarks to other travelers who profess that the place you were so uninspired with, is actually their all-time favorite.

Nothing to see here, just "another" temple in Tokyo ;-)

4. YOU BECOME A SELFIE MONSTER.

1,000 snaps of the same pose in the same landmark! Selfie pole sticking out in all directions just to get that Instagram-worthy shot! We've been there, done that. Admit it. :) We all become that selfie monster when it comes to travel photos because OF COURSE, we just have to make sure that we capture our Pinterest-worthy #OOTDs silhouetted against an Eiffel Tower background and that our Facebook friends don't forget that we're gallivanting around South America while they're stuck at their desks hunched over a computer. Definitely, take as many selfies as you can because who knows when you'll be back to this part of the world again, but please don't become one of those painful tourists who hog the best spot for a photo opp while a long queue of irate visitors snakes behind them, or injure and poke other people with those pesky selfie sticks (full disclosure: I own one for my GoPro!). Take selfies and landscape photos, ensure you're not hitting anyone with your selfie stick, and then move along. Proper travel etiquette goes a long way.

No other tourists were harmed or annoyed while taking this selfie in Cusco. ;-)

So there you have it, the side effects of being a traveler which can affect even the best of humans at times. Which one have you become at one point in your wanderlusting life? :)

HAPPY TRAVELS! x

#listicles