The Ugly Side of Travel

Traveling can be thrilling, it can bring new experiences, adventures, stories, and beautiful photos that later can be posted on social media. But while there is much beauty in traveling, especially when it comes to the content you see online, traveling does come with downsides too. In particular when you travel on a budget and are not staying in the fancy hotels, taking ubers/private taxis everywhere, and you have to endure some layovers in order to find a great steal.

In line with trying to remain real and show all aspects of travel, here are 4 ugly truths that I have encountered while traveling on a budget. How many of them can you relate with?

1. Sleeping in unusual spots

Whether it be waiting for your overnight layover, waiting for the bus/public transportation to start up after arriving from a red eye flight, or taking an overnight bus to save a few dollars, you learn to sleep in some unique places including on the bus, plane, train, or even on the uncomfortable chairs in the airport waiting area. And while the bus, plane, or train sound nice, these sometimes can be on not so fancy/comfortable means of transportation where you can be crammed in with other people, or even animals, and only have enough space for you yourself and you bag on top or bottom of you.

2. Inconvenient times/routes

While there tend to be more and more options to get from point A to point B, when you are budget traveling, and having to rely heavily on public transportation, this can mean that you either need to leave at the crack of dawn, take an overnight/red eye option, find a cozy spot to wait for your connection to arrive, or that you will have to have a layover or go in the opposite direction only to return to your final destination.

3. Waiting Game

The waiting game is definitely a thing when you travel via public transportation or try and get a steal on the ticket you purchase. And while with much training I have figured out ways to occupy my time while on the waiting game, it is not always the funniest thing to do to wait. Wait for that bus to arrive (if it ever will), wait at the airport during a long layover, wait longer for the already delayed train, wait to check-in to your accommodations, wait for buses/trains to start back up again because you arrive in the middle of the night, lots of waiting.

4. Limits on what you bring

With the reliance on public transportation and trying to save money where ever possible (including on the type of ticket fare you purchase), you are limited to how much you can bring. And while you can pay more to bring more, you then have to deal with lugging those around from one place to another, which can get very heavy after a while. I have had many of times I’ve shown up to my accommodation just sweating, out of breath, and exhausted from having to lug around my bags.

Are there any others that you have encountered?