Ok, don’t get me wrong – travel is super fun and awesome. Everyone should take opportunities to travel if they can. You learn about new cultures and experiences; you meet new people who you otherwise would never have met in your life. Blah blah blah – you get it.
However — travel isn’t always super glamorous.
I checked into my hostel and instantly felt claustrophobic. Free space was a rare commodity. No joke – there was a bathroom stall on the end with a window, and I’d go sit in there for a few minutes just to catch my breath. I had to make a private call to my bank, and the only place I could be alone was on the side of the street. Lookin’ like a straight hobo. Hobo with a laptop.
Around 11pm, one of my roommates and I went to sleep. And for the next 3 hours, I tried to sleep through her snoring. An impossible feat even with earplugs. I go down to the front desk at 2am and request for a new bed to sleep in. I move into a room where my new roommate looks at me like I’m a phantom. I sleep for about 2 hours until another roommate comes stumbling into the room drunk.
In the morning, I decided to treat myself by getting a breakfast smoothie. I bought one at a restaurant down the road called Pura Vida (because apparently I never left Costa Rica) which cost me $10 for a small.
Which brings us to the topic of South Beach.
How do I put this nicely …? South Beach is such a try hard. On my way to the smoothie shop, I passed the laser hair removal salon, a guy drinking a protein shake, a brunch spot with valet and $30 pancakes, and a real estate office called “Fortune International.” All in two blocks.
Overall, I couldn’t flee South Beach fast enough.
I returned back to my original room, packed up my belongings, and took the public bus to the airport.
Over the past couple of days, my airline has been changing my departure time and flight number. I decided to arrive at the airport extra early just in case, and I’m glad I did. Check-in took more than an hour.
Also. I’m now selling German passports. $1,000 each 😉
Our plane taxied out to the runway and then informed us that we have to wait 2 1/2 hours before we could take off. I sent an email to my shuttle service in Iceland informing them of my new flight number. Their response?
Awesome. So I’ll be figuring that out when I land. Whenever that is.
So – my point in all of this? Traveling isn’t always super glamorous. People have these expectations that travel is 100% awesome 100% of the time. And when things go awry, they feel that they’ve failed.
Nope. Not true.
Crap is going to happen. It’s inevitable. You’re going to hate one of your hostels, pay way too much for a meal, get ripped off by a taxi, and have a flight delay. It happens.
But through it all, the payoff is always worth it. Travel is worth it.
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