No.1: You will fall in love. This I’m afraid, is inevitable. It might not be ‘real love’, or ‘true love’, or ‘love-at-first-sight love’ but I can assure you, you will definitely fall in love…of some sort. I have fallen in love about eight times so far on my travels, maybe more (and no, I’m not a huge whore-bag who goes about dropping her pants at the first guy she meets). There’s something about being in a foreign country, alone, that makes you cling to the one person who makes you laugh; the person who talks to you in an inquisitive way; the person who wants to join you on the walking tour that begins at 7am, even though the bar crawl the night before went on till 5. The love that you experience for a fellow traveller will be genuine, it will be real and it may even lead to that perfect snog on the beach as the sun dips below the horizon; and it could, in some cases, lead to something to special, but most of the time it will remain shallow and superficial, never becoming deep enough to last the course of time. I’m sorry, but it’s true.
No.2: You will meet some highly irritating people. Sadly, not every backpacker is as entertainingly delightful as you. There will be times when you want to walk over to the opposite bunk and rip off that girl’s head, the one who’s snoring too loudly and insists on keeping her Spotify playlist on ALL night, the one that has the WORST songs ever on it; worse even than the ones on that 90s compilation mix that you once thought was the shit! There’ll be the insanely annoying, over enthusiastic, first time traveller (usually American, or Chinese, but not limited to these) who will follow you around, EVERYWHERE, asking questions, when all you want to do is go to have a pee, in silence, on your own. There’ll be the irritatingly confident, professional traveller; a connoisseur of local cuisine and an expert on all things ‘cultural’. It’ll usually be a bloke, who’s comfortable being centre of attention and will crave the shy glances of that gaggle of blonde European girls. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll meet some absolutely fantastic people too, from all walks of life, people who remind you of home and people you’ll spend days, weeks and months with; just watch out for these typical ones I’ve mentioned though and you’ll be just fine.
No.3: You will burn yourself out if you’re not careful. I have first hand experience of this so trust me when I say: TAKE IT EASY. Especially if you have a lot of things to cram into a short space of time. Backpacking can, and usually always is, an incredible adventure, something you won’t ever want to end, but it can also be overwhelming; it can be tiring and it can sometimes be tougher than you originally thought. Long flights and hours sitting around airports can leave you exhausted; missing, or completely wrong directions can leave you wandering around for hours, with heavy bags and sore feet; cultural differences and finding yourself in a place where absolutely NO English is spoken can be scary; smelly dorms with no air conditioning and a shared bathroom can depress the hell out of you; and excessive alcohol consumption can, and will, make you feel like shit. My best advice here would be to take your time. If you don’t feel like partying for the fifteenth night in a row, don’t. Just get an early night and you’ll feel refreshed and raring to go the following morning. Of course, I’m almost 30 but if you’re 18 and can handle the constant all-nighters and think it’s funny to get lost somewhere in far east Asia, then go for it, you’ll have a blast! 🙂
No.4: You will spend money on shit you don’t want, need, and will never have any use for. Ever. I don’t think much more needs to be said on this point. You will arrive home with more magnets than you’d thought was possible. The Buddhas that you bought in Delhi will be exactly the same as the ones your Grandma has on her mantle-piece. She got hers from Malta. That t-shirt that you thought was really cool when you found it in a thrift shop in Virginia? Yeah, well, it looks ridiculous on you and you will never wear it. Ever. Give it to your nephew, he’ll love it. If you’re on an extended trip (over 4 months), save your cash for a,luxurious night in a hotel, one that has a bath; or a slap up meal in a 5* restaurant; trust me, you’ll thank me for it.
No.5: You will drink enough alcohol to sink the Titanic. However, you will not feel the need to consume it, every. single. day. once you’ve arrived home. It’s true, alcohol plays a massive part in any backpackers’ lifestyle (unless you’re tee-total, of course) but in a strange way, it won’t be an issue once your travels have come to an end. Those buckets you downed in Thailand? The copious steins you necked at Oktoberfest? The revolting Asian spirit you knocked back after that street food, that made you want to spew everything back up? The horrendous amount of shots you challenged your friends to in Krakow? The beers you drank every day in Australia, just because it would’ve been rude not to? The different types of schnapps you spent hours deliberating over in that ridiculously huge Liquor store in California? Yeah, none of them will matter. You’ll still have your liver, and your kidneys, don’t worry. And you know what, you’ll have some bloody good stories, videos and pictures to go with it.
Chasing Amy-Lou 