Backpacking is an unforgettable way to see the world and highly recommended for anyone with an adventurous spirit who is craving a trip. But expectation and reality don’t always match up exactly like you think they will.
Expectation: You’ll stick to your budget
Reality: You won’t. If you’ve never been on a backpacking trip before, it’s hard to estimate how much money you’ll need for the duration of your trip. You can read blogs, calculate potential daily or weekly costs and talk to other people who have done it, but you can’t really know for sure until you get there. You’ll set a budget and you’ll tell yourself you won’t go over it, but more often than not, on that first backpacking trip you’ll end up going through more money than you originally anticipated. Why? Likely, costs you hadn’t factored in. Food, accommodation and transportation costs vary from country to country, not to mention some of the things you wanted to see and do will cost money, as will visas for countries you might not have thought about visiting originally.
Expectation: You won’t eat at any chain restaurants
Reality: There will be a few trips to familiar fast food chains. Finding amazing food on the road that makes you stop and stand transfixed in the moment by whatever it was you just put in your mouth is one of the best parts of travelling, but you won’t always “eat like a local”. There will be chaotic mornings where you have to race for a bus or a boat to get to your next stop, only leaving enough time for whatever you can grab (which might be something from McDonald’s). There will be other times where all you want is a little piece of home, which might come in the form of a slice of pizza – in the middle of Cambodia. As long as you take advantage of the foods unique to where you are, a few favourites from home are fine.
Expectation: You’ll learn the language
Reality: Does “hello” count? Sure, some people are sponges when it comes to languages and seem to pick up the basics after only a few weeks, but most of us are not those people. You’ll have a phrase book, a language app, maybe even some books in the language of where you’re going, but let’s face it; you’re going to be too busy travelling to learn a language fluently. The best thing to do is to have the following down pat: hello, goodbye, thank you and sorry. Anything else you pick up while you’re abroad will be an added bonus.
Expectation: You won’t go to any “touristy” spots
Reality: A lot of those “touristy” spots are worth seeing. As a first time backpacker you will spend a lot of time figuring out how to stay as far off the beaten track as possible; you will be reluctant to go anywhere where there will be crowds of tourists. You will plan to forge your own path and discover hidden gems only the locals know about. You will find many of these hidden gems, and enjoy some memorable out-of-the-way spots free of crowds, but you will also go to places listed on countless top 10 must-see lists, and you will line up with the other tourists – and you’ll probably see something pretty great.
Expectation: You’ll go everywhere on your list
Reality: Not possible. The rough itinerary you create before you leave on your backpacking adventure will be monumental. You will plan to see most of the world in two- to three-day chunks, moving at a pace reserved only for those running at lightning speed. This pace will last only until you get to a town or city you fall deeply and madly in love with – then you will find reasons to stay, thereby throwing off your entire itinerary. But the extra time you spend in those unexpected little havens of travel happiness will be worth more than sticking to an arbitrary plan to see 11 countries in six weeks.
Lead photo: Gary Knight used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license
