“Who are you when you travel?”
That is the question posed by Emma, Kelly, Rebecca and Catherine for their travel link-up this month.
I’ve decided to answer this as a list, because all the articles in the world say that people prefer listicles nowadays.
(1) The Overpacker
I used to be the last-minute-throw-everything-together packer, but that changed this year, I’m not really sure why. Now I make a packing list weeks or even months in advance, and start packing for my travel at least a week before.
Nevertheless, that hasn’t changed the fact that I still overpack. I’m a worry wart so I can’t help but worry that something will happen that I am not prepared for, so I have contingency plans for all sorts of things – extra clothes, supplies, foldable bags, medicines, etc.
So I still have way too much stuff, but at least now they’re more organized. Thanks, packing cubes.
(2) The Overeater
I don’t like taking long vacations because whenever I’m on vacation, it’s like a switch on my brain gets flipped to go on vacation mode and I don’t care about what I eat, I just go: “eat all the things!!!”
So I always gain weight after each vacation, which is not good. Note to self: don’t forget to pack stretchy pants.
(3) The Overspender
I have never been able to stick to a budget when I travel.
Someone once said in a TV show that one of her fears is regretting not buying a pair of shoes that she fell in love with while travelling. I guess that stuck with me and became my fear, too?
I mean, think about it, if you don’t buy something while on a trip, there’s a big chance you’ll never be able to go back and buy it.
I know, I know, it’s a stupid excuse. I really need to put a handle on my Rebecca Bloomwood* ways.
(4) The Over-explorer
A friend of mine keeps quoting me on a line I told him once, while we were travelling: “We did not spend all that money to come all this way just so we can spend all our time sleeping!”
So my travels tend to be packed with activities. I make sure I don’t waste time doing something that I could have done back home, like sleeping, for example. Why sleep when you can be climbing a mountain or snorkeling or parasailing or eating unusual food?
The bad thing about this attitude, though, is that I could get really worn out during vacations when I’m supposed to be relaxing.
(5) The Overdocumenter
Well, I’m a blogger, so what did you expect? 😀
I take pictures just a bit more than I usually do on non-travel days.
Once, my roommates and I went to Siem Reap, Cambodia and we all had cameras, but guess who took 600 more photos than the others combined?
I guess this is the reason why when I went to Phuket, Thailand with a couple of other friends, they did not even bother to bring cameras. They knew I had it covered. They were not mistaken.
So I guess I’m an overdoer, in a nutshell.
What about you, what’s your travel personality?
*Rebecca Bloomwood is the main character of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, and as the title suggests, she is one.