Your Travel Buddy will Determine the Outcome of this Trip
You have packed and unpacked your backpack several times. You have checked the list of items you have to bring. You pray that you don’t forget anything but in your head, you remind yourself that there are stores where you are going and if anything you can just purchase the missing item. You look at the green, scruffy backpack sitting on your bed. It’s not a designer bag because that isn’t the type of traveler that you are. You don’t mind if it gets dirty along the way as long as it holds everything in place. You are grateful for this new, up and coming new experience. Your friend messages you and asks if you are ready to go that morning. He is parked outside waiting for you to come down. You put on the backpack and slowly walk down the stairs trying not to slip because your roommate wanted to have a carpeted staircase.
You are leaving for a week to the Bahamas and are absolutely ready to lay on the beach like a Brittle starfish for the next few days. Your best friend has packed his favorite speedos and about 7 different pairs of shoes. You notice the large bags he has in the trunk. When we get to the hotel, he drags the largest bag behind him while struggling to carry the others as your hotel room is quite a distance away.
This is your best friend. He is absolutely the other love of your life and in your eyes he can do nothing wrong. He has currently gotten into a new relationship and is completely in lust over his partner. He has his phone on him at all times and is constantly talking to him. All of a sudden, you feel pretty lonely. You are at dinner with each other and this mini-vacation that was meant to be an escape feels almost as if you weren’t the one he wanted to tag along with. Listen, lust is a powerful drive for some people and I get that, but I am quite fun to be around!
I laughed and realized quickly what this trip was going to be like. Here was a person that I got along with in a great way, but when it came to traveling, we were just an odd match. We were two different types of travelers which was ok but in the end it didn’t end up being as fun and exciting as I thought. I still adore this person to this day. Would I travel again with him? Maybe. I might give him a second chance but I know him well enough to know that he is still the same person from when we went on this trip regardless of the fact that that relationship didn’t last. He found someone else, someone he is more compatible with. They are really great travel buddies by the way.
I’ve traveled quite a lot with all kinds of different personalities. I have also traveled by myself. I can honestly tell you that whoever you decided to explore with will either make or break this trip for you. You have to go in knowing that otherwise you are in for some pure disappointment. Keep those expectations at a realistic level and sit down with each other beforehand to share what you both want out of this trip. If you find more things in common then definitely give it a shot, but if you don’t… Maybe it’s time to find a new travel buddy or better yet, go on your own! Safely of course.