Published on 12, July, 2020
Do you enjoy going abroad and/or travelling within your own country?
I've only been to a few countries in my life, all in Europe.
So, what makes you feel you need to have a 'holiday' in another place from home?
Some of my motivations:
1. Because it's the 'done thing' so I think a part of it was to fit in with the 'crowd'.
2. To experience other cultures and see some beauty in the world (that was Italy).
Against:
1. I hate the journey.
2. I worry about leaving my home untended.
3. I feel deeply disorientated by hotel rooms etc.
4. I feel deeply disorientated by being in 'strange' places.
5. I feel deeply disorientated by the change in routine.
6. I hate heat and don't swim so beach holidays are out.
7. Financial restraints.
I think I get less stressed by travelling in the UK, with knowing I can get home quickly if required.
How about you?
I used to enjoy the excitement when I was younger, but much of it from the airport onwards involved alcohol which helped me relax.
Anyway, I took a trip to Malta a couple of months back. I used to live there and thought I’d revisit my old home.
The stress was unbearable. I left my first hotel due to the noise. I could hear chairs scraping and buses hissing constantly. I went to another hotel on the island and developed a lift phobia. I had major panic, convinced I’d get stuck and die. I’d sometimes leap out before the doors shut. God knows what they thought if they could see me on CCTV!
I barely slept the whole time. Hardly spoke to anyone. Would hide in the corner when I went out to eat. I questioned how I ever lived there and ran a business. It was all down to the routine and structure I once had. Also, the fact that I was engrossed in my interests. Without this, I flounder big time and anxiety takes over.
The flight was unbearable too. There was a constant queue to the toilet which meant having someone’s buttocks stuffed in my face for three hours. No thanks. Never again.
I can relate to a lot of that.
In fact, hotel rooms are a big problem for me as I usually sleep in my own quiet room, at the back of the house, alone.
The old saying 'there's no place like home' is quite true for some of us.