I returned from my first ever trip a few days ago. I spent 2 months in Thailand and Cambodia. It was very tough emotionally at times as I'm a massive introvert. But overall, it was a great experience and the main thing I have learnt from it is that if you commit to something, you can absolutely make it happen. I know its a cliche thing to say but it really does feel like it was all a dream now. I got up this morning and saw my backpack and daypack lying empty on my bedroom floor and I can't believe it actually happened. I lived out of them for 2 whole months. All the distance travelled seems kind of irrelevant now, all the people I met and befriended are gone, the Facebook and Whatsapp messages have dried up already. It felt good to come home but the novelty has soon worn off. I am not suffering from the dreaded post-travel blues, I'm just really bored and not sure what to do with myself.
For me, travelling wasn't necessarily about ticking items off a bucket list. Invariably, all the "must see" tourist sites I went to were underwhelming, even Angkor. The best moments were absolutely the unplanned and spontaneous little events and chance meetings. My introversion and shyness meant I travelled alone pretty much the whole time although I did meet a lot of people, usually on nights out and under the influence of alcohol. I am proud of myself for sticking it out (I was all set to come home after just a few days, call it culture shock). Before I left Thailand, I wrote down a shitload of thoughts and ideas in an attempt to figure out what I had gained from the whole experience (I'm an introspective motherfucker). I feel a positivity I have not felt for some time about my life going forward and I think that must be down to the experience of travelling. But I just feel....weird. Restless but inert. I can't explain it and I hope that other travellers can maybe relate to what I'm talking about and put it into words for me.
Yeah.
Save money, go somewhere else at next opportunity
>>1055481
Sounds like you've got wanderlust. Start saving and planning for the next great adventure.
>>1055481
Oh, sure. I completely get where you're coming from, and I'm sure that a lot of other people on this board would, too.
Like the folks above me said, what you need to do is this: save more money, buy another ticket, and go some place new.
Traveling helped me build my confidence, social skills, and a soft network of friends across the world. I've wound up working here and there overseas and will be completing university at home in another two semesters. I've worked a lot to afford trips and I don't regret putting my money towards plane fares versus nights out at bars or clubs in the slightest. Unfortunately, whenever I set out to a different place, whether I've been there before or not, I always know that in two weeks or two months or a year, I will be in exactly the same position as you are now, which is returned, bored, and unsure of what to do.
That's just how it goes for us. However, I'm quite happy to admit that, inevitably and invariably, I'm usually planning another trip within a week of being home and buy a ticket within a month.
Last summer was the first summer in a few years I didn't travel anywhere because I was taking a load of organic chem and biochemistry courses (mistake, given that I was also working full time). In the space of two weeks I ended up buying first a round-trip ticket to India - I'll be living in two and a half weeks - and a quick, three-week trip to Colombia, in between my summer and fall semesters, which I've since taken.
A while after coming back from Colombia, I bought a ticket to Mexico in March, and I'll figure something out for next summer, too.
I'm not bleeding myself dry and I still have plenty of money saved in the bank. Traveling helped me learn how to budget myself, too. Now I always have another trip to look forward to, even if it's only two weeks in Mexico versus longer jaunts I've taken in the past.
You do you, OP, but I'd recommend just doing exactly what you did before again.
>>1055512
I'm the guy who made the post above you and I often liken travel to drug addiction. Probably not the best metaphor, but probably not the worst, either.
OP here
See the thing is, I'm really not considering travelling again any time soon. I feel like I want to start building a better life at home. Two months was enough for me for a first time trip and I think it will be a while before I have the energy and motivation to try another destination. But at the same time....home fucking sucks
Maybe I'll just see how I feel after Christmas
>>1055535
get your shit together , and know what the hell you want little bitch
want to start a life , work , get a girlfriend and make kids but hate your place ?
well move somewhere else in your country
want to keep on experiencing new stuff ?
well go travel, or go live in another country
want to do both ?
do it , go live somewhere else , where you have nough free time to explore shit , and make enough money to travel
stop whining
>>1056111
Great advice sir, I'm sure you know exactly what you want in life and made it all happen
>>1056883
yes i killed myself yesterday
shit was so cash
>>1055481
Post travel blues is a bitch. I recommend the same as other anons: Try not to forget how good it felt and plan for your next trip.
>>1055481
My friend was just in Thailand, for about a month. Did you know a guy named Jake by chance?
>>1055481
best way to get over post travel blues is to be on to planning your next trip. Even if it is a year or two away, start by reading a book set in the locale then slowly begin planning, watching travel docs on youtub, etc. I think the build up to a trip no matter how long is almost as satisfying at the trip.
It doesnt hurt if down the road you have job that lets you travel one way or another. I get to go to 1 or 2 regional conferences a year and then one national or international conference a year that my employer pays, that helps diminish the blues.
>>1055481
Like a lot before me told you already, best way to get rid of these post travel blues is to start thinking about traveling again. Whether that will be in the next months or next years.
Also keep yourself busy. You say you'd like to start building a better life for yourself, work on that.
You just returned from a 2 month adventure and now you're back home. It's totally normal to have to adjust to a change of pace again. Last time I returned I woke up the next day in my own bed, got washed and changed and I was just itching to go out and see stuff. Focusing on personal projects and work while planning the next trip helped me a lot.
>>1055535
>want to build a better life at home
>home fucking sucks
I live in Albuquerque, I know what you mean. You need to move. Personally, I'm moving to Seattle area.
