The Disorientation of Travel

I was talking to these girls today at the hostel about how disorienting travel can be.

I think there are some cool aspects to it, like all the stuff you learn about yourself, etc, but there are some really crappy elements to it as well, like getting lost, being afraid etc.

I thought I had a relatively middle-of-the-road opinion on this subject, but both girls I was talking to looked at me like I was crazy and said "But frustration and confusion are all part of the fun!"

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just moved on from the conversation, but I had to think about this for awhile. In theory, the disorientation and newness are a big reason why people travel to exotic places, but I'm starting to wonder if the people who really romanticize that aspect of it have ever really traveled alone, or been lost alone, or been out of the safety of friends and tour groups, or common language.

It's fun - I like how much I am learning and how much I've had to think on my feet - but I definitely wouldn't call this trip a "vacation." When you're bouncing from country to country to country, and navigating new big cities every couple of days, you really have to pay attention to make sure you don't miss tours and trains, get lost in bad parts of town, pay too much for taxis and food, lose your stuff, etc.

I ve been maintaining a pretty good balance between the known, and unknown, and in Vienna it was especially great because I was able to find free drinking water and understand enough of the local signs to get around. So maybe that makes me really prissy, but it was nice to not be lost for a change. Also, it stops being fun to me when you spend 60% of your time in a lame part of town, or blow your budget, or miss out on things because you just couldn't figure out how to get where you're going. I can wait in line or get lost at home.

I'd love to know how other people who've traveled feel about this because it is almost starting to sound pretentious to me when I meet these people who go on and on about how great a certain area was because it was so dirty and dangerous and cheap, and how they just loved being completely lost, etc. I don't even believe it anymore. I'm realizing it's just the "cool" thing to say on the road to prove how edgy you are.

Maybe a small percentage of people actually enjoy serious inconvenience and hours of time spent doing mundane things like finding a post office, but I think most people travel because they want to see the highlights of an area, understand what makes it cool, meet some fun locals, and get a vacation too. The people who pretend that the 4 hours they hiked in the wrong direction with 30 lbs on their back looking for a place to sleep were the best moments of the trip are starting to seem like travel-hipsters.

I don't know, I am curious if other people feel that way, or if I am just a little more princessy than I'd like to admit, but I know I had so much fun wine-tasting, biking, and drinking in Vienna, and part of the reason it was so great was because I didn't spend an extra hour of my day stressing about where I was on the map.