Without doubt travelling is an amazing thing to do. The value it has on your life is priceless. Last time I talked about all the great things travels bring along (read here). But as much as there can be life-changers there can also be mood killers along your way. Certainly you’re going to experience situations, which you don’t like and have to deal with. The following list contains some of these mood killers, which I came across during my travels.
1. The constant complainers
This is probably one of the biggest mood killer. On the road you most likely going to meet people, who complain all the time. “The food is terrible, I can’t eat it!”, “Damn, everything is so expensive here!”, “These bloody Germans are everywhere I wanna meet locals!” Have you ever heard one of these? You’re not the only one. These people don’t realise that not only they don’t help themselves, but also they easily destroy the good mood of the people they meet or travel with.
Here’s how I try to deal with them: Surely not everything will be perfect on your journey, but I simply try and spend the time only with people, who I like and ignore the others. This isn’t always easy, but it’s always your choice. Either change or leave.
2. The thought of missing something
“Damn it, I should have done that!” Have you ever been in this situation? I think so. We all have been. The urge of making the best out of our travels and visiting all the “Must-see” places can be counterproductive in the end. Instead of enjoying our time or discover hidden places, we stress ourselves to all the touristic stuff. Most of the time only to get a picture like everybody has.
At some point I remind myself on this and just take the moment in. No rush, I just keep telling myself to enjoy the time and that it’s ok to miss out on things. Back home you’ll remember the places you’ve been and the moments you’ve experienced rather than the stuff you’ve missed out.
3. The unavailable WIFI
A well-known story to everybody nowadays. You arrive at a place and find yourself in checking out the internet connection. To be fair Internet is both boon and bane. Of course it’s a great way to share your experiences with your friends on Social Media and also it’s easy to make bookings online or find the nearest store. But on the other hand we miss out on many other things and often find ourselves in frustration if the WIFI isn’t working one more time. Anybody remember the times when we asked strangers for the way to the supermarket? Today everybody’s hanging on their phones in designated WIFI areas and misses out on a possibly great conversation with the handsome person vis-à-vis.
While admittedly I’m also getting frustrated from time to time, I’m usually trying to take advantage of the situation by simply accepting the fact that Internet isn’t available at the moment. It’s not becoming easier to avoid falling into the trap nowadays, but I realised how relieving it is to leave the phone aside for some time or even just turn it off. Let me ask you when was the last time you turned off your phone?
4. Things you can’t control
In my opinion this often gets underestimated. On the road you’ll always have to deal with things you just can’t control. Be it some bad weather at the most beautiful place or you suddenly get sick when you’re supposed to go diving (yes, that happened to me). Even worse if something gets stolen on the way. Indeed it’s a bad feeling when you’re supposed to have the time of your life and something isn’t going well. But that’s life! Your challenge will be to make the best out of it.
As a photographer for example I know that I can take pretty awesome pictures when the weather is bad. This way I can take advantage of it. When you’re sick there’s indeed not much to do about it. But imagine you maybe can do other things, which haven’t been on your itinerary. Or you can just spend some time on reading or writing, for which you probably wouldn’t take much time otherwise. It’s always only a matter of the perspective in which you see the things…
Surely there are many other things, which can ruin your travels. Can you think of something else, which you might have experienced yourself? Feel free to share your thoughts 
Also I’m interested in your opinion about this blog post. Did you like it? Do you like to see more content like this? Or what could be better? Any feedback is very welcome.