Can there be such a thing as TOO MUCH TRAVEL?

I have been travelling fairly regularly for most of my adult life, usually something like 3 long haul trips a year mixed in with probably 3/4 short-medium hauls. In the last 2 years though, since I have been working “freelance”, my travelling has really gone to a whole new level. It’s now got to a point where I have booked myself into things I could not even possibly fit it in, that included throwing away my return Turkish Business Class ticket from Asia. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

How did I get here?

I’m currently on a 3/4 month long trip away from home. I’ve done 3/4 month long jaunts to Africa and Asia and also over month long trips to Australia/South America before. The difference this time, I am hopping between continents within short time spaces that most people would consider just mad!

The logic of it was initially well intentioned. You see I work contracts and I usually start booking trips for when that contract is due to end (sometimes I then have to change things if I extend the contract).  Unlike most travellers however, what determines where and how I fly now ( 99% of my travels before 2016 has been because I was interested in the specific destination) is usually a desire to fly a very specific airline on a particular plane and sometimes that can include a very particular route too! So when something pops up that’s just too good to pass up, I build that up into existing trips within a time frame.

And what would start off as one trip, builds up into several far flung trips. Then I find myself connecting the dots between those trips and things get even more complicated because those dots are not straight dots from A to B. Sometimes it ends up like A to C via F & B!

Constant planning mode

While the destinations may no longer be the sole driver for my getting on plane, I still, always try to maximise my travelling time. Unlike most hardcore avgeeks, I actually spend about 1 week in average within each destination. I mean there is just too much culture/nature/food in the world not too.

So the feeling like I’m on planning mode, full throttle, is perhaps consequential. There is always some accommodation to book, activities to research and more flights to connect the dots between trips.

I got homesick

Travelling (and flying) is exciting. There is nothing else like it for me. But in the last few months I have gone back and forth between Europe, Asia and USA and then Asia to New Zealand, back to Asia, back down under, back to Asia and headed to USA, again!

Dealing with 13/15 hour time zone difference for a few days and back again, is no laughing matter. I’ve already been sick twice this trip and I’m really not looking forward to the jet-lag of another double digit timezone change.

What is ironic is I’ve spent some quality time with my mother and siblings also on holiday in Asia within this period, but I miss my home, London. And my friends. So much so, that I was even contemplating coming back to London for week and then carry on with the rest of my long itinerary. That is until it dawned on me I’d be playing cat and mouse with the good old jet lag even more.

I suppose as much as I love the adventure of travelling, I also like some routine and comfort of home.

Some places are best visited once

I’m also starting to find for some countries, repeated visits can mean it feels like its losing its initial charm or taint your original memory of it. I make no secret of the fact that I have absolutely no love for New York! But sadly, I don’t want to say that about Vietnam, but even there, some of the gloss of certain locations were starting to wear off for me, especially now that its getting ever more touristy!

Finding a balance

If this was my full time job, that would be one thing but juggling this kind of travel around actual work projects and trying to win to contracts is perhaps very ambitious.

Overall thoughts

This is somewhat new territory for me but I’m not contemplating travel less entirely. But what I do need to do is spread out my travels throughout the year better.
I cant change much for the next 6/7 month as I have alot of stuff already booked, but going forward I intend to spread out the trips.

I am so grateful and lucky to be able to fly First and Business class but when you fly them back to back and one after another, it does become somewhat of a blur and perhaps you appreciate it less. I guess I will find a healthy balance soon enough 🙂