Lucas NeoIf you really want to know a person, travel with them.
Most travellers swear by this, as they realise how much travel has affected their relationships with others. Whether you’re traveling with friends or a partner, it can ultimately change their impression of their travel partner.
There is something about travel that makes best friends at odds with each other, or tests the bond between lovers. Perhaps it’s the difference in how you plan for the trip, the long hours you need to spend together, or the fact that you are in some foreign land. Nevertheless, travel can make you see your travel partner(s) in a new light.
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You’re forced to spend a lot of time together
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Think about it: do you really spend all of your 24 hours with the same person? Probably not. Even if you spend a lot of time with your friends at work or in school, you have your humble abode to retreat to at the end of the day. While you might spend most of your time at home with your partner, there are periods where you won’t be together (unless you also work together, then kudos to you).
When you’re travelling together, being with your friends or your partner becomes a full-day affair. From when you wake up until you go to sleep, you will spend most of your travel time with them. You’ll visit attractions together, have your meals together, and spend time on transport together.
You’re forced to deal with incompatible habits or preferences
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Soon you will discover certain habits that you might not have noticed before. Perhaps your friend hogs the shower for a very long time, or that your partner doesn’t clean up after meals. You will also find out more about what their likes and dislikes are. For example, some people just spend three hours at a museum finding the best spot for wifi, uninterested in the artwork around them.
Since we all need some time to ourselves, some groups have days where they go solo and do the things they want to. However, what’s the point of travelling as a group if you end up going solo? Also, some of your group members might disagree with splitting up, because their idea of travelling together means spending every waking hour together.
You’re forced to handle problems without being in the comfort of home
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When your group travels together 24/7, there are bound to be some problems along the journey. Since you’re not familiar with the country, certain issues will appear while travelling. From a lack of sense of direction to differing interests among group members, the list goes on.
You think you may know your friends or your partner, but you only know their ‘safe’ side. In an environment familiar to them, these people know how to act around others. They also know what to do when situations arise.
When you’re travelling together, you get exposed to a foreign environment without any safety blanket to fall back on. What if you get lost? What if someone doesn’t like a particular attraction? You’ll also get to see your travel partner(s) deal with jet lag, fatigue and miscommunication among other travel problems.
Anything could happen on a trip, but the most important thing is how to handle these crises together.
So, should you just avoid travelling with others?
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No, we’re not saying that you should ditch your partner or your friends. They definitely will not have a complete change in personality when they travel. However, when exposed to the unknown, some people have it worse than others. That is when you discover another side to them.
For some, it may be seeing how badly they treat people they do not know. For others, it might be how they seem to break down when things do not go their way. People seem to change when they go abroad, no matter how big or small that change is.
What you can do is to be more understanding of each other, and cherish the moments when you’re together. That’s why you all decided to travel together in the first place, right?
