I’ve been trying to understand how to be more honest as a traveller. Dreams meet reality on a nearly daily basis in this lifestyle. The individual soul is imbricated in past, present and future, and the ability to be both deeply involved and maintain a traveller’s gaze sets the nomadic adventurer in a league of their own. There is much to be romanticized about this lifestyle and it’s one of the major reasons why I adopt it, but I’ve been thinking about the toll I’ve taken. Not many share stories about the exhaustion of travelling. From building connections that may not last long to recognizing the transience of experiences, travelling as a lifestyle has its own influence on the individual.

Physical exhaustion is an easy one to point out, especially for the frequent traveller. Many articles have been written about the health effects of being in a plane too often, from increased bloatedness, swollenness and just bad sleep habits. Long-haul flights lead to jetlags that can increase stress and reduce the ability to eat and exercise properly. I’ve also personally recognized how much one can love their own bed. I’ve always said that I can sleep anywhere, having slept in the literal ground in the army, but now I value a comfortable mattress and sturdy pillow more than anything else. Couches and air mattresses are not problems but my body takes its toll. Eating healthy is also tough when you want to eat the best of each city’s offering, often composed of greasy, sinful and absolutely carb-heavy meals that provide short-term pleasure but long-term costs. There’s a lot of things to think about when travelling, and I’ve been trying to actively work in proper sleep cycles, accommodation research and eating habits into my travels. More importantly, I’ve been trying to shift to more adventure travelling – including hiking and climbing into my trips so that I can maintain fit. It aligns well with the spirit of the adventurer.

The lesser known form of exhaustion that I find more impactful is actually emotional exhaustion, and this has become recently relevant. I do build home bases from which I travel. Mostly it’s Singapore, however recently it has been Chicago and London as I studied there. Building friendships and relationships take time at these bases, and a lot of times they require consistent and involved efforts in those relationships. The constant bouncing in and out of these cities create the need for proper dedication, reaffirming that you do care about your friends and family and allowing them to be a part of your life. With my family, for example, it has become a weekly check-in where we just chat over video and talk about our lives. Is it traditional? No. But it’s easy to lose touch with why it’s important to maintain these deep relationships.

Travelling creates fleeting contexts, constructs that allow emotional and sensationalized experiences but ultimately wither away if not intentionally managed. The number of times where I’ve met someone on a trip, felt an immense emotion and have struggled with heartburn upon departure has reminded me that while the choice to feel such emotion is not regretted in any way, the exhaustion of it all can be impactful. As humans, we seek to connect. As travellers, even more than that, we seek to find a loving place in this tapestry of the world, one that is grounded yet shifting. The choice to connect is more often than not the right one to make, the choice to care is an even better one. But these choices transform the traveller’s emotional environment to accept transience as a given. Things can matter, even if for just a week. Do they matter less? Absolutely not.

Perhaps that’s the burden of the traveller. To recognize that there are costs to beauty. Payments to the universe for our ability to understand it’s complexity. Perhaps it’s a lot less romantic and simply about recognizing that we operate in a world that is designed for stability and we’re going against the grain. The key is to be cognizant about such costs and to learn to take care of one’s self. Have friends you can talk to, eat healthily and sleep well. Know that good things can come and that the privilege of travelling is a gift in itself.  Reflect and process emotions, and let them add to who you are as a soul.

Exhaustion can be tough but the traveller must learn to deal with it.

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If you have any tips on how to manage travel exhaustion that you think could be useful to me or other readers, let me know! I’m always trying to learn.