BootsnAll Travel Community

I just returned from a three week trip to the Philippines with my family (wife and three kids). We stayed in a range of places from 5-star hotel a few nights to much less comfortable accomodations (noise, cockroaches, not-so-comfortable sleeping arrangements). In any event, I found that, while I still very much love the experience of traveling, I'm finding it more difficult to sleep well which in turn, leads to general discomfort, particularly head-aches.

Just curious if any of you have similar experiences, that is, you love to travel but find your body not adapting so well. I envisioned doing more long-term travel once my kids are done with college (I'll be early 60's then - I'm 52 now) but I'm wondering if I'm turning into too much of a wimp!!!


I'd be interested in hearing other's experiences (old and young) ... do you:
- Travel anyway and just deal with it because you'd rather be uncomfortable traveling than comfortable just staying at home in a standard routine
- Adjust your travel style/schedule to be more comfortable
- Has anyone actually stopped traveling because it just wasn't worth it

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by dennisf:
- Has anyone actually stopped traveling because it just wasn't worth it

Ummm NO! I will not stop traveling until I am either in the ground or confined to a bed.

The accommodations for my last trip included a hut, hostels, guesthouses, budget hotels and yes a couple of 5 star ones too. For a lot of reasons I prefer the lower cost ones. But there would be times when I was really tired and just wanted to sleep all day or muscles ached and I wanted a nice bath to soak away in. It is nice to have the option.

I am not sure I will ever quit traveling. But I think it is fair to say that as I get older my style of travel will change based on what my body and mind will be able to adapt too. There is no point in suffering just for sufferings sake. I am only in my 30s but I already notice a difference from when I was in my 20s. It takes me longer to physically recover, can't sleep anywhere, anytime anymore, stomach isn't as rock solid as it used to be. And I imagine as I get older and older I will need more comforts in my travels more often.

Since there are no guarantees on how well you will age or how long you make it to, I can't advocate putting off anything that might be more demanding until your kids are gone and you are ready to retire. I have always been an advocate of knocking off the more difficult travel experiences as young as you can. When I get old you'll probably see me trekking in Nepal and soaking up New Zealand, but I doubt you'll see may way out in remote areas of BF africa again.

I've got to put up with getting soft and make allowances. That means staying in reasonable accommodation occasionally and not travel so hard for months at a time.

Most destinations offer the choice to take it easy for a few days in between camping in the wilderness or partying the night away.

i found that with a slightly bigger budget on my trips now, i will splurge for a single room more readily. but im still cheap on most other fronts.

Thanks for the replies:

Scubamama - I guess option 3 (quit traveling) was a pretty silly option to put on a travel site ;-) ... I wouldn't choose that one either!

Halfnine - you're right on about not putting off doing what we love completely because we truly don't know what the future holds. I'll find some balance of short trips in the near-term while paying for college (3 kids - first one starting in a month - yikes!) ... while I need 9-10 years to be done, I'll be over the hump in 5-6 years and should be able to shift my balance further then.

Whalewatcher and Zopa - yeah, what made sense when we were 20 may not make sense at 50 (OK, I'm not good at being profound!) and we just need to adjust and adapt to the place we're in and make sure we make the best of each moment.

As an aside, I must say it was a real joy seeing how beautifully my teenagers adapted to the travelling experience (wasn't their first time) ... they immersed themselves into the culture ... loved the food, the people, and just the experience of being in a very different place than suburban America. In fact they can't wait to go back.

I did a 2-week EBC trek which involved sleeping in lodges on hard beds with my sleeping bag. Other than that I stayed in fairly nice hotels with AC and cable. I see no reason to rough-it more than the budget requires. No medals are awarded for being miserable AFAIK.

I used to rough it quite a bit, now I don't as much.

It's a question of recovery time for me. When I was in my 30's, I could put up with back slamming rides in pickup trucks, beds too soft, and loud noisy hostels full of partiers. Now, two back failures later, I'm very aware of the chain of pain that leads to a lower back failure, and try to avoid the causative factors. I call it wisdom.

Heat is another factor that definitely depends upon age. When younger, really hot days were tolerated much better by my body.

Then there is the suffering factor. Once we've proved to ourselves and others near us we can tolerate terrible things in the name of travel, it becomes an issue of practicality. Lacking a good nights sleep for four nights in a row means not getting full value for a days travel.

Then there is the false economy knowledge base. It is false economy to take a crowded miserable night train, and then have to sleep a whole day in ones hotel room to recover from it. Younger people can do it and still keep on going, just like they can pull all-nighters and STILL show up for classes in the morning relatively bright and cheery. The older we get, the smaller the pool of available energy our body posseses as it loses efficiency. That energy is spent on fighting the heat, fighting a bad nights sleep, fighting a back pounding, and healing from minor injuries. So, we should look at the PROPORTION of energy spent to energy available to allot the level of comfort required. If it is correct, we all have the energy to see and do what we need to do when we travel. If not, the body suffers, and eventually complains in the form of aches, pains, and continual tiredness and lack of energy.

Many of us older travellers have a little more spending money, and are wiser in the spending of it. So, why do it on the cheap and ache afterwards? Travelling is about enjoyment and learning for us more than proving our ability to think and act independently, regardless of the wisdom of decisions. We've already DONE that. Thats how we got to be older and raise a family without being killed or sent to the poorhouse. VBG

Great post TT. My upcoming trip was highly influenced by the facts that I'm not just out of college this time, I have a little more $$ this time, and I just dont feel like rushing around bagging sights anymore.

Now, a nice comfy accomodation - with no rats, cockroaches and what have you AND HOT WATER, and cheap street food is currently the best mix for me. Yep, still have an iron cast stomach.

Great thread. I'll go for smaller or private rooms in hostels, or for b & b's, instead of the el cheapo 100-bed dorm room thing. I also find that smaller, out of the way places have more "draw" for me than big cities. If I land in a big city now, my first thought is getting out of it.

I've also noticed that as I get a little older, I tire more from the journey itself. I just can't fold myself into a coach seat on a plane for a long-haul flight like I used to. After a lot of homeowrk on frequent flyer stuff, I don't do a long haul unless I can upgrade myself to at least business. That way, I'm not as worn out when I arrive, nor am I as depleted when I return.

quote:

I see no reason to rough-it more than the budget requires. No medals are awarded for being miserable AFAIK.

Exactly!!

I have found I no longer want to stay at the cattle-style dorms; I have gotten way to sick one too many times. I don't want to spend the last days of my trip feeling like crap. Mostly my accomodations have changed, I tend to go for singles or something a little more comfy. My eating habits have stayed the same (rather inexpensive), but since I have a little bigger budget, I can take the day trips I used to not do, or splurge a little if I'd like.

I don't think it is getting soft, it is just getting older!

I still prefer dorms and hostels with a good common room, but now I will pay for the four bed room instead of saving 4 dollars a night to be in a 8 to 12 bed cattle area.

It usually means younger rowdier travellers, more noise, less sleep, and less access to the showers when I need it.

Four is a good number. I can make friends in the dorm, yet not be overwhelmed by all the conversatiions going around.

Yet, for long term, I often opt for a single, if the price is right. Heck yeah'''

I think, too, it's important to remind ourselves that just because the way we travel changes, it doesn't mean we enjoy it less. A case can be made that, as we age, we gain a deeper appreciation of our experiences and relationships that we weren't ready to see when we were younger. A good book may be written using vocabulary that an eighth grader can understand, but an adult hopefully will bring a life-time of experience that will give him or her a much greater sense of reward from what's being read. While our bodies may force us to slow down as we age, slowing down isn't always a bad thing. So much of our life is 'fast food' and 'drive through' that it's really nice when we take time just savor the moment.

So well said Dennis.

Over the past few years I've taken vacations with the family (wife, two kids) by buying a timeshare condo week on eBay. In every case it was less than $500 for an entire week and we always had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchens, etc.

In this manner we spent weeks in St. Martin, Quebec, Hilton Head (twice), and Vermont. We shopped locally and prepared many meals in the condo, thus saving considerably on restaurants.