After a grueling 12 hour travel day, I arrived at my destination but my luggage didn’t. This has happened before and I am guessing it will even happen again. I do not like arriving somewhere with only the clothes on my back, but I am at a fabulous hotel in capable hands. Tomorrow is a new day and hope that the bag that was last seen in Qatar will find its way back to me here in Morocco. Incidents like these do get me thinking. When you travel somethings will go wrong, here is what you can count on:
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Luggage will be lost. Try to find anyone who travels often that has not lost a bag in transit. Usually it comes back, if not keep the tiara at home.
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Food will be eaten and water will be drunk that will make you very, very, sick. Watch what you ingest, but should a mistake happen (and it will) consider it a lesson learned, or future funny story, or the best cleanse you never wanted.
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You will overpay for something or even get pick pocketed. Try to prevent it, but if it happens, move on. Part of the travel experience is learning how to survive in a foreign environment. You should not expect perfection from yourself or others for that matter.
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You will be tired often perhaps even jet lagged. Soak up the environment anyway and sleep when you are back at home. I have experienced a few places, such as layovers in the middle of the night, at the point of exhaustion. These times seem like dreams to me now and are some of my best memories.
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It is shocking to see how people live. You will find poverty, filth, odors, food scarcity, and all other manners of discomfort. Try to remember that is why you left your bubble in the first place. You have an opportunity to see what life is like for most of the world. Instead of thinking how much better things are ‘at home’ try to appreciate where you are at the moment.
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Different languages and customs will be evident. At one point you will need to communicate with a fellow human and realize that words won’t work. Laugh. Laugh at how absurd it is for two grown strangers to be dancing around on a public street. Laugh at the mistakes you make and don’t let anything resembling regret spoil life’s journey.
I’ll write in to tell you how my suitcase story ends-this time!