You may be on the adventure of a lifetime, but you will always miss a few home comforts. In an effort to arm you with some top advice about backpacking we've already talked about the types of people you'll meet, but here we've also listed the little things you'll miss while travelling. Anticipating a few of these problems may just help you prepare for your next big trip.
1) Soft toilet roll
So you're a fan of double-layered, scented loo roll, are you? Sorry princess, you're travelling now. This means you will make do with any rag close to hand to get the job done, regardless of its texture or absorbency. And yes, this will mean an arsehole rawer than sushi.
2) Hot showers
Admittedly, if travelling through a hot country this isn't always necessary, but it becomes so scarce that it's a positive luxury after a while. Sometimes you just need a piping hot shower to wash away the stresses (and the sins) that tend to accumulate when you're a long way from home.
3) Your own room
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You never really appreciate having your own space until it's gone. Dorm rooms are fine in small doses, but they lead to insanity over extended periods. The constant snoring and farting of your roommates starts to take its toll; in fact I'm pretty sure they use it as a form of torture in Guantanamo Bay (Editor's note: Not true.) Plus, there's always some freak of nature who tries to talk to you when you just want a rest, dammit.
4) Money
Oh lawdy, it isn't pleasant when you have to start tightening those purse strings. You start scrimping on food, dropping to two meals a day. At least you'll drop a few pounds, right? No my friend, you're actually putting on weight cause now all you're eating is cheap carbs. Instant noodles become a valid meal choice and you eat crap in cheap local restaurants like tripe soup or chicken soup that contains chicken claws, hearts, and other puréed organs. Suddenly, Tesco's horsemeat burgers don't seem so bad after all.
5) Home cooking
You forget what an honest meal tastes like; the memory has been replaced with greasy kebabs (which you've convinced yourself are healthy because they contain lettuce) and local delicacies that give you diarrhoea that can only be described as violent.
6) Fitness
A month of travelling will ruin you no matter what your fitness level was beforehand. You're just too out of whack, you have no routine, you're eating shit and partying like a reckless mofo. Actually, this trip has probably taken a few years off your life.
7) Feeling healthy
The huge medicine supply you brought with you will be exhausted in a couple of months. Traveller's trots, headaches from hangovers or altitude, insect bites: your body becomes a freakin' agony jamboree. And of course you'll receive pity from no one since it's mostly self-inflicted. So there you have it; to have the time of your life you will have moments where you will probably wish for death. Yet, having said all that...
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