I’ve been very lucky to have travelled a lot already in my twenty-five years and there is nothing I enjoy more than setting off on an adventure to explore new lands and cultures.  However, there are a few aspects of travelling that sometimes make it seem not really worth it.  I thought I’d share a few and see if anyone sympathizes with me…

1) Carb Overload– For some reason when I travel, I can’t seem to get enough carbs.  It’s like some unwritten rule that all food consumed when on a journey must be highly packed with carbs or you’re just plain going to die.  There is definitely no such thing as calorie counting and I think sometimes I convince myself that somehow, these excess calories I’m putting into my body will be of no consequence because I need lots and lots of energy to sit still – completely stationary, actually being less active than usual – on a plane.  FLAWLESS LOGIC!

2) Safety Announcements- The part of the flight when people seem most interested in any reading material they have, resulting in them ignoring the cabin crew completely.  My favorite part of the presentation is when they indicate the emergency exits that are located somewhere in the middle of the plane, by just pointing to either side of them.  THAT’S NOT HELPFUL.  We are no more aware of the location of these exits by your hand signals. So thanks.

3) The Lobster Effect– I think this might be a common occurrence among pale skinned people like me.   The inability to go on holidays and come back without at least one area of your body being burnt to a crisp.  It usually happens on the first or second day of a sun holiday, thus causing you to spend the rest of your R’n’R time in the shade with the elderly people and redundant deflated pool toys

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4) Travel Amnesia- Usually on holidays, the days all merge in to one and you enter into this long, sun stroke induced coma-like state and no one really knows what day of the week or time of day it is.  Why should they?  They have nowhere to be and no one to answer to.  The confusion will always be solved, however, and will be soon worked out by someone saying “Well, we arrived on a Tuesday so…..”

5) Postcards- The age-old tradition of sending someone back home a postcard to let them know you’re thinking of them and that the weather is probably a hundred times better than it could ever be back home. It’s a way of showing people you miss them while simultaneously wanting to show off a bit. Whatever the reason for sending them, postcards are almost never actually sent. We purchase them on the first day with great intentions, but as previously mentioned, the day warping gets in the way and on the last day we are roaming the streets of some remote village for a post office and google translating the word for “stamps”.

So there you have it, a few observations I have picked up during my travels. These may be specific to me or just specific to Irish people in general but let me know if there are any more you think are relate-able.