How to Keep a Sense of Humor While Traveling

How to Keep a Sense of Humor While Traveling

Keeping your sense of humor will keep you calm and respectful, and help make your trip as amazing as you hoped

Sometimes – not often, but sometimes – traveling turns out to be better in theory than in practice.

This might be the case when you arrive at your cheap hostel room in Delhi and find rotten shrimp in the shower, or when a random guy in Nairobi blatantly tries to distract you so his friend can climb into your bag, or when the bus that's supposed to pick you up is up three hours late and leaves you alone on a Cambodian roadside at three in the morning.

In these dark moments, it's easy to succumb to anger or frustration, but it's important to resist. Keeping your sense of humor will keep you calm and respectful, and help make your trip as amazing as you hoped.

To help you out, we asked Peter – our resident travel junkie – for his top tips for keeping a sense of humor on the go.

1. Expect your plans to go wrong

There's a saying that even the atheist in me can appreciate: "Men plan. God laughs." This applies more than ever on the road. Even precision military planning can be thwarted by an unexpected accident or event.

Maybe Macchu Picchu will be closed during the 10 days you are in Peru, or maybe Christ the Redeemer will be covered in scaffolding. Sometimes it's just a law and there's nothing you can do about it. If you expect the unexpected, you'll be less disappointed when it happens.

That's not to say you shouldn't plan or take precautions at all - I would always advise getting health insurance, getting vaccinations, watching your water, and keeping online photocopies of all important documentation - but just be prepared for everything to go belly-up.

2. Accept that locals will try to make money from you

On several occasions I became extremely frustrated with the locals. Especially in Marrakesh and Delhi, I was treated like a mere dollar sign. People were constantly aggressive, constantly shouting, constantly trying to sell me something or fleece me.

I found it deeply annoying, but when I take a step back I realize that there is quite value in thinking of yourself as a conduit for cultural exchange. Most of the time you are just a tourist wandering around their country.

It could be a life-changing journey for you; For them, it's just a normal day at work. Accept that they are trying to make a living and that you are a lucrative source of income.

3. Ease dietary restrictions

My girlfriend and I recently stayed in the Norwegian wilderness in a small cabin rented through Airbnb. Our gracious host had gone to the trouble of making us homemade Thai chicken curry to welcome us into her home.

The only problem? My girlfriend is vegetarian. In three years I had never seen her touch meat or anything that touched meat, but on this occasion she took a few scoops of curry (artfully leaving out the meat) and proceeded to eat what was on her plate.

I was super impressed that she had just sat down and eaten so as not to offend the host. In Norway she may have gotten away with refusing food, but in a tiny rural village in China? Maybe not.

If you are on a strict diet, you may have problems with certain parts of the world, so I would advise you to learn to relax the rules.

4. Earplugs and wet wipes

I always take earplugs with me, while my girlfriend doesn't travel without wet wipes. The first protects me from all sorts of situations where I would normally go to the post office. The latter is useful when we find ourselves without running water.

Figure out what your must-have items are and make sure you're always well-stocked.

5. Ask yourself if you would rather sit at a desk

Sometimes you feel tired when you don't have a comfortable place to wait on a 6-hour layover. You'll be hungry, smelly and scruffy and all you want is a comfortable bed, hot running water and a decent TV.

At times like these, I ask myself if I would rather sit at a desk. Would I rather wake up the next morning and the next and the next and squeeze on a train and sit at a desk for eight hours?

The answer is invariably no, which cheers me up even in my most tense times.

6. Remember that it's just stuff

The only mishap I was really upset about was when my camera stopped working on a remote island in the Maldives. The stunning scenery made for beautiful photos, but all I had was a crappy camera phone.

It took a day of sulking, but I got over it. You will lose or break stuff or steal stuff, so it's important to remember that it's just stuff. If you have your passport and most of the money, you can keep traveling, and that is much more important than stuff.

Good luck!

Our new book, Don’t Offer Papaya: 101 Tips for Your First Time Around the World, is available in paperback and on Kindle starting at $3.99.
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