Here’s how it goes. You’re ready for a fantastic and relaxing vacation, having taken time off of work and arranged for your friend to watch your dog. You’ve packed your favorite outfits that are Instagram-ready, and are ready to finally break that pre-vacation diet that you’ve forced yourself to stick to. You load up your tablet with movies and episodes of you favorite TV show in hopes of easing the travel process. You make the hours-long flight and are ready for adventure…
Only when you’ve finally reached your destination, you’re waiting for the rush of excitement to kick in. Sure, you know that photos on travel blogs and Instagram are doctored up and can be misleading, but you didn’t realize just how badly the place was misrepresented.
You might start to experience a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, hoping that this feeling will go away. You invested so much time and effort preparing for this trip, and you didn’t think that things would turn out this way. Questions start popping up in your head, worries buzzing around your head. Maybe you misjudged your sense of adventure? Maybe you aren’t the type who can be a care free, open minded spirit?
First of all, take a deep breath. It’s okay! You don’t have to absolutely love every single place that you’ll visit! When this happens, not all hope is lost. Here are a list of suggestions for how to make the most of your time there and try to salvage the situation.
Get To A Show
One of the best ways to get to know a place is through its art. Whether it’s visual art or performance art, you can become quite familiar with a place with seeing what its people have created. Buy yourself a ticket to a play, a concert, stand-up show…anything really. This is the best form of escapism and will have you experiencing the local culture without having to interact with it much yourself.
Speak With The Locals
Maybe you’ve gotten the wrong impression of the place, and who better to ask than a local? Try to get some insider tips on the best spots from someone who lives there. Maybe you’ll find a neighborhood nearby that suits you more than the city center!
Sometimes it’s easy to misjudge a place because we’re too sidetracked by the tourist attractions. In many places, the touristy areas really misrepresent the city, and do not give you a true feel of the real things a location has to offer. Step outside the city that everyone visits. Maybe you’ll find an amazing hidden gem just outside the main city. Who knows, maybe this is where the real adventure is hiding!
Take A Step Back
If you’re still finding it hard to enjoy this new and unfamiliar place, take it as an opportunity to relax and disconnect from the world. Find a comfortable cafe and bring a book, your laptop, or anything you’ve been meaning to do but haven’t carved out the time for and just forget about the outside world!
Maybe you’ll find that it’s not the place that isn’t suiting you, but you’re actually not feeling centered an at peace yourself. Another idea is to find a local yoga studio and to try to find your inner zen. Maybe the stress of life has gotten to you, and even while you’re on vacation you’ve become unable to shake off the worries of your life back home. Try to destress, maybe it will help!
