What irks me about travel…

I’m sure it’s pretty clear that I love to travel, I mean I do write a travel blog so that’s kind of mandatory but there are definitely some things about traveling that drive me bonkers. For example, “free wifi” doesn’t always mean free and when it is it’s usually extremely slow and makes loading anything of importance rather impossible. I’m sitting in the Jakarta International Aiport right now and I had to pay Rp 160,000 just to be able to sit in a lounge that provides decent enough wifi for me to be able to access my blog. Yes, I’m used to lighting fast internet connection in the states which leaves me with virtually no patience for slow wifi. 

Another thing that irks me about traveling is that taxi fees to and from the airport can tend to be very pricey. It’s nearly impossible to not get swindled as a foreigner when leaving the airport, having never been in that city/country before, and most taxis now require having a ticket which you get from a vendor that already charges a base fee on top of the meter rate the taxi charges. I can’t stress how important it is to look up taxi rates before you get to your destination to avoid paying more than you should. 

Waiting in line for the customs desk can also be a nightmare as the customs agents ask a lot of questions and often take a considerable amount of time to fingerprint tourists, even on the new electronic scanners. I get it, I have no patience, but after over 24 hours of nonstop travel who does? 

Finally, the big kicker as to what really bothers me the most is how often people stare at my boyfriend and myself. I get it, I’m a 5’9″ auburn with bright greens eyes and tan skin and that’s not something these people see everyday on this side of the world but it really starts to get to me sometimes. It’s charming at first when boys running the TSA lines giggle and start elbowing each other but when men just blatently stare and keep staring it makes me feel so uncomfortable that I start to freak out if my boyfriend isn’t glued to my side. Staring is just highly frowned upon in the states and I think that’s why it bothers me so much. 

Clearly, I need to work on my patience when it comes to these rather petty annoyances but I’m sure you get my point. My advice to you, purchase an international data plan if you need to use your phone frequently; it’ll save you tons of money (and headaches) in the long run.