Travelling With Friends

Hi everyone

As I wrote in this post, I recently returned home from Cambodia, a trip I took with one of my good friends, Sarah. I thought it would be interesting to write a post regarding travelling with friends, in case it's something any of you have thought about.

Pick your travel buddy


It's so important to pick who you want to travel with! Chances are, if what you want from the trip is too different - she wants 2 weeks in a five star hotel in New York, you're more the 3 weeks trekking through Sri Lanka kind of person - the trip won't even get off the ground. However, there are some other points that you really need to consider. If you love to go out and party, but your friend is more the stay at home kind of girl, one of you is going to end up a bit displeased when it comes to nightlife. If you're on a tour, or with a group of people, chances are you'll both be able to do what you want, however if it is just the two of you heading on a holiday, you might want to think about what you really want to get out of your time away, and if it's something you can still experience with your chosen companion.

Set some ground rules


Although no one wants to be the person to come out and demand rules, sometimes a bit of order makes travelling with other people a whole lot easier. Sarah and I didn't do this, and I don't think it's a must when you're travelling with just one other person, but if there's a group of you heading away, some dos and don'ts might make your holiday be a whole lot smoother. Some ideas are do your own dishes (if you're staying in something like a serviced apartment), no bringing other people back to the room, keeping your stuff tidy, and not hogging the bathroom when everyone is trying to get ready!


Compromise!


Like with most things friends related, compromise is so important when it comes to travelling with your buddies. On one night out on the town, I was happy to leave at 1, whereas Sarah had about another hour left in her. Solution? We headed home at 1:30, leaving both of us happy (albeit a bit sleepy the next day! Bed time for both of us is usually around the 10pm mark…)

Another really important thing to compromise on is of the "what to do/ see" variety. Sarah really wanted to go and see Kulen mountain, something I didn't really care that much about, while I really wanted to go and see a floating village, something Sarah wasn't too enthusiastic about. However, we both went along to do what the other wanted to do, and wow, am I glad I went to see Kulen Mountain! Sarah also really enjoyed the floating village.

…but don't compromise too much.


Remember, a holiday is a very expensive experience, and you need to make sure that you get what you want out of it as well. Don't fall into the trap of agreeing with everything your friend wants you to do - you'll end up resenting them and come home disappointed that you didn't get to see everything you were hoping to.

Alone time


Even if you're travelling with your closest friend, alone time is so important. Travelling is full of amazing experiences to share with someone, however after 12 hours walking around with only 5 hours of sleep the night before, everyone can be a bit snappy and in need of some chilled out time. I think this was how Sarah and I managed to get on so well throughout the entire trip. Every evening, we'd sit on our beds for a few hours before bed time, reading, writing or Facebooking. Although we were still in the same room, some quiet time gave us the chance to recharge our batteries and meant that we didn't get snappy with each other.

Talk it out


If all else fails and you do have a bit of an argument with your friend, give each other some time to cool off and then talk it out. Sarah and I had one misunderstanding the whole trip, but once we discussed it, it was back to smooth sailing. When you're away from home, sleep deprived, and possibly suffering from a bit of culture shock, everyone can get a bit antsy. There's no point in wasting your trip being grumpy with your companion, so, if problems arise, discuss it, learn from it, and then move on.

And…from the point of view of my travel buddy


I asked Sarah and she was kind enough to write a little from her point of view about travelling with friends, after our holiday together.

"I have always been someone who wants to travel. I have a travel bucket list pages and pages long. I read books on travel and the first thing I look at in the newspaper is the travel section. My trip with Laura to Cambodia was the first time I had travelled either without my parents or not on a school trip. It was the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up the world map, the first tick on my bucket list. So here’s what I’ve learnt so far:

Have a wish list

The best way to ensure you have a great time is to get together with your travel buddy and make a wish list. A list of attractions you want to see, things you want to do or even foods you want to try. This will ensure you get the most out of your holiday and also that you know what your travel buddy wants to do as well.

Expect to have a bit of culture shock

I think when we landed in Siem Reap we had a quite overwhelming feeling of, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore,” or perhaps more fitting, “Laura, where the hell are we?” We were extremely lucky to have a bunch of fellow volunteers take us out for dinner on the first night otherwise I’m pretty sure we would’ve locked ourselves in the hotel room, with quite a contingent of mosquitoes for company. It seemed as if the other volunteers had been in the country for months, let alone the single week most of them actually had. We learnt very quickly to relax and go with the flow. There’s no use stressing about the fact the bathroom floods every time you have a shower, that you can’t flush the toilet paper or the fact that there appears to be no road rules.

Don’t forget your pleases and thank yous…

I think this is the key whenever you’re travelling. Laura and I made sure we knew how to say thank you in Khmer within the first few hours of being in the country. The locals always had a big smile for us every time we said ‘Orgkun’; although perhaps we had some issues with our pronunciation.  I think being polite goes a huge way in travelling from help with directions, maybe a slight discount in the market or even just meeting the locals. This was made particularly clear to us whilst waiting in the bank to get cash out when a British man stormed in and shouted something about his travellers cheques not working. Both Laura and I were very embarrassed to be classed as a ‘foreigner’ along with this man and we knew that this was not the bank’s fault at all. 


…or your sorries 

Another thing is to say sorry. This is mainly for between you and your travel buddy. For example, “Sorry I used all the hot water for my shower” or “Sorry, I was certain we were meant to turn back there but we do appear to be lost”. Although I think my personal favourite was whilst riding our bikes home from school one day and we took the back roads past a temple and a group of monks. Laura had a big smile from under her bright white bike helmet and shouted, “hello,” across to them. They looked blankly back at us. So as we are riding away Laura quietly says, “Sorry,” and then suggests that maybe they were having a silent time or something. I’m beginning to think that maybe they were trying not to laugh about the helmet…




Sleep! 

I usually sleep a lot at home, I’m typically in bed by 9:30 and sleep for 8 or 9 hours each night. I know it’s easy to forgo sleep to try and pack as much in to your holiday but it’s not worth being grumpy and looking awful in all your photos. Laura and I had a couple of nights where we said we would sleep in and not worry about what time we were getting up. One of those nights was in Singapore and we both slept for 11 hours straight. And it did set us up well for a good day of shopping.

I cannot really express how amazing my experience was. I got to see what it is like living in a third world country, teach kids English, swim in a waterfall, climb up ancient temples, ride in a tuk tuk, face the hectic traffic on a bicycle, meet some amazing people, experience the terrible history of Cambodia, meet the locals and fall in love with a country. All of this I got to share with one of my best friends and this is something we will share for life."

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I hope you enjoyed our post!

Laura xx