10 Traits of a “Ditchable” Travel Buddy
We’ve all traveled with friends and family and there have been times when we would roll our eyes and regret that we went traveling with them in the first place. Everyone wants to travel stress-free but it sometimes can’t be helped. If you do have to put yourself into some form of stress it had better not be with the person/s you are traveling with, so do yourself a favor and choose your travel buddies carefully. Remember, you want to share the experience with people who would appreciate it NOT ruin things for you. Here are some signs that you might have to ditch your travel buddy soon.
1. Makes you do all the “leg work”
Planning for a trip involves a lot of researching, resourcefulness and strategy. Everyone wants to get the most affordable rates for flights, fares and accommodation moreover, an itinerary that would work for all of you must be carefully crafted. This means that everyone should pitch in and help out. If you find yourself stressing over everything that needs to be done and is already crying for help but is constantly ignored then have mercy on yourself and make that particular trip the last one you will ever take with that person or group of people.
2. Flake Flake Flake
Have you ever experienced making plans with someone who cancels out on you last minute because of some lame excuse? If this constantly happens then it says so much about the person’s integrity. If you have people like this in your life better slowly weed them out. Traveling with someone is a commitment. If he/she can’t commit then imagine what they are like in other areas of their lives. A lot goes through the planning stage of travels and if a person bails on you he/she has wasted your time and someone who does that is disrespectful.
3. Constantly Complaining
Traveling is an adventure. Not all plans will go as well as you thought they would. If you get stuck with a person who keeps whining about things going wrong at every turn of the journey then promise yourself you will ditch that person right after the trip. You don’t need a Negative Nate or Nancy spoiling what could be a great experience for you. The humps and bumps of life’s journey teach us lessons for our growth. Instead of complaining, travel buddies should put their heads together and think of solutions to get over stumbling blocks. That is what travel buddies are for.
4. Selfie and Picture Crazy
Social Networking Sites have made people vain, proud and pretentious. It is overly annoying to be with someone who keeps snapping pictures or wants you to take theirs every second of the trip so they could ｕpdate their followers on facebook or twitter. It is not as if they are famous people and others want a blow-by-blow acｃount of their trip. Traveling is all about soaking the sights and immersing in the experience and overdoing the picture-taking robs you off of them.
5. Wet blanket
Getting stoned or drunk until one ｄrops is not what is being referred to here. We are talking about new experiences. Going on a trip is practically stepping out of your comfort zone. It is strange and scary but at the same time it is challenging and worthwhile. A travel buddy must be open to expand his/her horizons with unfamiliar activities, culture and food. He/She must have a healthy sense of adventure, otherwise you should have definitely traveled alone!
6. Moocher
Unless you have an agreement on who’s going to bring what (especially among family members), everyone should be responsible for the things they would need for the trip. We are all about budget traveling so every peso ｃounts. Sharing is a good thing between and among travel mates but when you feel that most of the time you are doing all the sharing and sometimes even put on the spot to spend for others then you must be in the company of moochers. If one can’t afford to travel, please stay in your corner of the universe so you don’t have to leech off of others.
7. Domineering
The fact that one is traveling with a companion means he/she can’t have a my-way-or-the-highway attitude. There must always be compromise. If you find yourself with someone with an air of entitlement like he/she has to get the window seat of every bus you ride or you have to go only to places he/she wants to go or leaves at the time he/she pleases then run for the hills. That person certainly needs to travel alone. You are neither his/her slave nor dog!
8. Perpetually Preoccupied
How many of us have spent time with people constantly on their smart phones talking or texting or surfing? They are physically present but mentally absent. You talk to them but they are only half-listening if they are listening at all and they give you perfunctory answers. They are literally like the walking dead. If your companion is a member of this zombie club better beware. You might catch the disease. Not only are they sucking the life out of your travel euphoria they are plain being disrespectful to you.
9. Promiscuous
There isn’t much we can say about this. Obviously promiscuity is a delicate issue especially for Asians. This is a very challenging character to deal with especially on the road. It could cause trouble both for your companion and yourself. If your travel buddy is the type to just take a tumble with anyone who catches his/her fancy and has a habit of just taking off and not even saying a word to you, leaving you worried of what has happened to him/her then you call it quits with the person as soon as you go back home. He/She can be as promiscuous as he/she wants but NEVER at your expense!
10. Habitually Tardy
How many times have we heard from our elders that time is gold? Since we want to make the most out of our travels we design an itinerary, but it will only prove to be useful if we actually follow it. We can only do that if we are punctual. If you have to take the role of being your companion’s mothering hen who has to remind him/her to get moving all the time then better think again. Is that what you signed up for? Being on time is a sign of respect which is something we should give everyone we travel with whether they are family or friends.
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Buddy /Buddies => Close friend/s.
2. Lame => (Esp. of an excuse or argument) weak and not deserving to be believed.
3. Integrity => The quality of always behaving according to the moral principles that you believe in, so that people respect and trust you.
4. Stuck => Unable to move from a particular position or place, or unable to change a situation.
5. Promiscuous => (of a person) having a lot of different sexual partners.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. How would you describe a terrible travel buddy?
2. Which among the 10 items do you somehow identify yourself with? Why?
3. How do you handle difficult travel buddies?
4. Give a piece of advice to people who often experience difficulties because of a “ditchable” travel buddy?
