Travel Rants

After being on the road for a while, as much as I love travelling - and believe me, I do - there would be certain things that would partially irritate me, and so, in the name of good humour and the spirit of sharing, I thought I would write down my Travel Rants.

Travel Rant 1 - Item Availability

While travelling through each city/country, I would always shop at the local supermarket (someone on my budget is not able to eat out at a restaurant!). I would tend to get accustomed to the foods to expect at the supermarket and I developed my favourites. Unfortunately, I would then take for granted its availability and feel very deflated upon realising my new destination do not sell it! My favourites included Ovalmaltine Chocolate in Switzerland (probably just as well that I didn't find it elsewhere for my health's sake!); and my all-time go-to favourite yoghurt with muesli already mixed inside. I was able to find it in most places, but the places where I could not find it I was left with a big hole in my daily eating schedule! It was a full meal and soothing on the throat. I was thrilled when I was able to find it again in another country later on in my trip.

Travel Rant 2 - Harem Pants

Somewhere in the grey area between a skirt and pants exist these hideous things. At best it looks like a long skirt gone wrong, at worst they look like pyjama pants. They tend to be worn by the female version of the 'enlightened' Rastafarian influenced vagabond traveller, whose hair has not touched shampoo or a comb in a decade, and who is always covered in a light dusting of dirt and grime. You know the ones, they no longer feel the need to wear shoes. Harem pants are also popular with elderly Middle Eastern women.

Travel Rant 3 - Traveller Dialogue

"Hello, how are you? Where are you from?"
I was in Turkey and to be friendly (and sometimes in an effort to sell their goods) people were constantly, constantly asking me these questions. And it really irritated me because I knew that really they were not interested in what I was answering, they just wanted to practice their English or to try and befriend me in order to sell me goods. Sometimes I would feel charitable and I would answer, then they would answer "Ahh, New Zealand, that is so far. How is it there?" - to which I would quickly answer "It is good, you should go and see for yourself" and then walk off.

Sometimes I would just ignore these people, but I did not really want to be rude, and I realised it was some of my only chances to talk with locals, so sometimes to make it interesting for myself, I would just make up all sorts of different stories. I would give them a quizzical look and then respond in French and pretend I knew no English. Other times I would make up some country, talk Maori or do any number of things.


Travel Rant 4 - Local Markets

I absolutely love local markets. The produce is fresh, you get to mingle with the locals - it really is the best. But whenever you go there and they notice that you are foreign, they will hike the prices enormously. Or else they can only tell you the price in their language, so I have no idea of what it costs. At least at the supermarket the price is always fair, and you can see what you need to pay on the little screen at the cashier. I tried time and time again to shop in the market, but I grew annoyed at always ending up being overcharged, so in the end I would just visit the market but then go to the supermarket to buy my food.