We can give you a million reasons why travelling is great and wonderful, but at the end of the day the only thing you need to hear is this: Oh, the places you’ll go… and the friends that you’ll meet. It’s the connections you make on your backpacking adventures and the unforgettable stories that you’ll always have with your newfound friends. Here is why the greatest friends you’ll ever make are the ones you make when you travel abroad.
1. For better or for worse
Travelling is not only rewarding because of the experience you gain from seeing a different part of the world, but making friends along the way makes it that much more exciting. Of course, it’s these new travel buddies that will sooner or later see us at our best AND worst. There’ll be days where our hair just won’t cooperate, days when our face breaks out, mornings when we wake up with bug bites all over our body, or when we realize we ran out of deodorant!
It’s these friends, these travel companions who will know and appreciate the real you, no filters and no judgments.
2. The struggle is real
Travelling alone can be daunting at times, but its greatest caveat is being able to meet new people and create a special connection that you might not have otherwise made if you travelled with a group of friends. And what’s the fastest way to bond with someone while travelling you might ask? Sharing in the struggle and bonding over difficult times, whether that be battling jet lag from a long flight, enduring sleepless, uncomfortable nights in your not-so-nice hostel, trekking mountainous and uneven terrain with a heavy backpack, or playing language-barrier charades with the locals. And, best of all, you’ll both look back one day and laugh at these moments.
3. No regrets!
From time to time we find ourselves questioning our actions, like when you catch yourself on a Netflix binge knowing very well that you have work the next morning. We’ve all been there and done that and sometimes we regret it, but unlike our couch-potato ways when we’re at home, you’ll never regret the time you dressed up in silly feathered costumes and participated in the Samba Parade during Carnival in Rio, or that time you threw juicy tomatoes at strangers in the annual La Tomatina in Spain, or that other time you rolled down the beautiful landscapes of Rotorua, New Zealand in a giant hamster ball!. And who was there to encourage you to do all these typically nerve-wracking things? Your new travel friends, of course, and at the end of the day, the reward for your bravery is an unbelievable travel story!
4. Birds of a feather flock together
Travelling is contagious, but only a few people in the world are equipped to handle the highs and lows of travel and adventure. So it’s no surprise that you’ll always run into like-minded people who want nothing more than to explore the world with you by their side. You’re both always willing to go the extra mile, to trek a little bit longer, to eat just a few more questionable foods, to dive just a bit deeper into the reef. Your appetite for adventure is never satisfied, but lucky for you, you have a new partner in crime–a travel friend who’s always down for another other-worldly experience.
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Remember, no regrets! 😉