Travelling at 35 vs. 18

My #bigkidgapyear at looks dramatically different to my gap year at 18 - some more embarrassing than others. 

Private rooms not dorm rooms
Seriously, do I need to spell this one out?There is no way in hell my sleep is being interrupted by a 20-something, frat-partying dude dry humping the chic in the bunk below me. Sleep is important to me. Bedtime is a thing. End of story. 

Budgeting like a boss
Sure, my budget is better than my gap year in 2000 and thanks to TrailWallet, my travel budget app, I'm budgeting like it's nobody's business.  My 18 year old self was constantly stressed about money. I would approach ATMs with all fingers crossed that cash would come out. Often it didn't.

It's a little sick but I find myself competing against the TrailWallet budget app each day, desperately trying to stay in the green. Money saved today is money for more tomorrow's. 

Confident decisions with the interweb
Being on-the-line makes travelling a synch. Onward bookings can be made on the road as opposed to turning up at a hostel only to be turned away. 

Consumer reviews help enormously when making accommodation decisions.  However - incoming rant - there are so many whiney, grammar-less, angry people out there who have no idea how to write a review and use it as a place to vent (yes I realise the irony here). Some of my personal favourite comments "the beach is too sandy" and "the air conditioner unit makes noise". To those people, please educate yourselves, take 10 deep breaths before you hit submit and make your review helpful rather than hateful. But also - thanks for the endless entertainment;-)

Navigating pro-ess
Maps.me, an offline map app, is possibly one of my favourite and most used travel apps. I know where I am at all times and even a naviguesser like me can navigate my way to and from places *ahem*, there's still room for improvement. The clincher? I no longer experience that anxious 'shit, when do I get off the bus' feeling. 

In gap-year-2000, I got lost all the time and embarrassingly I would read a paper map by turning the page around and around until I worked out where to go. I still do this *sigh*

Mary Poppins Preparedness
Dirty hands? Here's a baby wipe. Hangry on the bus? Here's a spare snack. Need cash at the border crossing? Here's a loan. My 18 year old self is on the floor laughing at me but my 35 year old self is telling her to go fu#k herself. Who's laughing now? 

Binoculars *oh dear*
I have a pair of binoculars with me - and I use them. Bird and animal spotting is a real highlight for me. It gives me great pleasure to spot a tucan or a spider monkey in the wild but it also brings me great shame. Whoa - hold your thoughts please. I'm not at the stage where I wear them around my neck - yet. I manoeuvre the binoculars out of my bag in a smooth, stealth like movement to avoid further ridicule. 

Sprightly at 4am
Enter Lisa, the active traveller. Sunrise tour; dawn yoga, morning paddle boarding, 4am summit to the volcano peak - yes please! Being an active traveller is actually really enjoyable and the 4am starts don't bother me at all. It's quite the change from my 4am finishes. 

It's so loud
On tour the other day, I had to stop myself from asking the 21 year old tour leader to turn down the music blasting loudly from the bus stereo. I could hardly hear myself think.....*oh dear god, did I just think that old-person thought??*

That's quite enough for now - my reputation is at risk. There's a very real fear that I will be turned away from the next hostel if the kids on the road find out the truth (please don't tell them).

Instagram: @thelisaphillips #somedaysherpa