If you’ve ever traveled, I mean ever, you know that no matter how exciting or exotic a location might be there will be down time. On longer trips there’s more down time and eventually you get bored of the same mystery novel that’s been circulating the continents hostel shelves. Here are some ways we broke up the long bus rides, the hot afternoons at empty hostels or that down time.
Cards
We thought we’d play a lot of rummy on our trip. Fortunately we were saved from endless games of rummy by other people we met. We did spend hours playing cards, but we’d always ask people to show us a different game, or pass a game we had just learned along to someone else. It made card playing more interesting and when we did meet someone who knew the same games, we compared rules and 99% of the time they were different. Add to that the different types of card decks and well now things are really interesting.
Plan ahead
We took advantage of boring stretching of road or hot, deserted afternoons to plan ahead. We researched our next destination and plotted out where we’d go next. Not terribly exciting, but it sure beats looking out a bus window at night.
Volunteer
If you have the time, find a one day (or more!) volunteer program to participate in, or see if there’s a café that has English language practice. It won’t cost you anything, but I guarantee you’ll make new friends who might have tips on things to do and see that the guidebook doesn’t tell you!
I realize this probably sounds lame, but when we were bored we took a walk. Even in the middle of siesta in Mexico, the town square was more interesting than our hostel room. Often we walked to different parts of town or got ourselves lost in a maze of streets. It was fun and we always seemed to find our way to someplace delicious that served cold beer.
Talk to someone new
Overall the best thing to do when you’re bored on the road is to strike up a conversation with someone nearby. A few months ago we were flying to Florida and my seat mates were an Indian couple, on their first trip to the U.S. to meet their new grandchild. By the end of the trip we were shaking hands, exchanging cards and the husband told me if I were ever in India again it would be their pleasure to host us and introduce us to their family. Yup, all of that in an hour and a half on the plane.
Digital Entertainment
Generally I’m not one to advocate pulling out digital entertainment, but when the weather’s too gross to take a walk, or you’re stuck on a bus and no one will talk to you? Or you’re took exhausted to play charades anymore? Well, honestly, that’s when we whipped out our laptop and watched a movie. That always seemed to grab the attention of locals, or maybe it was because we were watching Team America: World Police on a bus in Eastern Turkey? You know the scene I’m talking about…
So next time you’re bored take the time to learn a new card game, share with others, meet new people, explore a new place or if there are no other options, catch up on a movie!
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