Just today we were told that we’re not going to be able to take a very anticipated trip this weekend. It was a huge bummer, not just because we’ll miss out on visiting with friends, but more importantly because it was hard to hear a doctor say no.
As a traveler, I HATE when people say no.
Sure I’ve said it plenty of times in my life, but more often than not when I’m told no it encourages me to do it more. Forbidden is seen as a challenge in my head, not an obstacle. Now I’m being told definitely, without question, “No” and in this case there is just no arguing.
So how to deal with travel disappointment when a trip is cancelled?
My first reaction was to wallow in my disappointment. Woah is me, I can’t travel this weekend I heard myself complaining to friends. #firstworldproblems I could have hashtagged my complaints on Twitter. I had completely lost perspective on my journey and the reason why it was cancelled.
Then I tried to rationalize my disappointment. “Well it probably would have been cold/wet/miserable this weekend,” I thought. “Our flight would have been delayed. It would have been a huge pain. No vale la pena,” I rationalized. Rationalizing got me no where. Instead I felt worse.
Then there was denial. “Today is only Monday. I bet I’ll be feeling 1000% better by Thursday and we’ll have no problem jumping on a plane,” I said. “It’s just a short-term problem, it will be cleared up by the weekend.” The thing about denial is that it is really hard to maintain in the face of clearly contrary evidence.
And so I moved on to blame. “It’s not my fault, I would go if they would let me,” I said out loud. “I’m not THAT sick.” Again, a stupid thought because frankly no medical professional is ever going to tell you to cancel a trip out of spite. Or are they?
Wallowing, rationalizing, denial and blaming didn’t work so there was nothing else to do but accept it – sometimes travel just doesn’t end up the way you think it’s going to be. For now, I am a grounded traveler.
Have you ever had your travel plans cancelled? What did you do to overcome your disappointment?
I can totally sympathise. Last August I was meant to run in a half marathon in Iceland. I had just got back from Asia and unfortunately caught a stomach bug. I went to the doctor and was told I couldn’t run that weekend and I shouldn’t even travel. I went against his advice and visualised myself being there, constantly checking the weather report and deciding what to pack.
I made a great recovery and made it to Iceland but I still wasn’t fit enough to race, so I just took in the sights whilst the others ran around Reykjavik. It is so disappointing though isn’t it and it just made me more determined to prove them wrong.
Sounds like we’re cut from the same cloth! Running a half marathon in Reykjavik sounds like a great excuse to go there – I hope you were well enough to take in some of the hot springs and mud baths. Danny is a big runner and keeps talking about doing the Big 5 marathon in Africa… do you race a lot when you travel?
It is disappointing when travel plans get cancelled, but it sounds like you were able to make the best of it. Fingers crossed I can salvage an adventurous weekend out of the cancellation!
Was once told by a doctor that I couldn’t fly home for 2 weeks after getting sick with acute tonsillitis. Was super bummed and stuck in a guesthouse in Bangkok. The city was shut down because of protests so I spent the two weeks and even if it wasn’t, I was too sick to do very much. Was a bummer. Luckily, Korean Air was cool about letting me change my flights for no added costs.
A tour I booked was cancelled once. It was a bummer because they let us know the afternoon before. We just did a little bit of research and found out how to do part of the tour on our own. The problem was getting our money back. It took like two months. Last year, I fell in Honduras and got a big cut in one of my knees. I had planned some adventure activies two days after the fall. I felt like cancelling but didn’t do it. It felt really worried about what was going to happen. At the end, everything went well. I think when something like this happens you have to be positive, realistic and grateful that something worst didn’t happen.