What's the most disappointing thing about travelling?

Hi guys,

Just had a thought while I've been chatting to people I met travelling, on Facebook.

Personally the most depressing thing about travelling, for me, is knowing that the vast majority of people you meet, you'll never get to see again....

What's the most annoying / disappointing / depressing thing about travelling for you?

This way we can all hopefully learn to apprechiate what we've got & what we're experiencing when we're actually travelling!

DoA

ps. you can't say ... coming home / running out of money etc.

The most disappointing thing about travelling to me is the terrible selfishness of travellers, especially backpackers (yeah, such as myself. Twisted, eh?).

Most people I meet travel exclusively for themselves. They're only interested in maximising their own fun, no matter at what cost or at whose expense. Paying more for sustainable tourism and travel? Forget it, we're poor, we wanna have a good time, let someone else with more money worry about that.

Worst thing of all, I occasionally behave like that myself as well

Spending either too much or too little time somewhere!

Too little is worse of course, but when I have a day of boredom because it might just be a day too long I also think to myself: I could have spend that day somewhere else.

I am a bit of a restless traveller maybe, don't want to spend too long somewhere, although I can perfectly relax for a day or so.

Also, massive attractions kill me, like crowded beaches or spending (again) too much time in a big city.
I don't mind more touristic places, don't get me wrong, because those obviously have something beautiful. But crowds....oh please god no!

If I had to come up with something - chiselling little bastards who think it's their God-given right to get as much money from me as they can and that I am fool enough to give it to them.

Part of the experience I suppose - but it stings.

Quoting fabyomama

If I had to come up with something - chiselling little bastards who think it's their God-given right to get as much money from me as they can and that I am fool enough to give it to them.

Part of the experience I suppose - but it stings.

I'd agree with this one. It's awful when a local person says 'hello', you think they are just wanting to talk and be friendly and as soon as you say 'hello' back to strike up a conversation the second thing out of their mouth is 'you want, you buy/give me money/whatever'. After a while of travelling it just makes you suspicious of locals who want to talk to you. A sad thing indeed!

Leaving the real world behind and coming back to the artificial one.
I love meeting people on holiday, especially the locals. They can take me or leave me. They're out to make a buck and I'm out to make sure that they don't make it from me unless I want them to.
Once I've made a friend abroad it's up to me whether I continue the friendship. More often than not it doesn't continue. But at the same time I have many friends that I keep in touch with. Saying goodbye at the airport is one of the toughest things to do anywhere.

Realizing that the world is changing too fast, and regional identity is disappearing before my eyes. Now people all dress basically the same, eat much the same food, and in the future that travel will be unnecessary since it will all be the same!

The world isnt changing too fast. Its the people that are allowed to walk on it that are changing it too fast.

Except for a very few noted exceptions, I'd say coming home is always disappointing. Not that I don't like home, but I hate that feeling of leaving vacation behind and having to take up the routine again. We just went to eat at a wonderful restaurant at lunch, and they had TVs showing high-def pictures of spots around the world. I think I watched and dreamed more than I ate... sigh...

Next week I am leaving the UK and going to work Mexico for just over a week. I will see 1000s of people there that have less than me and they wont have a thing to complain about. Yet dare they come to England to seek a few more pennies, the people of this country will complain about them endlessly.
That makes me sadder than sad.