The Bad Trip in Amsterdam – Part 3: Finding God

November 29, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

This is part 3 in a series of posts about a trip to Amsterdam, part 2 can be found here.

Part 3: Finding God

Falling back into the bed, the drugs took a stronger hold of me.

I was still somewhat aware of where I was – a clean modern room in one of Amsterdam’s nicest hotels. Yet, my arms couldn’t feel the softness of the sheets and my eyes couldn’t enjoy our view of the city. My head span, so I closed my eyes and lay, trying to focus on nothing.

Within moments my whole body started to shake, out of control. My limbs quivered back and forth and my teeth rattled. [Read more…]

The Bad Trip in Amsterdam – Part 2: Losing Control

November 22, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

This is part 2 in a series of posts about a trip to Amsterdam, part 1 can be found here.

Part 2: Losing Control

If you ever have a good idea and it includes taking drugs, then stop. Take a moment to think. It’s not a good idea.

Our “good idea” was so perfect that it didn’t warrant discussion. Wake up, eat breakfast. Early morning joint. Head to a smart shop. Buy some magic mushrooms. Go to a coffee shop, another joint. Have lunch, then back to the hotel to take the mushrooms.

That was the plan. But it all went horribly wrong. [Read more…]

Getting Your Travel Injections – When the Worst Happens

October 4, 2014 by Dan 2 Comments

Before I left England to travel, my only experience of injections came from school. Once a year every class would get rounded up for injection day – which sounds like the worst holiday imaginable.

This was one of the days I feared the most, I’d stay awake the night before worrying, trying to convince myself it would all be ok.

Back then I was mostly just afraid of the pain. Injections are somewhat painful, there’s no way to get around it. Nobody enjoys getting an injection, even those of us with no real fear of getting them.
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Avoiding Social Interaction While Traveling

September 27, 2014 by Dan 6 Comments

I pace quickly up the hill. My feet slamming into the mud of the trail.

My heart is racing, my body sweating. Legs ache, lungs burn. I can’t stop though. There’s something in the trees behind me. Something scary. Not a bear or a monster. Much worse than that.

My housemates.

Now you may think from my last post about socialising while travelling, that I’m a lover of conversation. The truth is, I hate it. I am a level 99 ninja at avoiding it. There’s a lot I’d go through to get out of a conversation. Including climbing a mountain.

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Fear of Heights: Going To The Top of Tall Buildings

August 26, 2014 by Dan 2 Comments

As long as tall objects have existed, there have always been people stupid enough to go to the top of them.

Whether it be massive trees, huge pyramids, or gargantuan mountains, throughout history it seems one thing all humans share in common is a zest to reach high places.

My question is: why? Are we as a species completely fucking nuts? It’s built into all of us is an innate sense of curiosity when it comes to heights. In me, that curiosity also seems to lead to fear. It’s only rational though. Tall places mean falling, falling means death. Why I wonder do we constantly put ourselves into positions where falling is more probable? Where death is more likely.

Why do we love to go so high?

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My Struggles With Travel Hypochondria

August 20, 2014 by Dan 2 Comments

Anxiety for me goes off and on. My life is like a series of peaks and troughs. Some periods I feel great, everything is fine. Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I’m stressing out about everything in existence.

The annoyance with the troughs in life are that sometimes they seem to be hard to pull yourself out of, eventually it can seem almost impossible.

Your anxiety can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy – never is this more true than when you’re having bouts of hypochondria. [Read more…]

Dealing With Toilet Anxiety While Traveling

July 24, 2014 by Dan 8 Comments

One of my strongest fears while traveling is that I’ll need the toilet, but there’ll be nowhere to go.

It’s a strange fear, but a common one. I don’t know how it came about for me, but it can turn traveling into a nightmare and spoil a holiday if I don’t keep it under control. Often that’s impossible.

Whenever I need to take a long bus ride I always have that voice in my head screaming, “WHAT IF! WHAT IF! WHAT IF!” I don’t worry about the bus falling off a cliff or a car crashing into us, I instead worry about the bathroom. [Read more…]

Fear of Financial Ruin: The Stress of Finding a Job While Traveling

July 10, 2014 by Dan 4 Comments

Travel ain’t cheap.

Hotels. Restaurants. Buses. Planes. Trains. Automobiles. If you’re going to travel long-term you need to make a strict budget and you need to plan ahead. Otherwise one day you’ll wake up, find your bank account empty and you’ll have to do the last thing you want to do: go home.

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Travel Fear: Going Through Immigration

June 24, 2014 by Jamie 2 Comments

I have developed an irrational fear when traveling internationally: going through customs and immigration. I have no reason to cause suspicion, yet I can’t help but feel on edge whenever I’m about to cross a border.

My passport photo is from when I was 17, a blonde without bangs (a fringe). What if they think I am a fake? What if they believe I am using a stolen passport? It’s not my fault passports don’t expire for, like, 10 years. People change, you know?

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