6 Things I loved about my travel mate

What I loved about my travel mate

About 2 years ago I graduated from high school and like many other teenagers, I packed my things and left to Australia. I didn’t book my trip through an agency, but I planned it alone and left to the other end of the world. After a few days in Sydney, I found a job and on my first day I met a girl named Giang (pronounced similar to “sun”). We had a great time together and soon, we decided to travel up the East Coast in Australia together. For 2 months, we discovered everything from Sydney to Cairns and we spend every single day together. Of course we had bad days and small fights, but in the end she was truly the best travel mate, I could have met and shared my time with. Together we were partners in crime.

Today I want to write about my personal experiences with Giang and how we managed to stick together. These are the main reasons we worked out.

 

Honesty

Nothing will last for long if you both aren’t honest with each other. In my opinion, you have to be direct about your opinion and your wishes, especially if they are different from your travel mate’s plans.

One of Giang’s traits was her pure honesty, no matter what. If she didn’t want to have that kind of food or go to a certain place, which she didn’t like or we went shopping, and the dress didn’t look good on me – I ensure you, Giang would let me know straight away. The more time I spend with her, the more I appreciated her being straightforward. It made things way more simple when you don’t have to guess what the other person thinks.

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Fraser island – Australia
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Communication

If you are both direct to each other, you can’t avoid having one or two conflicts during your time together. In that case, you should talk and try solving the problem together. You could figure out a compromise. Giang and I had our fair share of conflicts and sometimes we wouldn’t speak with each other for a while. However, after we both cooled down, we told one another what annoyed us, and we would find a solution together. Most of the time we met halfway, so none of us felt let down.

 

Having space

Traveling with someone you just met can be exhausting. We were no exception. Some days we just needed a break from each other and do something alone or with other people. In our case, it was never more than a few hours, but we met travel partners, who split up for a few days and then came back together in another city.

Giang and I didn’t separate for one day, but we did take some time off each other. I remember one night when we went out to get drinks with two different groups, and we met up in the same club. Another time she decided to bake cakes with friends and I went to a pool party. A lot of times, one of us sat at the reception and used the WiFi to watch movies while the other one would go to the beach for a walk or simply slept in. A bit of private time is a must when you spend 90% of the day together.

 

Patience and compassion

Giang and I had many great days and we made so many memories together. Nevertheless, there were days, where one of us would feel sad and miserable, for whatever reason. It’s human and sometimes things don’t work the way we wish they would. In these days, Giang and me both were both patient and caring for each other. She always listened to my troubles and she tried to help and support me as much as it was possible for her. I did the same thing for her when she needed me. We were in a distant place from home, far away from our family and friends. We only had each other. Giang became one of my closest friends because some things I only shared with her and no one else.

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Brisbane – Australia
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Sharing is caring

When living out of a suitcase, there is only a certain amount of things you can carry. To avoid using the same stuff over and over again, Giang and I combined our wardrobe during our time together. We exchanged everything, from tops to skirts and shoes. What was mine, was hers too. Mi dress es su dress.

Moreover, we shared our laptop and tablets, cosmetics and of course food. This is one of the things that made us feel closer. We didn’t have any barriers, so to speak. Personally I think, if you are too strict with keeping your things separated, it will distance you from each other.

 

Compatible

As important as the things above were for us, we wouldn’t have had such a good time if we weren’t alike. We had the same interests, we came from the same country, we could talk about everything and most important – both of us came to Australia to have “no worries”. We liked to enjoy beautiful beaches and explore the cities and meet many people from all over the world. We both weren’t big fans of having a strict plan, we just jumped on the bus from one place to another, being spontaneous and free to do whatever we want. We left if it wasn’t exciting enough, but other times, we stayed way longer than expected. When we were in Airlie Beach, we just fell in love with that town and we couldn’t get ourselves to leave.

Australia was our big adventure. In hindsight, I couldn’t have been luckier with Giang as my travel mate and I always think back on our time with a smile.

What do you think are the most important qualities in a travel partner? Would you agree with me or did you have a totally different experience? I am Looking forward to your stories.

 

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  1. Your tips are right with couple also ;). I found me in this article

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