Travel comedown, I discovered those first few days after coming home from Borneo, is irritating but not malicious.
The first few hours after stepping off a plane and back into the real world, following the wonder of going overseas, are bizarre. There’s a feeling of displacement and down-the-rabbit-hole surrealism. It’s stranger being home, somehow, than it was being away.
Nothing has changed. I’ve lived a thousand experiences in a place far from here. The world I left has continued, nonplussed by my absence.
There’s a rush and a burble of stories and memories and photos that I share with whoever will listen; the words running out of my mouth faster than my mind’s eye can keep up with them. Being home again allows the whole experience to become encapsulated in a mental bubble of smells and sights and sounds. The holiday now has a feel to it… a past tense. Or a ‘felt’, perhaps, rather than ‘feel’. A story, completed.
The comedown simmers slowly, big bubbles of sad and ‘Oh, it’s over’, that pop slowly and spill forth with the simple desire to do it all again. It’s not depressing. More just… annoying.
But knowing that I did it, I’ve done that- I’ve trekked the jungles of Borneo and seen orangutans, up close and personal in the wild– is awesome.
Really, with itchy feet and a new-found lack of fear to get in the way, the only question now is… what adventure do I work on next?
Jungle-girl, Lori D. Hah.
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One day you’ll be walking down a street & a smell or a sound will slap your senses and you will be back in a forest in Borneo with the orangutans.
Nothing has changed here; you have. Scratch your feet at every opportunity
Hi Lori, its rare for a woman to like this kind of activity, and by the way last month i’ve been to Bali Indonesia, you should go there to, there are lot of things to do!
Julia Shanon recently posted…Fat-arsed Victoria police couldn’t even be bothered by a DEATH
Love reading your blog once again and I am sure there are many who have felt like you.. I know I did way back in the 90′s when I returned after 3 years abroad! You are right in saying, nothing changes back home while our adventures overseas are endless.. Look forward to reading more … X
Thanks so much Jane
xx
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
Lori, well said and I’m also glad it’s not as bad as you thought ! TOTALLY can relate though but don’t worry , there are many more adventures to be had ! Always love your blog , keep on amazing us all with your words ! x
Thank you so much Emma. And it was nowhere near as bad as I thought- lucky :p xx
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
I understand the whole post-holiday feeling well, though I imagine it must be intensified a thousandfold when you are coming back from such a different experience/faraway place. I’m hoping I get to know what that feels like soon!
Also, the new lack of fear? So, so awesome. I’ve heard it’s a big world out there.
Whoa, Molly! recently posted…Connection: My Uninterrupted Net Presence & Why I’m Always Online
“I’ve heard it’s a big world out there.”
That pretty much sums it up. It’s like “OMG why did I wait this long to do this?!”
xx
Lori Dwyer recently posted…The Travel ComeDown.
You desribe that ‘after travel’ feeling so well! I always thought of it as like a post-holiday melancholy, where everything that is usually normal and mundane feels strange. It’s a bizarre feeling!
Lisa recently posted…I Like Weird Crap and I Cannot Lie
Isn’t it though? Not nearly as much of a downer as I was predicting, though, so that was good!
Lori Dwyer recently posted…The Travel ComeDown.