Why I Hate Traveling for Work

Traveling is something that has always been very close to my heart, but of late, I have started hating it. I don’t like to pack my bags anymore as I used to do earlier. I don’t like to experiment with foods the way I did a few years ago. All of this happened because I decided to choose travel job over desk job seven years ago. Only the first year in my job was great as I loved exploring new cities, but everything started becoming tiring after a while. Let me tell you why I don’t like my job anymore and why I want to return to a normal life.

No rest

Traveling for leisure is a different thing and doing such a pleasing thing for work is a completely different scenario. I hate waking up at 4 am to catch a flight at eight in the morning. I have to pack my check-in luggage at night and I cannot afford to pack a huge luggage since it takes a long time at the airport to submit and take it back. I hate waiting in the long queues even when I cannot stand straight for a minute. There have been times when I feel like I would crash any moment, but still I have to be there for an important job in a remote city in the other corner of the world.

No time for sightseeing

When I first went to Pune, I had thought that I would see as many sights as I can after my office. However, endless number of meetings and trainings were lined up for me in the administrative center and I could not even eat my lunch at peace. When I reached my hotel at 9 pm, the first thing that came to my mind was to have a glass of wine after a shower and crash in the bed. Three days went like this in the city, and my plans of going around Pune in the evening went down the drain. I have seen many cities around the world now, but some of them are only for the namesake.

Eating just anything

More often than not, I do get free food during my travels, but I have started hating it now. I don’t like the free meal coupons that include only fast food or unhealthy fatty cuisines. I rather prefer a bowl of cereals with milk in the morning, or just a plain egg omelet rather than lavish foods in every meal. Instead of having beer every evening, I try to grab a glass of fresh juice no matter what. The office parties do not interest me anymore, especially when my body clock is against the local timings.

Poor health

I can realize my deteriorating health whenever I eat unhealthy foods for a week or more. My body starts giving me signals that I need to bounce back to a healthy routine as soon as possible so that I can enjoy my work as well as weekends. However, no matter how hard I try, I can never be as hale and hearty as I would be at home. I used to work for a Self-Drive Car Rental company, have good food, maintain a stable routine, and go for parties only during weekends. Now I can party throughout the year, but it does not interest me anymore. As soon as I get a chance to be with my family and my cats, I take a flight to my hometown and spend maximum time with them. I don’t say that traveling for work is bad, but it saturates me after a while.

How I Spend My Boring Weekends in Delhi

No one in this world can have happening weekends every time; one has to have a pet place to go when there is nothing to do. One such place for me is a tea stall near my house where I meet my regular friends. None of has to have a reason to be there at Santosh chai-wallah. My group of childhood buddies comprising Rohit, Naina, and Kashish and I would arrive at the place around 7 pm to have a sip of tea or just sit there for a while. As we were growing up, we would gather at this humble place every evening after school and tuitions to gossip about our daily lives. After killing an hour from the allotted time, we would go home to have dinner and complete our homework.

Times after college

All of us have finished our college except Naina, and we still try to meet at Santosh’s stall even though the regular tea seller does not operate the place. Sometimes, it feels heartbreaking to see that everyone is getting busy and busier in their lives. We cannot always make time to meet at seven or even nine at our adda. We have to honor our commitments in office even though we cannot do so for our childhood promises. We still try to meet at least on weekends if we cannot make it during weekdays unless we have a plan to go out of the city.

Over time, the chai place at Santosh's has become more like a nostalgic place. Some weekends become so dull at times in Delhi that I cannot understand what to do to kill time. In my childhood, I would rarely go to our adda alone, but I like to go there on my own now because all my friends are busy. The colleagues from office are not a very good company to have during weekends since I spend a good deal of time with them during weekdays. 

The books are my companion

I take a book along to the chai-wallah whenever I cannot find anything to do, read fiction for an hour or more, and come back home refreshed and energized. Even a library cannot provide such peace and satisfaction that I get sitting on the makeshift seating arrangement constructed around a tree. The noise of the traffic, the chatter of the people, and the fragrance of tea continually boiling in the vessel is more pleasing than the peace of a library.

Although I miss my friends whenever I sit there, I cannot force anyone to come to the place every time I am there. While reading books, I often meet people from my neighborhood sometimes, and I get to talk to them. Sometimes I wonder why not I should go to visit someplace in Delhi whenever I get bored, but there is no fun going anywhere without my buddies. Rather than going to some random restaurant, historical place, or an event on my own, I would like to wait for someone to accompany me. The only place where I can sit alone is at the Santosh chai-wallah.

This January, it has been more than three weeks that I have met anyone from my childhood friends. And I have thought to get together with them as soon as possible, take a Car Hire, and go to the historical place of Delhi if we cannot go out of the city. It has been a really long time that we have spent quality time with each other. This time, I commit to myself that I will make it.