How to Pass Time While Travelling for Long Hours
Even for the most enthusiastic travelers, sitting in one place for long periods can get boring, no matter how beautiful the scenery around you is. But if you want to see exotic places, you have to travel for quite a bit, which is where the art of passing the time comes in very handy. Whether you’re on a transatlantic flight or in a car for thousands of miles, here’s how you can make it easier on yourself and make the trip go by much faster.
Load up on media
Whether that means downloading movies, a couple series of TV shows or loading up your phone with memes, you want to keep yourself entertained. It you don’t have problems with travel sickness, then you can also add books, graphic novels, magazines and anything else that entertains you to the list. If you’re going with digital media, make sure you have the devices to match, their chargers and a way to actually power the chargers. Alternatively, you can bring external chargers, or just bring a mixture of digital and analog media and switch from one to the other when you the batteries run out. Make sure you have your headphones with you so you’re not disturbing anyone around you, and if you’re traveling during nighttime, be considerate and mind your screen brightness and night light.
Make it a party
If you are traveling with other people, especially if you are in a car, a private train cart of any place where you won’t be disturbing other passengers, you should make the trip one to remember – by throwing a party. Of course, if you are in a car, you should be careful not to bother the driver, as they have to focus on the road, but you can still make it fun. Get a USB equipped digital car radio so that you can blast your music from any phone you want, and screenshot some of the lyrics so that you can make it a karaoke party. You can think of fun games to play that don’t rely on you moving too much, like word association or “I spy with my little eye”. The more fun you’re having, the faster the time will fly by, but if you get tired of it, don’t force yourself to continue to party: it’s okay to take breaks when you all feel like you’d rather snooze.
Chat up
This is a good one both if you’re traveling with friends and alone. Simply talk to the people around you. If you’re going to be sitting next to someone on a train for ten hours, it’s a bit awkward to sit in silence. But if you’re not sure whether or not they want to talk, just ask them! There’s nothing wrong in asking whether they’re open to a conversation, or if they’d prefer to be with their own thoughts, and there’s nothing wrong with them declining your offer. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. If you are talking to someone new, do your best to avoid any political and controversial topics, because it might create tension.
The things you should be careful about are bored-eating, especially if you have limited amounts of food to last you for your trip; taking artificial sleep inducers or distracting the driver. You might be very excited to get to your destination, so you can read up on it and plan what you’re going to do when you arrive. In the end, remember that the journey is a part of the experience, and that you can enjoy it just as much as you enjoy the time you spend at your destination.
