Travellers Lament

So, I've been thinking that I am not so good at backpacking. Every place we visit is either really meh (or downright UHG), or else we find out about a bunch of cool things right after we book tickets to leave. After almost three months, things have gotten somewhat monotonous. It's the same trying to track down decent food, trying to find a decent place to stay, trying to follow a map, trying to avoid touts. All the ruins and temples have blended together in my mind. I'm not really sure how to spice things up. I'm not unhappy or complaining here, just hoping if there is something to figure out, that I do so before we leave.

I'm starting to suspect that most backpackers are liars. It's like asking someone if they're good in bed, no one's going to admit how awful they are. Also mainly they appear to be interested in getting wasted. Backpacking might just be one of those things, like night clubs and office meetings, that are far more entertaining after tossing a few back.

We watched 'The Beach' at a restaurant last night, a surprisingly worse movie then I remember, which is all about creating this secret place only a few people know about on a tropical island. They go on about how much better it is then the mainland resorts but... it's the exact same as the mainland resorts. Just secret and hard to get to. One scene has the lead character sitting on a beach looking at the partiers dancing around on the sand and listening to techno, all badmouthing it and wanting to go back. And then later everyone's back at The Beach.. dancing around in the sand and listening to techno. I think this really says more about backpacking then the movie gets into.

Next time I go travelling I'm going to turn it into an art retreat and bring materials to sit around and draw ruins and people. At first I thought, what's the point, I can do that at home, but then, people can get drunk at home. Maybe that's the point of travelling. Also the food here is better.