Exhaustion

I am exhausted

Graffiti Wall in Gent Belgium

I knew exhaustion would set in on my trip. It starts with the all around tiredness then it progresses to sniffles and a sore throat and if I ignore the signs it manifests itself into a full on cold.

I knew it would happen, I just didn’t think it would happen so soon in my trip.

Against my better judgement I packed too much in for a small time period.

I thought I did lots of research on message boards; someone says you need two days in a city, I would always add an extra day. BUT let me just say “Who are these people that schedule a bare minimum in a city?”. It is an exhausting way to travel and definitely not my style.

I am kind of stuck for a least the next week or so since I carefully planned my hotels and travel already. The only thing I can do is practice self-care. What self-care can mean is: sleeping in instead of waking up when that museum opens, skip that walking tour and relax in a cafe instead, or go back to your hotel early instead of having a night cap (like I did after a long day yesterday).

I may not see everything that a city has but I am not going to see everything if I am sick in bed anyway.

Time to slow things down.

First day in Amsterdam

The flight into Amsterdam was uneventful but for some reason I didn’t sleep well. I know what helps for me is to close my eyes when we are about to take off and the cabin pressure changes. If I fall asleep then it sets in motion a very good flight of sleep (even if I am awakened I can usually go back to sleep). What doesn’t work well for me is staying awake to wait for the first meal service. I may not be hungry but I am afraid that if I am asleep they will skip me and I will starve. It is irrational but it is my reality.

So my first day in Amsterdam wasn’t a full day. I checked into my airbnb (see houseboat below) and went out for something to eat.

My Airbnb house boat

The first place I tried to eat wasn’t open yet for dinner so I settled for Waterkant and the nice view of the water.

I tried walking around a bit after eating but I was tired. I did see some pretty canal streets in the Jordaan before I went off to bed for the evening.

A little bit of fancy

I upgraded my credit card to one of those high end travel cards to get a deal on exchange fees among other things. It isn’t cheap but included in the fee is priority pass. I got to try it out today.

Not sure if if I am really getting my money’s worth but it is a nice place to relax pre flight.

My bag is stuffed

I am in the home stretch in planning for my trip. I am leaving soon. I am leaving so soon that I am embarrassingly not really ready to leave yet. I guess all backpackers say that but it is true.

I mostly finalized my packing list this week and attempted my first packing. It was as expected. I have some major reductions to do. I still have so many things to fit in my already overstuffed bag and this is even after I eliminated a pair of pants, pair of shorts, and an undershirt.

All this stuff still needs to fit in here.

I could have gone easier on myself and bought a newer, better, and bigger backpack as I originally planned. However my Kelty that I bought in 2004 is of extremely good quality and I could not justify the upgrade.

So here I am, trying to decide if I can live off of 3 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of pants for months on end. Thank goodness I have a number of shirts I can still toss.

The big pile of drugs I am bringing? They are staying for now.

Wish me luck.