Picture is mine
What are your travel habits like? Delve into the specifics: How much do you pack? Do you prefer long-distance journeys or short ones? Share your preferences and experiences in detail in 500 words.
Now for me, I love travelling light; just a few clothes and my toiletries are okay for me. I don't like heavy backpacks or travel bags while travelling. I feel like it slows me down on my journey. I love to be free, with my luggage right with me inside the bus, rather than having to worry if the conductor packed my bags or not. Or whether my luggage has been misplaced. And when I alight, I quickly swing my backpack to my back, and off I go.
I remember the days I returned to school from home. Sometimes I had to sell my food or some of it to my brother so that I could reduce my load and end up travelling light. Then, when I get to my lodge, I will buy the provisions I need with the money I raised from the foodstuffs. My mom calls me crazy, but I don't care. I'm not just a fan of travelling with stuff that makes me sweat on how it's been packed, banter with drivers on how much I am going to pay for my loads, and all that.
And, oh, I don't like night travel. Once it's past four o'clock, I'm rescheduling the travel to the next day. I love to travel more in the early morning. When the road isn't busy and a little bit safe to drive on, and also when the driver is fully refreshed from last night's sleep and smart enough to be behind the wheels. I don't want anyone to fall asleep from fatigue when my life happens to be in his hands for those few hours. That time feels right for me to travel, rather than in the evening when it's rush hour and all the madmen are behind wheels.
Also, I hate long-distance travel for several reasons. One being that I always have this phobia of travelling. I always imagine myself being licked up in a moving box and my life left at the mercy of the driver. Yes, at that moment you're on the road in public transport; you've actually handed your life over to the driver, and any mistake from him might cause you to lose yours too.
So I try to limit my long-distance travel unless it's very important. Also, as a 7-foot plus guy, I find it hard to fit in these tight holes our public transport service providers put on our Nigerian death trap roads. Sometimes, if I don't get to sit in the front, I'll literally have to squeeze myself in the back of the car, and trust me, all through that journey, I'll never feel comfortable.
On several occasions, I travelled, and I wasn't lucky enough to get the front seat. I squeezed in the back. When we got to our destination, I had to be the last to alight because I couldn't feel my feet. And even when I do stand, I'll have to wait some seconds for blood to actually flow to my feet and get them active again. Yeah, sometimes it's hard being a tall guy.
Sometimes I have to beg others who will be kind enough to understand my predicament and give up their seat for me to sit. Trust me, it isn't usually easy because, of course, this is Nigeria and everyone is vexing normally.
Until I buy my own car, I'll continue to endure.