Howdy my friends!
Today I welcome you into my ridiculous habit of backpacker: sleeping.
Before I started travelling I would struggle to fall asleep. Anxiety, nightmares or simply insomnia, I’ve spent years sleeping 5 hours a night, waking up tired and feeling worse than the day before.
BUT
Ever since we’ve left France, since we’ve started backpacking, since I’ve gotten to choose where I go, in which country I work and live I sleep like a log. I think my body is trying to catch up for all those wasted nights and it makes me sleep anywhere or rather, everywhere.
I can sleep sitting, standing on a bus, on a bench, on someone’s shoulder; I can fall asleep in seconds and I’m not talking about quick naps, no. I can sleep for hours if circumstances let me. I actually sleep so much that it has become ridiculous. Yes, ridiculous.
You know how they say you have to sleep while your baby sleeps, whatever the time? Well, backpacking is a bit like that. You sleep when you can, whatever the time. When you feel secure, when the other is watching you. Because then you have to keep awake the whole night just to watch your bag on the train, or because you know that you’ll be walking miles and miles under 30ºC, wearing pants and a sweater; or because you’ve waken up at 6 a.m to climb a mountain. Spending hours waiting for a bus/train, taking 19-hour trips at night, carrying 10 kilos on my back or walking 20km a day, the reasons why I sleep soundly are many.
Whatever the reason, not only do I sleep anywhere butI sleep any which way. It has become so…strange that I’ve asked Guillaume to take a picture whenever I fall asleep outside and this is what we’ve gotten so far:
On the train in Vietnam, a 19 hour ride from Danang to Hanoi at night. Comfty!
a 2 hour bus drive in China, picture taken by Hélène
20 hours in the Chinese train… sleeping with people I don’t know
Granted, I’m not sleeping on this one but who would have thought of putting the tent on the only square of concreete?
Heavy sleep in Laos after a 3 hour climb (I think he couldn’t feel his arms afterwards)
Again, not sleeping but rather waking up at 7am, Look for “Suoshai” if you want the whole story!
Definitely not taking Guillaume into consideration when sleeping, poor fellow!
Waiting 4 hours for a bus, what else could I do? At least I didn’t get bored :p
And finally… a proper bed (that wasn’t mine but I don’t care)
Great post, very inspiring, I am still stuck in the 9-5 rut… just days to go!
Thanks a lot Beau, I can’t wait to read your first steps into the wild!
Two Mondays to go :p