Sep 25, 2014

Traveling forces you to make fast friends. Sometimes they are single-serving friends (thanks “Narrator” from Fight-Club) like the kind you might make on a plane or while having a few drinks in the hostel common area, other times they are friends that you will never forget (Nivi, Sam, Adam, Maartje and many others). No matter the location or brevity of your time there, it’s incredibly easy to make friends on the road and it’s one of my favorite things to do.

What makes friendships so easy to form when on the road is a combination of the like-mindedness that many backpackers share and the mutual openness and desire to meet new people. What makes it really fun is the diversity of everyone you meet. You run into awesome people very often. Granted, there are times when you don’t want to make new friends and you just want to chill-out by yourself and that’s totally understandable, but when you want to meet some cool new peeps, just pull up a chair, say hello and proceed with the normal road-friend questions: Where are you from? Where have you been? How long are you traveling? Where are you going next? The list goes on… I can’t even count all the awesome people I’ve met that way but I liken it to being at a bar after everyone has had a few drinks, people are a little less up-tight and way more into conversing with complete strangers.

What about the friends you don’t consider single-serving friends? These are usually the ones you friend on Facebook and make an honest attempt to stay connected to. In all likelihood, your brief time together is all there will ever be but it’s still fun to know them. As time passes the friendship will likely fade but new ones will be formed in their place and the cycle will continue. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few of these friends and some have been such awesome road friends that I actually miss them like my non-road friends. Generally we have spent more time together or at least had enough run-ins along the way to remember each other’s names and have more in-depth conversations but they all hold a special place in my heart.

Here are a few pics of some road-friends…

As a closing note to this short post, I should also point out the overwhelming number of people who I have met that offer you a place to crash when you’re in their home country. Single serving friend or not, people traveling understand how nice it is to have someone familiar to give you the scoop on an unfamiliar place.  To all my road friends who are reading this, you kick ass and I miss you.

Roam on!

Written by Teague O’Connell Teague is a Workforce Management / Operational Leadership expert and PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer with a passion for travel, adventure and the magnificent journey that is, life. Find him on Google | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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