15 Travel Truths You Won't See On Instagram

So you wanna leave everyone and everything behind to travel the world? Well, congrats on having some beautiful big dreams you brave soul! I'm here to tell you, they're not unrealistic. As a matter of fact, it's the realist thing you'll ever do.

And unless you're a multi-millionaire or a sugar baby, you'll probably be like the rest of us long-term travelers...on a budget. Ain't no shame in this long-term travel game.

Realistically speaking, you can travel slowly around countries where the American dollar goes far on $25-$50 a day (excluding flights, special excursions and splurges). I stress the word slowly. This is how you'll get the most for your money and still sleep comfortably, eat well and see and do really cool stuff!

If this is something you're really considering, here is a little peak into what you will REALLY experience on your long-term trip. Contrary to popular belief, it's not all a picture-perfect Instagram shot.

15 Travel Truths You Won't See On Instagram

1) You will quickly realize you're not on vacation

Long gone are the days of all-inclusives and spa retreats. That is for people with jobs. $200 a night is a week in Nepal. $150 massage is a ticket to Sri Lanka.

2) You will fall in love homestays

You're telling me I can stay with a local, friendly family that will cook for me, show me around and treat me like their own...for just $10 a night?!? Have fun at your all-inclusive!

3) You will eat your lifetime supply of rice

Now you get why rice is a staple in literally every part of the world. It's filling, it's cheap and it's easy on the tummy. Just add beans and veggies and you're set for the day for like $2.

4) You will take plenty of bucket showers

As in find yourself a bucket and scoop yourself clean. Because water is not this unlimited resource we like to think it is.

5) You will get really good at finding free/cheap things to do

Go for a hike to some stunning waterfall. Take a sunset stroll around a local park. Host your own tasting tour of the most popular street food vendors. Take a yummy yoga class. Mediate by the riverbank. Spend an afternoon reading a spiritually uplifting book while sipping on your 5th cup of herbal tea. Write in your travel journal. Just be.

6) You will get extremely homesick

But you'll never admit it to Mom! Like, this is legit a sickness, you feel it in your heart. But this too shall pass.

7) You will never wanna go back home

Yes, literally in the same span of thoughts of missing home you will also dread the thought of having to go back to the first world and getting a job. "How to make money without having to a get a job" will be at the top of your Google search results.

8) You will get food poisoning

And you will feel like the world is coming to an end as you hug the toilet in your cheap guesthouse at 2am with not a soul to hold your hair back or bring you Gatorade. But then you figure out a way to heal yourself and it'll be the most proud moment of your life. You've got this, all of this!

9) You will get cozy on a bus

And lots of trains.

10) You will get really creative with your wardrobe

How you've managed to make 50 outfits out of 5 shirts and 4 pants is beyond me. You can officially don the badge "minimalist". Hello, everything you own you carry on your back.

11) You will not give a s%*t

Seriously, ain't nobody got time, luggage space or extra funds for makeup kits, fancy hair styling products or high-end body care. Manicures and pedicures? What's that?! Nobody knows you. Nobody cares. And you have never felt so liberated (or beautiful!).

12) You will splurge

Or you will loose your mind. But splurging is not what it once was. You'll drop $50 for a couple of nights in a hotel with AC or $10 at a salon to get a decent haircut. Ooooooooo, look at this baller.

13) You will be so afraid of running out of money

The fear. It will knock you unconscious. But you'll pick yourself right back up and establish a new relationship with money. One where YOU are in control.

14) You will never ever get sick of it

The buses, the trains, the rice, the cold bucket showers, the constant diarrhea, the same shirts and pants. It's all worth it for the waterfall hike that turns into a life-changing lesson, the kind strangers that turn into soul connections, the foreign flavors that turn into new comfort foods, the once in a lifetime experience that turns into a lifetime of exploring!

15) You will never be the same

Thank God.