5 Ways to Recover from Travel Setbacks

Ahhh travelling. Whether it’s to escape, to have an adventure, or to relax and recharge, like life, sometimes it throws you some curveballs. I had the chance to travel for work in the middle of the pandemic (endemic?) and ended up extending my trip for almost 4 months straight across 4 countries. I learned a lot on that trip so here are 5 hard-earned tips I can share on how to recover from travel setbacks.

1. Best way to recover is to anticipate & accept

This is probably the most important tip of all. Mentally tell yourself that not everything will go according to plan and that’s okay. Because I was travelling during a pandemic, despite being vaccinated and taking precautions, I knew that it was possible that I could get Covid at any time. It also meant that travel restrictions for different places kept changing and I just had to keep myself updated and anticipate travel setbacks. It also helps to remind yourself that you are a capable human adult who will figure things out no matter what happens.

Make a list of intentions for your trip. It could be as long or as short as you want. One of the intentions I always make when I travel is: “I intend to get closer to Allah and increase in my love and knowledge of Him through this trip.” That way, when things go awry, you don’t panic (as much) because you know you’re meant to learn something through it. I know this intentions bit might sound airy-fairy, but making conscious intentions truly does so much for the attitude you bring on the trip!

2. Prepare Plans B, C, D…

Yes, you’ve got an amazing itinerary and you have all the addresses and the timings and duration of each activity, flight, and travel journey all nicely typed out in an Excel sheet and maybe even printed out! Okay, now make sure you have rough Plans B, C, and D. (Okay fine, at least just a Plan B.) At the minimum, find out if there’s other accommodation near where you’re planning to stay, what you’d do if flights get cancelled, and where the nearest pharmacy or hospital is.

I know that no matter how prepared we are, things can still go haywire. But you’ve got to have some basic preparations down:

A) Travel insurance is a must. I hope I don’t need to explain why.

B) A contact of someone in the city/country you’re travelling to. Believe me, things work differently in different places. Trying to figure it out yourself during an emergency will take too long and too much effort, especially if you don’t speak the language! Try to be in touch with someone from there (either through friends, family, work, or a Facebook travel group) before you depart. That way, you know you can reach out to someone in case anything happens.

C) Bring a first aid kit, vitamin C, and/or any medication you may need. For me, it’s my asthma inhaler and I always bring extra! It could be something else for you. Falling sick at home is miserable, falling sick while travelling doubly so!

D) Pray 2 rakaat sunnah Musafir prayer. It is said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to pray 2 rakaat sunnah prayer before leaving his home for travel, and would make supplications.

‘Abdullah bin Sarjis (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: “Whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, proceeded on a journey, he would seek refuge in Allah from the hardships of the journey, and against deviation after guidance, and against the supplication of the oppressed, and occurrences of unpleasant events in the family and property. He would say: “Allahumma inni a’udhu bika min wa’tha’is- safari, wa kaabatil-munqalabi, wal-hauri ba’dal-kauni, wa da’watil- mazlumi, wa su’il-manzari fil-ahli wal- mal.” [Muslim].

Check out other travel sunnahs here by Muslim Pro.

3. Financially, have emergency funds at the ready

You really don’t know what can happen during a trip, but I can tell you having extra funds can really solve a lot of them! This means that you need to budget for them when saving up for a trip. Bring extra cash and have funds you can draw on in case you get stranded and need last-minute accommodation for a night, or if you miss your flight/train/bus and need to rebook one, or need to take a last-minute PCR test! Whatever it may be, budget at least a few hundred dollars as emergency funds for a week’s trip, and more if you’re travelling for longer. Even if you have travel insurance, they will usually reimburse you at the end of the trip, so keep your receipts for your claims.

4. Lost your passport? Report!

Thankfully, this has never happened to me before but it’s still worth knowing what to do in case this happens. Contact the Singapore Embassy of the country you’re in and let them know. Once you report a lost passport, your current passport will be cancelled. As it may take up to 6 to 8 weeks to be issued a new passport, you will need a Document of Identity (DOI) to return to Singapore. You will be prompted to “Apply for a DOI” when reporting the loss of your passport on ICA’s website.

Additionally, lodge a police report with local authorities. This way, police can be on the lookout for any individuals who may be trying to use your stolen/lost passport for illicit travel.

5 . Dealing with homesickness or loneliness

I’ve mostly spoken about material or physical setbacks but I know that the emotional setback of homesickness or loneliness is all too real when you’re travelling, especially if you’re travelling solo, or travelling for an extended period of time. When I was travelling solo for almost 4 months across 4 countries, I realised that loneliness always hit me the hardest on my first day arriving at a new city/country. Maybe because I wish I could have shared all these new sights and sounds with someone. However, it always gets better the next day onwards as I orient myself to the new surroundings and have a few familiar routines.

What usually helps me is to reach out to friends, video-call familiar faces if the time difference is not too vast, journal and check-in with myself, and have a familiar beverage (coffee!) and dish (local food available?) to comfort myself.

I also love to read this hadith whenever I feel out of sorts, whether it’s when I’m travelling or just feel off at home: “Whoever among you wakes up physically healthy, feeling safe and secure within himself, with food for the day, it is as if he has been given the whole world.” I remind myself that being able to travel is a gift and a privilege, and wherever I am, God is always with me and looking out for me and teaching me.

I hope these tips will help you when you’re facing a travel setback or curveball on your next trip! In my experience, no matter how stressful or annoying a setback can be, the joys of travel always outweigh the bad. At the very least, I always appreciate that now I have more travel stories to tell when I come back. May your travels be safe and smooth-sailing, and bring you closer to God, ameen!

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