Why I Don’t Travel to Escape My Life
Homesick while travelling was never something I expected to experience on our first international trip to Thailand. Yet only two days into our dream vacation, I found myself missing home in ways I never imagined.
Our first international trip as a married couple was to Thailand.
To say we were excited would be an understatement.
We had spent weeks planning every little detail of our Thailand itinerary. Flights, hotels, transport, sightseeing… even where we’d eat breakfast each morning. We were those people with detailed itineraries, saved Google Maps, restaurant lists, and backup plans for almost everything ( well… at least I was. Yes, I’m a bit of a crazy planner!).
Everything was planned.
And we couldn’t wait.
Our First Impressions of Bangkok
The moment we landed in Bangkok, it felt exactly the way we’d imagined.
The city was buzzing with life. Street vendors filled the air with incredible aromas, tuk-tuks zipped past us, modern shopping malls stood beside ancient temples, and everywhere we looked there was something happening. It was vibrant, exciting, and unlike anything we’d experienced before.
Our first day unfolded exactly as we’d hoped.
We visited the places on our list, tried delicious local food, enjoyed a beautiful sunset dinner cruise along the Chao Phraya River, and spent the evening wandering through a lively night market, shopping for little souvenirs.
I remember going to bed thinking,
“This trip is perfect.”
When Travel Doesn’t Go According to Plan
The second day was just as exciting.
Madame Tussauds.
A little shopping.
A quick lunch.
The Mahanakhon SkyWalk.
Back to our hotel after another full day of exploring Bangkok.
If you looked at our itinerary, you’d probably think everything was still perfect.
But that’s the funny thing about travel.
Sometimes the moments you remember most aren’t on the itinerary.
It started with a headache.
I laughed it off.
“I probably just need tea.”
Anyone who knows me knows I can’t survive an evening without a cup of chai. I had gone two days without it, so naturally, I blamed the missing tea.
But the headache didn’t go away.
It became worse.
I took some medicine.
Nothing changed.
Then came the nausea.
That horrible, uncomfortable feeling that slowly takes over your whole body.
At first, I blamed the walking. We’d been on our feet almost nonstop since arriving in Thailand.
Maybe I was just exhausted.
Later, I wondered if it had been something I’d eaten that afternoon.
To this day, I’m still not completely sure.
Whatever the reason was, I couldn’t shake it.
My husband stayed beside me the whole time, trying everything he could to make me feel comfortable.
The Moment I Started Missing Home
And then something happened that I wasn’t expecting.
I missed home.
Not because Thailand wasn’t beautiful.
Not because I wasn’t having a wonderful vacation.
Not because I wanted the holiday to end.
I simply wanted…
…my bed.
Our room.
The smell of our bedsheets.
The familiar sounds outside our window.
The little comforts I’d never really noticed before.
It was only our second day.
We had an entire holiday ahead of us.
There were places we hadn’t explored, islands we hadn’t visited, cafés we’d bookmarked months ago.
I had every reason to feel excited.
Instead, all I wanted was home.
Looking back now, it sounds a little funny.
I wasn’t moving to another country.
I wasn’t homesick because I’d been away for months.
It had barely been 48 hours.
Yet those feelings were incredibly real.
And I don’t want to brush them aside just because they seem irrational.
We all experience travel differently, and I think that’s what makes it so personal.
One Rainy Night I’ll Never Forget
That night, the rain started pouring.
We hadn’t eaten dinner.
The hotel’s café had already closed.
We tried ordering food through Grab, but every order kept getting cancelled because of the weather.
Oh, what a night.
I wasn’t going to eat anyway.
I kept throwing up and could barely sit up in bed.
My husband hadn’t eaten either.
He didn’t want to leave me alone, so instead, we sat there listening to music on the hotel television while the rain poured outside.
Definitely not how we’d imagined our second night in Bangkok.
I remember feeling guilty.
We should have been out exploring, trying new food, making memories around the city.
Instead, we spent the evening sitting in a hotel room, making sure I was okay.
Eventually, I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I felt a little better.
From then on, I became unusually careful.
I made sure every meal included fruits or vegetables.
I drank far more water than I usually do.
I chose lighter meals.
If you know me, you’ll know that’s not typically how I travel.
But I suppose every trip teaches you something.
Sometimes the lesson isn’t about the destination.
Sometimes it’s about taking better care of yourself.
Why I Don’t Travel to Escape My Life
When I think back to that trip to Thailand, that’s not the biggest lesson I remember.
The biggest lesson came from those quiet hours when all I wanted was home.
People often say they travel to escape.
To escape work.
To escape routine.
To escape life.
That trip made me realise I don’t travel for any of those reasons.
I travel because seeing other people, different cultures, and different ways of living gives me perspective on my own life.
Travel has a beautiful way of reminding us that the world is much bigger than the little bubble we live in.
Watching families gather over long meals.
Seeing people move through life at a slower pace.
Meeting locals who find joy in the simplest things.
Experiencing traditions that have been passed down for generations.
Every place teaches me something different.
Every journey gives me a new perspective.
It reminds me that there isn’t one “right” way to live—only different ways.
And strangely, every country also brings me back to the same place.
Home.
Not because my life is better than anyone else’s.
But because travel helps me see it with fresh eyes.
I return grateful for ordinary things that I barely notice when I’m there—the comfort of my own pillow, my evening cup of chai, the familiar sounds drifting through our home, and the people waiting for me.
Travel doesn’t make me want to leave my life behind.
It makes me appreciate the life I already have.
And maybe that’s why I keep booking the next flight.
Not because I’m trying to escape home.
But because sometimes you have to leave home…
…to realise just how much it means to you.
What Our Sweet Escape Really Means
When we chose the name Our Sweet Escape, we thought it simply meant travelling together.
Now I think it means something much deeper.
It’s not about escaping our lives.
It’s not about running away from responsibilities.
And it’s certainly not about searching for a “better” place.
It’s about stepping into unfamiliar streets, meeting people whose lives look completely different from ours, and returning home with a little more gratitude, a little more perspective, and a heart that’s a little fuller.
Every journey changes us in some way.
Sometimes it’s through breathtaking landscapes.
Sometimes it’s through unexpected challenges.
And sometimes, it’s through quiet moments in a hotel room in Bangkok that remind us just how comforting home can be.
We’ll continue to explore new countries, chase beautiful sunsets, and create memories together.
But if there’s one thing I hope to collect from every journey, it’s not just passport stamps or photographs.
It’s perspective.
Because that’s the sweetest escape of all.
Have you ever felt homesick while travelling—even on your dream vacation?
I’d genuinely love to hear your story in the comments.
Sometimes, the most memorable part of a journey isn’t where we went.
It’s what the journey taught us about ourselves.