[curious0610]

Let's say you're about to take a 3 month trip to another continent, where you have some distant relatives/old friends. You are traveling on your own so it's not like you would be staying with them, but you might (or might not) meet up with them.

How would you travel?
- do you travel light? (throw in some outfits, pack your toiletries, your laptop, your journal/books, shoes)
- do you travel 'prepared' to face certain possible situations?

How would you plan your 3 months?
- timewise, would you structure/plan it out by weeks, by months? (ex: from week 1-2, i'll be in barcelona. week 2, i'll be in another city in spain. OR do you do Month 1: I'll be in Spain).

And... any other thing. those were the two main categories i was curious about. Ideally, I'd like to travel light. I just hate the feeling of being weighed down. When I go to places with my family, i throw in some outfits that i'd wear (ex: on tuesday, i'll probably wear this outfit. if it gets cold, i'll put this cardigan and sneakers on), but that'd be pretty much it - toiletries, laptop, journal, books, shoes. THE absolute basic. That's my idea of travel. Plus, with my family, my mom tends to pretty much get everything down. On the other hand, when I travel alone, I realize I tend to subconsciously pack to be more prepared (which really annoys me). I can't help but think of potential things that could come up. Examples: "If the Kristoff's invite me for dinner... I'd probably need to dress up (sigh, pack a skirt)."... "Since I have to cook there for 3 months... and I don't know if the stores in that country will have this spice/ingredient (sigh, pack those things."... "I might see Caren... so I should probably buy/make a birthday card in case I do."... "My umbrella might break, and I need to be sure I have a really sturdy one, so maybe I'll pack another one of mine, instead of getting stuck in italy to buy a new one." I also end up packing basic first-aid things, and a lot of other things I never thought of in the first place. So when I travel alone (or with a group of friends), I'm always the most-prepared, thought-out packed person.

Conclusion: Ideally I'd like to travel light, but then I foresee all these things and end up packing heavy. :dry:

 

[amanda32]

If you are staying in one place once you get there you can pack a bunch of stuff it'll come in pretty handy.

If you're going to be bouncing around a lot and won't have a place to store your luggage, then travel really light.

 

[Averic]

This is actually pretty fun to think about. I have a tendency to plan rather than be spontaneous. Last trip I took with some friends some commented how much I brought. I like to be prepared is all. Interestingly enough I even plan for time slots where I can be spontaneous or just do nothing.
I like to visit different places so I would like to continuously move around wherever I go. I'm not very time-accomplishment oriented. I'd like to do something along the lines of "I'll be in this city for about a week, or (mostly) until I've had my fill, then move on to the other city to stay in for about a week or (mostly) until I've had my fill etc". In this sense I'm constantly updating my schedule. In the end I'll probably be thinking, "Well, I didn't get to visit this one(or two...) particular place after all but I liked what I did see and it gives me a reason to return to the area in the future and then I'll be better prepared for next time since I've already been here".

 

[curious0610]

I know!! It's so fun to think about right? I think I derive utter joy just from the planning part. I too like to plan days where things aren't planned and are up to the spur-of-the-moment thinking. But at the same time, I get so much pleasure from just planning, thinking in advance, planning ahead... I didn't realize I got so much pleasure from it. Initially, I start off annoyed because I like to travel like (ideally), but then I realize that the whole thinking-process was very stimulating and rewarding.

I think I also like to have my trip structured by weeks, but leave space in between to "accomplish" things throughout that week, because otherwise I'd have a hard time following too strict of a schedule.

 

[Averic]

Very interesting...to be energized/have joy from planning. I completely relate and sort of now just realized that about myself as well. What's weird though is I can be very indecisive about things. Yet that's more of the case when other people are involved. There goes my Fe... So yeah...I'm really enjoying being able to relate to you fellow INFJs since joining the community!