Backpacking versus Vacationing

Don't get me wrong, I know how incredibly lucky I am to be on this adventure and I am so thankful and I knew exactly what I was getting into and what backpacking would entail but maaaaaaaaaaan I forget how hard it is to be in backpacking budget travel mode, for example:

- I really wish I could stay in a hotel tonight instead of sharing a dorm with smelly men in the hippy backpacker commune where the bathroom door is broken and the music is loud...but the place is free and the hotel is $$$$ - Today when we went to Robben Island I really wanted to get out during our break, go in the gift shop and buy that $8 sandwich but instead Makayne and I made ourselves stay on the bus and imagine we were eating a Jimmy Johns sandwich while we watched everyone else eat and waited to get back to our hostel where we could eat our oranges and granola bars to tie us over - I really wanted to just take a taxi all the way back to our hostel instead of taking the local minibus and then hopping the train because I was so tired I was falling asleep on the ferry we were on earlier - I really want to take my clothes to the laundromat around the corner instead of washing them in the sink by hand in the bathroom

But these are not complaints, these are little reminders of what it means to live more simply and more basic in order to have the wonderful privilege of traveling, even if that means traveling on a budget.

On the flip side, it seems South Africa is the place for incredibly wealthy American tourists as well because we have seen some unbelievable hotels and restraunts and today when we took the Ferry to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, we met two couples from Boston who had literally traveled the world together. They were my parents age and I hope one day I can travel half the places they have, I thought they were the opposite of Marla but also really cool that they are so open minded to use their money exploring the world. They also gave me hope that maybe one day I will be in a position to not have to pinch pennies when I travel and do some of the things that I had wanted to today, like eat that $8 sandwich at the gift shop, just maybe one day!