Things I don't normally do

I like how travel changes a person. In real life- okay, in everyday life, I can be a real lazy bum sometimes. I only get out of bed at 9am, unless it's a work day, which means I'm up earlier. Even 9am is considered being a little on the late side in my house. I know, I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Everything, however, changes when I'm away. When I'm travelling -and this includes non-working holidays- I can wake up at the most ungodly hours. Not a problem. I've woken up at 3am for a drive to Taman Negara. I've gotten up at 4.30 in the morning to go to the airport for a flight to somewhere-or-other. I remember waking up at 6 o'clock in winter in Beijing to get ready for a hike on the Great Wall. In fact, if I'm travelling with friends, I'm usually the one who wakes up first. This never happens at home.

I think I'm also much nicer when I'm travelling. I smile more and open up to people more. I'm more patient, less grumpy (that's obvious) and generally in a better mood when I'm away. I like me when I'm travelling; I prefer Travel Mode me.

I'm sure I can't be only person who changes overnight when they're travelling.

Do you do things differently when you're away? Are you totally transformed when you're travelling?