As opposed to acquaintances, or people you might see once a year?
Travelling is a funny thing, becasue everyone is headed in different places, and people rarely converge for more than a few days at a time.
Thoughts?
Have you made genuninely good friends whilst travelling?
yes.
Quoting moscowmetr
yes.
That was a really interesting post there, i dont think they wanted the reply to be one worded though as it wouldnt really be that interesting too read like 20 replies saying, yes,no,yes,yes,yes,no lol
i have made some friends through travelling that i would consider really good friends, yes.
however, as you so rightly say it does seem that the people you meet are often headed in different directions.
the other day i went into london to meet a czech girl i met in hong kong. we spent a few memorable days roaming around hong kong, lantau etc. we met up for drinks but it was only one night. she was headed off to thailand. i was getting ready for work again the next day.
another example... i met a beautiful, intelligent and frankly amazing canadian girl on a bus in vietnam. she was headed to saigon to catch a flight out so we only spent four hours together on that bus. we still talk now (8 months on) on msn and via emails. she's in melbourne working and i might get the chance to visit her soon. or not. but we have vowed to meet up again one day. she's a very good friend despite spending only 4 hours together.
i also spent two or three months with an irish fella who was headed ultimately to australia. we meandered throughout south east asia together and had a blast. i don't know when our paths will cross again, but he was and is one of the ebst friends i have ever had.
travelling allows you to meet all sorts of fascinating people. it is very very possible to make some life-long friends. the chances of seeing them regularly may be slim (unless they live near you at home) but that doesn't diminish their value as friends. i have all the time in the world for a number of people i know i may only see once more in my life.
they are still dear friends for various reasons!
joey
I also have, i met this guy whilst travelling the east coast last year, he was working for the company i went with. I was only over here for 3 weeks and i spent 2 days with this guy, we got on well, he did his usual giving out his contact details if anyonme needed any help along the way.
When i got home i decided that i wanted to travel to Oz long-term, emailed him just to say hello-nothing in it. He started helping me out, we got on really well and he said that i could stay with him for a week or so when i arrived and now we've been living together for over 2 months!
Although we're kinda seeing each other, we both know that i'll be moving on, and this Oz trip is about me, I didnt plan to come over here for him, its just worked out differently to what we'd both expected.
I think that if we do go our separate ways after i've travelled we'll defo stay good friends!
There are a couple of people that i met last year that i have stayed in contact with and hopefully i'll be seeing them again but i wouldnt consider them as 'friends' in the sense that i presume your talking about.
Like others have said- people are always going in diff directions, so i think its great when you do find the odd person that you genuinely stay good 'friends' with. Mainly you meet people, travel with the for a bit and say your goodbyes, end of!
Quoting lil j
I also have, i met this guy whilst travelling the east coast last year, he was working for the company i went with. I was only over here for 3 weeks and i spent 2 days with this guy, we got on well, he did his usual giving out his contact details if anyonme needed any help along the way.
When i got home i decided that i wanted to travel to Oz long-term, emailed him just to say hello-nothing in it. He started helping me out, we got on really well and he said that i could stay with him for a week or so when i arrived and now we've been living together for over 2 months!
Although we're kinda seeing each other, we both know that i'll be moving on, and this Oz trip is about me, I didnt plan to come over here for him, its just worked out differently to what we'd both expected.
I think that if we do go our separate ways after i've travelled we'll defo stay good friends!
There are a couple of people that i met last year that i have stayed in contact with and hopefully i'll be seeing them again but i wouldnt consider them as 'friends' in the sense that i presume your talking about.
Like others have said- people are always going in diff directions, so i think its great when you do find the odd person that you genuinely stay good 'friends' with. Mainly you meet people, travel with the for a bit and say your goodbyes, end of!
Jasmine, you are a LEGEND. I hope your parents and friends back in the UK are proud of you and of what you are doing - they should be.
Met loads of fantastic people while in New Zealand last year and im still in contact with all of them and hopefully when im free after my next vacation we can all arrange to meet up again.
when i'm travelling, i've always met so many people which i have every intention to keep in touch with after my return home...but it's always so difficult to do that because once i return home, i return to my busy lifestyle and hectic schedule, so it's tough... but at the time (when you're traveling), it feels like you've known some people forever, when you've really only known them for a couple days...
also, people who travel tend to "click" because our common ground is travelling... we have all come to the same place to see the same things... it's the timing that seems to be flukey.!! 
laure
As opposed to acquaintances, or people you might see once a year?
That screws things a bit moe for me as there's very few people who i am certaion to see more than once or twice a year anyway, because i'm so nomadic. Possibly because my life is build around travel and i don't have any real 'home' life, it's a bit different to me than for people on a long term travel who have left a base and then go back there, where trhey already have large groups of friends etc.
Travelling is a funny thing, becasue everyone is headed in different places, and people rarely converge for more than a few days at a time.
You have just managed to summarise my entire life in one sentance, and that kind of scares me!
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Ignoring that, absolutely, yes. Without exception, all of my best friends are people i have met travelling. I will be best man at another travel friends weddings in a couple of months, and I was engaged for a while to someone I met randomly on the road (some of these stories are already on TP in the past).
I agree that you do meet a shed load of amazing people, many of whom you will never have any contact with ever again, apart from possibly one or two emails not long after. It's also surprisng those who you do stay in contact with, and those who fall by the wayside. On this trip, i've probably excahnged emails etc with several hundred people, of which 2/3rds i haven't heard from since and don'tr ever expect to., Sometimes you do randomly get one or two a few months later. But i'm still in contact with a good number from this trip - A few who I met earlier on (i.e. about a year ago) i'm still in moe or less weekly emailing with, and a few others have plans to hook up somewhere this year.
So absolutely!
Yes. Yes and yes!
But beware, cos while travelling does the positive, it can also make firm enemies of good friends travelling together! 