The creators of the popular Instagram account How Far From Home have revealed the negative side of travelling the world and posting envy-inducing photographs online, describing their experiences after having left high-earning jobs in advertising in order to “scrub toilets.”
Chanel and Stevo, the creators of the How Far From Home account which boasts over 71,000 followers and counting, reveal how they left their jobs behind as they “felt the routine of perfection creeping up on us and aging us with its complacency” so, inspired by the Jim Carrey film Yes Man, they decided to embark upon a round-the-world trip. Even though it seems like Chanel and Stevo had failed to watch the end of that particular movie, what with it explaining how saying “yes” to absolutely everything is a pretty silly idea that can actually lead to a lot of pain and anguish, and that saying “no” to certain things is a reasonable thing for an adult human to do, it’s still allowing them to seemingly experience some pretty wild adventures around the globe.
But in a recent blog post, Chanel outlined how not everything is as it seems for the couple, and that behind the photographs of them jumping into the ocean they post onto Instagram, they actually have to do a lot of manual labor in order to continue traveling the world.
“It’s bloody amazing. But it’s not all ice-creams in the sun and pretty landscapes,” Chanel wrote, adding: “So far, I think we’ve tallied 135 toilets scrubbed, 250 kilos of cow dung spread, 2 tons of rocks shovelled, 60 metres of pathway laid, 57 beds made, and I cannot even remember how many wine glasses we’ve polished.”
She continued: “You see, to come from the luxuries we left behind in Johannesburg, to the brutal truth of volunteer work, we are now on the opposite end of the scale. We’re toilet cleaners, dog poop scoopers, grocery store merchandisers, and rock shovelers.”
While it seems that the couple are still enjoying their journey, which sees them post photos to Instagram revealing how far away from home they are using a chalkboard, she admitted that it’s “not for the faint of heart,” adding: “Don’t let the bank of gorgeous photography fool you. Nuh uh. I am not at my fittest, slimmest or physically healthiest. We eat jam on crackers most days, get roughly 5hrs of sleep per night, and lug our extremely heavy bags through cobbled streets at 1am, trying to find our accommodation (because bus fares are not part of the budget, obviously).”
However, Chanel maintains that even though they have “more greys” and “cheap snack as a main form of nutrition,” that the trip is still “like Heaven” for the couple. While many will now likely be less jealous of the couple knowing that they don’t exactly laze around on stunning beaches all day, they still seem pretty content with their decision to drop their former lives in favor of traveling the world, even if they do have to scrub a few toilets along the way.
Check out How Far From Home on Instagram.
