You were doing it wrong.
^This!
In my previous job I went from the UK to Canada for a 2 day conference, worked nights in a shopping mall in Germany, worked on various construction sites in Singapore and always had a great time!
In my current job I've been to China 4 times (each time I flew to Beijing then visited a factory about 1 mile away from that new large crater in Tianjin). I got to visit the Great wall and most of the Olympic sites, plus always stayed in flashy 5 star hotels, again had a great time and met some really nice people and ate some "interesting" things!
Also been to Taiwan 4 times, again always put up in flash 5 star hotels (Taiwan does great 5 star hotels!) and had a great time. I don't mind the travelling bit, and I don't rush to be in the office the very next morning if I've just spent 24 hours on flights and in airports. I go back when I feel I have recovered. We have folks that do rush to be at their desk at 7am the next day, no one thanks them for it.
I recently had to visit a site in France and this time took my wife along. I had to pay for her travel & food etc, but whilst I had a week of work, she got a week of sightseeing in Normandy. I also extended the trip so we both got a weekend of leisure whilst there and then travelled back on a work day :-)