I'd imagine he was also tired (travel and new people/circumstances do that), plus perhaps a touch of blaming the victim (himself), and realising the implications of letting down other people/places on the rest of his tour. An emotional reaction like a facepalm means he is human with feelings, something some people are forgetting.
I don't know if you're quoting me or someone else, but I can tell you I saw him doing that. It was a bit scary. He also yelled many times and, when he was at the stairs, he bit his own arm while shouting.
I've been a human for most of my life, and from what I can tell, this is a pretty typical reaction to losing all your possessions in a foreign country.
FWIW, I don't think the author is a native speaker of English, and may mean something closer to "facepalm" than "beating the shit out of himself".