FOOD
Everyone knows, gelato is best in Italy. Pho belongs to Vietnam. And empanadas are for South America. Sometimes, to get the best food, you have to leave home.
RELATIONSHIPS
Who you travel with. Who you travel to see. Who you meet along the way. Travel is a quality time investment in memory making when you do it with those you love.
VARIETY
I don’t know about you, but sometimes ‘regular’ life can get… overwhelming, boring, tiring, all of the above. And in those times, everyone needs a hobby. For me it’s planning and going on trips. I love the critical thinking that is required in trip planning. Deciding where to stay, for how long. Deciding what to see. Who to see it with. How much you want to pay for it. Sometimes these decisions can be frustrating. But when they fall into place, they are so rewarding. And there is nothing like new maps, new foods, and new views to break up the routine of ‘regular’ life.
THRILL
Now, for a traveler I’m not very adventurous. I haven’t skydived or eaten worms or even used a squatty potty. So, it doesn’t take much to thrill me. But that’s the great thing about traveling, there’s something for everyone. Because you can totally have the thrill of your life backpacking through the middle east if you want, or you can join me riding scooters down steep mountainsides. It’s totally anyone’s game.
PERSPECTIVE
The one disadvantage to living in the ‘first world’ is that it comes with a lot of ‘first world’ problems. Like flat tires and traffic and slow internet. And we begin to think we are the masters of our domain and our lives. We strive for success and then expect everyone to reach it the same way we did. And we get selfish.
Travel. Not the cruise ship or the tour guided kind. But real travel. Figuring things out yourself. Using google maps and google translate. Asking for help from strangers. Eating things you can’t pronounce let alone guess what it taste like. Standing on high mountains. Riding in the bed of a pick-up. Seeing a whirling dervish in live action. Motorbikes carrying washing machines. Translating currencies and salutations. These experiences shrink us to the size we’re supposed to be. Where we are just individuals living human lives. Where we see our humanity and see the beauty in the rest of humanity. Humanness is what we have most in common with everyone. And travel, it helps us experience it, up-close, in 3-D. It grows our hearts for other people and humbles us in beautiful ways.
THOUGHTS?
What about you? I know this list is not comprehensive. Comment below and tell me why YOU travel.
A Pañuelo World 