Why We Travel

One of the great things about traveling is that it gives me down time. I am no longer rushing around trying to cross off a million things on my daily list. I don't even make a list. And believe me, for someone who constantly feels that she has to be productive, this is a welcoming change for me. And with my new found freedom, I have time to think. Lately I've been thinking about why I travel. And why do others travel?

Years ago, in my grandparents generation, traveling was unheard of. To travel somewhere was really something. People rarely left their village or town and rarely their province or country. How things have changed. Now we have the time, the money and the luxury of travel. We are more informed than ever before, thanks to the Internet. We can sit in our living rooms and plan an exotic trip. The European section of this trip was all planned, to the day, on the Internet.

Today people travel for many reasons: for leisure, for work, to get away, to search their roots. Perhaps their ancestors came from Ireland, Poland, or Portugal. There are people who travel to find themselves. Then there are people who travel to get lost. My son, Aaron, tells me that his favorite thing to do is deliberately get lost in a city and then find his way home. Coming from a small city myself where I am well known as an educator, I must admit that I like the anonymity of travel. I can jump out of the fish bowl.

There are people who travel to experience the life that they cannot afford on a consistent basis at home. They stay in five star hotels and eat at the best restaurants. They are in search of the creature comforts that at home they can only dream about having. There are also people who travel to taste new food and wine. Time and money are a huge factor. Recent generations have more time and money to travel then in the past. Then there are people who want everything exactly the same as when they have at home. Same food, same amenities, same level of comfort. They are willing to try new things but only to a point.

There are people who travel to get out of their comfort zone. This is me. I like experiencing a more minimalist lifestyle. I love walking out the door with only my pack on my back, my life reduced to just a few outfits, a sleeping bag, a mosquito net and my malaria drugs. Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that I have a lovely home and lack for nothing at home. If I struggled for survival at home, I'm sure that my travel would be quite different. In 2004, I loved living in the village in India with no running water and no electricity. Others cringed when I told them where I would be laying my head. I admit that I like to live on the edge. Eat less. Challenge myself to do without. Suffer some hardship. And get the horizon off my nose. I believe that it makes me a more flexible and understanding person. When I travel, I want to experience things that I don't get to experience daily. Otherwise, why travel? But that is me. I am restless spirit who wants to live life as much as possible, in all it's forms. And there is so much to see and do, and only one lifetime to do it all in. On that note, I'm off to explore.