Nothing gets me more excited in a conversation, than talking about Travel. Particularly when the person across from me loves travel adventures as much as I do.
This semi-regular guy was in the bar last night, and he seemed really keen to chat.. Much to my delight he had travel on his mind. We talked about wanting to know other cultures, see exotic sights, experience how other people live – how it builds empathy, and character, how it broadens your mind quicker and wider than anything else.
We talked about eating culturally, delving into the street foods and favourite local fare, how you experience so much through the flavours of a city.
And we agreed that there’s nothing quite like the rush of touching down on foreign soil, excited to explore, with this burning desire to know and feel and taste and experience everything you can in that place, as fully as you can, to soak it into your soul like the desert after a rain.
I once had a friend ask me, after I’d been traveling for a couple of months, what I did all day. I was stunned. What do you MEAN, what do I do all day?! I go hiking, I take cooking classes, I visit tiny villages, I tour the important sites, I find the best smoothie place in town, and the best coffee place, and frequent the corner with the guy who has the best fried chicken stall. I swim, snorkle, read, get massages, create elaborate journal entries, write postcards, eat fresh seafood with my toes in the sand, party, volunteer, learn how to massage, surf, watch dolphins in the bay, tour wineries, enjoy lady boy shows, shop, marvel at ancient ruins, play Crib, zipline over jungles, toboggan down volcanoes, learn new words – particularly “hello” “please” and “thank you.” I converse with locals. I connect with fellow travelers. Sometimes I take lots of pictures, other times I take none. Whenever possible I choose boat as my mode of transportation. And on those long boat rides I play the “Would You Rather….” game with other passengers, because getting to know like-minded people in an unconventional place and unconventional way is always worthwhile.
It would be false of me to state that there’s never a dull moment while traveling, because there are plenty of those, but there’s not a lot of boredom. There’s something so exhilarating about waking up every morning and saying, “What shall I do today?” and then going and doing it, with no inhibitions or constraints.
Oh man, I’m getting seriously itchy feet!!! Sorting out some winter getaway adventures is an absolute necessity..
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