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 Why do you travel? |
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| donyan |
  Jul 4 2008, 10:35 AM
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Nomad
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From: Mexico
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QUOTE(starlagurl @ Jul 3 2008, 10:48 AM) 
Wow, what a tragic story! Thanks for sharing.
 I fail to see the tragedy: they are my very best memoirs. I  Nature since then, hiding in the woods was great   Adults who read bed stories for me (none of brothers Grimm stupid stories) filled my imagination with: the book of the Jungle (Mowgly), les Misserables, la chansson de Roland, the Nibelungen (the gold of the Rhine: original version of the Lord of the Rings), Jesus story fleeing into Egipt...american troops were exactly like Herodes: very bussy taking children as hostages!...they still do in Irak today  wearing that German square helmet... Today  Cheuvreuse valley is a protected park. Among many other cultivated people, Alexandre Dumas lived there: one of many castles in the area served as model for the "Chateau d'If" in "the count of Montecristo". Pamplona in the late '40s, was better than today's Discovery channel programs... I have traveled often (we were on the run...), lived in different countries & continents, learned new languages & trades, became the family Don...all that has NO PRICE. Building my Life is a priviledge...there is no space to get bored!!!  
Lety & JeanLoup (my older son)-Egypt 
Min & Álex (my younger son)-Cancún, Mex
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...see you later, alligator !  |
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| donyan |
Jul 4 2008, 11:24 AM
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From: Mexico
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QUOTE(starlagurl @ Jul 4 2008, 10:36 AM)
OK, whatever floats your boat. It just sounded scary to me, I guess your parents did their best to protect you from feeling scared.
My parents were a litle too bussy sorting out the war, prisoner camps, etc. to be at home for any length of time. Sometimes they stayed on the other side of politician lines for months...nobody knew if alive or not. The job was done by the family who hided us: les Bastien (or Bastié?), a french old style couple, in their sixties, who acted as were my GrandParents ...(they were the last of their family)...so my first language is french, not german. Afterwards, we never spoke german at home...we were a french speaking family (that has no price either)
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...see you later, alligator ! |
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| jeremystravels |
Jul 27 2008, 12:06 AM
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Commuter
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 613
Joined: 26-July 08
From: Dayton, Ohio
Member No.: 217489
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I travel because I know too many people who grew old and regret not doing it when they were young and had no commitments. The common thing I hear people I work with say is they regret not getting an advanced degree (in the science/engineering fields) and regret not traveling. I think my favorite quote is something along the lines of "When you're young you have the time but not the money, and when you're older you have the money but not the time." I've experienced enough so far in life where I have had regrets or thought "I wish I would've done that differently" that I don't want to have that thought ever again. It seems to me that most people, at least where I am from, fall into the pattern of doing what they are supposed to do and not what they want to do. That is, they go to college (well, some do), get a job, work 40-50 hour weeks for 35 years with 2 week vacations (that are hardly taken for vacation), get married, have kids, and retire. So learning from their experiences and regrets, I do what I want, when I want, with little thought of the consequences (financially).
For me, there will always be jobs with the degree I have and the advance degree I am getting, so there is no need for me to put all my college earnings into savings (sure, some doesn't hurt, but only enough to last if I were jobless for a few months). I'd much rather be broke than miss out on an amazing experience. Even my friends (22) are following into the same pattern my co-workers (40-50s) took and now regret. They look at my travels and wonder how I can afford it, saying they can't afford something like that. I try and tell them it is not "I can't" as much as a "What can I do to make this happen?" It makes me quite sad to see it. Sure, you may live very thrifty, less indulgent life styles at home, as I am guessing a lot of other people do as well, but you can then live it up a few weeks (or months for some) out of the year in a foreign country. I don't need new clothes, a large place, or tons of things to make me happy. Give me a camera, a plane ticket to anywhere, and some time to research and I'm good.
I recently took a month long trip to Europe because I felt like it, a graduate treat to myself. My family told me I was, essentially, crazy (they've never been out of North America) and wouldn't do it. Well, I did. Now I've convinced a few of them to go some day in the future. I like the experiences gained from travel, as is what everyone else already said. Getting out there, doing something unique, even if it is the touristy thing to do, is better than staying at home rotting in a routine you likely hate. What else can you do that involves stories of jumping off a mountain in Austria or seeing a Cabaret in Paris? I guarantee most people would be more interested in those than other topics of conversation. I also like meeting people from all over the world, be it people from the country I am visiting and other travelers like me who are there for the same reason (I personally like the latter slightly more) and some of the conversations about where you've been can be most enjoyable, plus makes you add another destination on your long list of "where am I going next"
I like international travel best, it's different and easily throws you out of your comfort zone for not only a visit but an outright experience. Right now I am way sick of being in the US all the time and seeing the same culture. There are dozens of places in this country I want to see, but one day when I have a family, and as one of my colleagues said "have the time but not the money" domestic travel will be where it is, and is probably more enjoyable for any future kids I may or may not have as well.
I guess that is a more detailed reason for why I travel other than the normal reasons people go to the places; a neat destination with something you are interested in seeing or doing.
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Local Expert for Ohio, USA Next Countries: May 2010: Banff National Park - Canada Planning RTW in 2010-2011 for Asia and South America - coverage here |
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| starlagurl |
Jul 28 2008, 03:08 PM
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Rolling Stone
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Posts: 14509
Joined: 5-November 07
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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QUOTE(jeremystravels @ Jul 27 2008, 01:06 AM)
I think my favorite quote is something along the lines of "When you're young you have the time but not the money, and when you're older you have the money but not the time."
I recently took a month long trip to Europe because I felt like it, a graduate treat to myself. My family told me I was, essentially, crazy (they've never been out of North America) and wouldn't do it.
Yeah, that is a really great quote. Nice one. That's really horrible that your family would say that to you. Whatever happened to unconditional love etc. etc.??? I'm glad you did it even though you didn't have any encouragement, it's definitely worth it.
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| jeremystravels |
Jul 28 2008, 08:49 PM
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Commuter
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Posts: 613
Joined: 26-July 08
From: Dayton, Ohio
Member No.: 217489
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QUOTE(starlagurl @ Jul 28 2008, 04:08 PM)
That's really horrible that your family would say that to you. Whatever happened to unconditional love etc. etc.??? I'm glad you did it even though you didn't have any encouragement, it's definitely worth it.
Well I think it was a mix of the fact that they had no desire to go and didn't think I would do it primarily from the money stand point. They seemed to have the view that it would be ridiculously expensive (don't get me wrong I spent a fair bit of money) and that I wouldn't be able to afford it either or should put my money on other things (i.e. not blowing it on vacations when the economy is poor). It was also difficult to tell them it was safe when the media makes people think everyone hates Americans. Its funny that I was probably safer in those countries than I would be traveling alone in the US at the major destinations. They did finally say that they were impressed with the amount of research I did, which was always nice to hear. I wasn't going into anything blindly. I just booked a trip to Egypt for 8 days and am going out to Petra for 2 days too. I am actually looking forward to hearing what that response will be like. They're glad I had fun and did it once they realized how much I have wanted to go to these places. It just took a while to convince them it was a good idea and that I was capable of doing a trip halfway around the world, completely alone. Now with this trip they're going to instantly assume Egypt / Petra to be like me going right into the middle of Baghdad or Kabul or something. Should be interesting. 
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Local Expert for Ohio, USA Next Countries: May 2010: Banff National Park - Canada Planning RTW in 2010-2011 for Asia and South America - coverage here |
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| starlagurl |
Jul 29 2008, 08:50 AM
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Rolling Stone
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 14509
Joined: 5-November 07
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Member No.: 103914
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QUOTE(helenbels @ Jul 28 2008, 06:43 PM)
I suddenly realised that life is too short and if I was every going to see the world I should do it now. And I am hoping that travel will show me who I am and how I fit into the world. Fingers crossed anyway.
And if not, at least I can get drunk and cry about it somewhere pretty.
Yep, you're really right. Life is too short, just don't become an alcoholic while you're figuring it all out! That's really tough though, good luck to you in your travels. QUOTE(jeremystravels @ Jul 28 2008, 09:49 PM) Its funny that I was probably safer in those countries than I would be traveling alone in the US at the major destinations. They did finally say that they were impressed with the amount of research I did, which was always nice to hear. I wasn't going into anything blindly. I just booked a trip to Egypt for 8 days and am going out to Petra for 2 days too. I am actually looking forward to hearing what that response will be like. They're glad I had fun and did it once they realized how much I have wanted to go to these places. It just took a while to convince them it was a good idea and that I was capable of doing a trip halfway around the world, completely alone. Now with this trip they're going to instantly assume Egypt / Petra to be like me going right into the middle of Baghdad or Kabul or something. Should be interesting. Yep, you're probably right. I'm really glad you got to do what you wanted to do. That trip to Egypt sounds fun, do you think your family will still worry about you, even though they're more supportive now?
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| starlagurl |
Aug 21 2008, 02:10 PM
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Rolling Stone
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 14509
Joined: 5-November 07
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Member No.: 103914
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QUOTE(jeremystravels @ Jul 29 2008, 05:42 PM)
I think they're still going to worry, but I guess that is to be expected. I was actually surprised, it went much better when I got a response back about what I booked. I think I convinced them enough that it was a good idea and I'd be safe. I'll call that a victory and be happy with it, haha.
The best thing I think you can do, to prove to them they don't have to worry, is to show them how well you travel. With pictures, blogs, etc. The more and more you do that, the less they will worry. Because they'll know you have your wits about you
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| jeremystravels |
Aug 30 2008, 11:47 AM
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Commuter
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 613
Joined: 26-July 08
From: Dayton, Ohio
Member No.: 217489
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QUOTE(skylab @ Aug 21 2008, 04:13 PM)
jeremystravels, I'm in the same boat as you. Mother is trying to convince me to stay and not do it. Along with some other people lol.
That's a great idea starlagurl. I started my blog and hope to have a full history up there with pictures and everything when I start my travels.
I have my blog setup to just go really detailed in everything I did. I do not take a computer with me when I travel so I cannot keep them up to date. I wouldn't want to waste my time typing up a blog while traveling  . I think the large issue is most people are not willing to part with so much money and never thought of the idea of throwing that much down for such a huge travel arrangement. Most of my friends that try and convince me otherwise think it is more important to have a house and a car. I really could careless about either.  Best of luck on your travels, you wont regret it if you do it!
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Local Expert for Ohio, USA Next Countries: May 2010: Banff National Park - Canada Planning RTW in 2010-2011 for Asia and South America - coverage here |
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| psubrat93 |
Sep 1 2008, 08:39 PM
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Newbie
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Joined: 23-June 08
Member No.: 202393
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I guess you can say I have 'wander lust'. As much as I love my home, ever few months I just want to go somewhere, experience something new. It leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to come back to the daily grind. My co-worker once calculated that I would travel every 14 weeks on average. He said I would start getting antsy around week 10 and by week 16 if I hadn't taken a trip, I would be kind of crazed. And it doesn't have to be a long trip.
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