“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”
Mr. Clemens was, as usual, spot on. While there is comfort in the every day, it inevitably makes one complacent. Our minds can only expand when new stimuli are introduced. Travel is an ideal way to be exposed to different cultures and histories without having to take up residence there.
You could think of travel like test driving a car. There is no commitment to purchase but how else can one expect to understand and appreciate the vehicle if one never takes it for a spin. This is a primary reason why the GloveTrotters never go back to the same place twice (except Rome, of course). There are simply too many interesting places we’ve yet to see.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
1. Personal Growth
Research has clearly demonstrated that new experiences causes our minds to expand and develop. We, in essence, become more intelligent the more we’re exposed to new ideas, people, cultures and experiences. It also makes us more empathetic and open-minded which, in turn, further increases our capabilities.
Most people look forward to vacations as a break from their everyday monotony. We, on the other hand, look forward to something we’ve never done before. As mentioned previously, we never go to the same place twice. It isn’t that our previous stops have been in any way lacking, quite the contrary. It’s more the expectation that we are about to embark on a new adventure.
Ramie plans meticulously and we discuss potential places to go but there is nothing like actually being there. My passions are movies and history so I always research places to keep an eye on when we’re travelling. It may be something I’ve studied or a movie I’ve seen but often it is discovering these things for the first time.
We knew very little about Malaysia when my company paid for us to travel to Kuala Lumpur for 10 days. But we did some research and discovered some great places to visit in between my meetings including the Genting Highlands Casinos, located almost 6,000 feet (1,800 m) high in the Titiwangsa Mountains northeast of Kuala Lumpur. Accessible only by cable car or gondola (we saw some elephants and tigers on the way up), on a cloudy day you are actually looking down on the clouds. The facility is massive including (6) hotels (over 10,000 rooms), theme parks, casinos (and we don’t even gamble), nightclubs, farms . . . it goes on forever.
“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before.”
2. Real-Life Education
What we learn in school is of great value but it is primarily theoretical. As we enter adulthood, and its accompanying responsibilities, we find that real-life teaches far more valuable lessons. It helps us to see the world in less black-and-white terms and more in varying, and always shifting, shades of gray. This also increases our flexibility, and our capacity, for one of life’s genuine constants, change.
Ramie and I were lucky enough to have been raised by parents who always wanted us to understand that the world isn’t just where we lived. There was a whole exotic world out there waiting to be discovered and experienced. Ramie’s family went camping throughout the western part of the United States exploring many State and National Parks. I lived in thirteen different places my first ten years of life (don’t ask) from New York and Atlanta to Tennessee and Northern California. We even managed a few trips to Europe.
The irony is that we are the only two of our siblings that truly enjoy travel. Everywhere we have gone has given us an appreciation for how different, and at the same time similar, other cultures can be. It’s also been fascinating to see how many differences, particularly since the internet, have dissipated over time. What remains interesting are the histories of other countries and how each have recognized the need to retain places and structures untouched so the legacies remain.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
3. Families Coming Together
Families inevitably spend a lot of time together. This has its obvious benefits but, as much of it is spent doing the same things over and over again, can get a bit redundant. In those situations, quite frankly, we sometimes can get on each other’s nerves. A great antidote for those times is travel.
Shared experiences are an ideal way to bond people for life. When that experience is new, exciting and positive it has the ability to transform into something magical. We’ve found our travels with family have provided some of our more pleasurable memories. This has particularly been the case when things go wrong and we, collectively, get through it (usually with a pretty good story as well.)
"Creativity is intelligence having fun."
4. Increased Creativity
In my professional life, I have observed that creativity is often simply taking an idea from one place, altering it slightly, putting it in another place and then calling it original. This is why so many creative people are citizens of the world. Every culture has contributed to the culture of another. The United States, the ultimate melting pot, stands as proof of this. So much of our music, sports, art and architecture, to name only a few, has been influenced by the many cultures that have migrated to North America over the centuries.
Ancient Rome would bring the most creative minds, from countries they had conquered, back to Rome. The most magnificent structures built in the Eternal City were built by transplants from other cultures. Trajan’s Column was one of many works of Apollodorus of Damascus who was Syrian born. Many of the monuments in Washington, DC were, in turn, inspired by classic Roman architecture.
It is easy to see the influences the New French Wave films of Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless) and François Truffaut (The 400 Blows) in the 1960’s had on Hollywood films like Mike Nichols’ The Graduate and Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde.
It’s fascinating to see the elaborate and colorful structures and art from Barcelona in comparison to the relatively austere architecture of Germany. Both are amazing yet very different. The Dutch architect, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld of the De Dtijl movement and creator of the Schröder House, was heavily influenced by American legend Frank Lloyd Wright. The world-famous Sydney Opera House was built by Jørn Utzon, a Dane who was heavily influenced by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund and later Alvar Aalto of Finland.
Even countries that have traditionally been more closed to outside influences aren’t immune. Russia’s Leo Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace was influenced not only by fellow writer Victor Hugo (Les Misérables) but also French anarchist, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Rhythm & Blues, which became popular in America during the 1940’s, was influenced by jazz, jump blues and black gospel music each of which had its roots in traditional African dance and music. The Forbidden City in Beijing, China was designed by a team of architects that included Nguyễn An, a native Vietnamese.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
5. An Appreciation for Something Different
We were raised to “treat the janitor the same as the CEO”. We were also exposed to other cultures first through books and our parents friends, then through travel. Prior to the internet there were marked differences just between different sections of the US. There still are but today it’s difficult to tell the difference between a strip mall in Spokane from one in Little Rock.
But we always found that, for the most part, folks were friendly. Especially if you took an interest in them and where they called home. I always marveled at different accents and expressions. In Connecticut they say “qwater” (rhymes with “water”) instead of “quarter”. Don’t get me started on New England accents. I lived just outside of Boston for 10 years and somehow never picked up the accent. If you’re exposed enough you start to recognize the difference between a Georgia and Kansas accent.
I discovered in the South Midwest a “layover to catch meddlers” was a catch phrase for something whose name you couldn’t remember. In Southern California the locals are fantastic but some of the folks moving there with stars in their eyes can sometimes be a different story. The cultures are wildly different in neighboring counties from San Diego and Orange County to Los Angeles County. It’s not better or worse . . . just different. Despite reputations, Northern California is far more laid back than SoCal but the weather down south is hard to beat.
Every place we have ever been has its positives and negatives. A lot of your experiences will be dictated by the attitude you bring with you. We travelled to Italy with a group and there was a family that spent the entire trip complaining about how “this country” wasn’t like home. We, on the other hand, loved Rome, Pompeii, Orvieto and Florence precisely because it wasn’t like home. It was different and that’s part of the appeal of travelling. It’s generally best to leave your expectations at home and simply immerse yourself into the culture you’re in.
“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.”
6. Making New Friends
While travel can be its own reward it is often the people you meet that make the journey more memorable. If you’re vacationing with a tour group there are always a few folks that, by the time the trip is ending, feel like lifelong friends. It is partially the shared experience but also simpatico. Generally speaking, if someone is on the same tour as you they likely share a passion for travelling as well. People that share a common passion often have other similar interests as well.
We’ve always befriended local guides on our travels. It is fascinating for us to learn about their everyday lives, what they do outside of work, what the local customs are. It is also a perfect way to hone your linguistic skills as the guides are always at least bilingual and are natural teachers anyway. As a bonus, they also tend to be excellent sources for restaurants, shopping and little gems not part of the regular tour. One of our guides in Rome suggested a day trip to the mountain village of Orvieto and even accompanied us on the trip.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.”
7. Impossible to Get Bored
OK, maybe not impossible but unless you are just dead set against enjoying yourself, highly unlikely. We have a creek near our home that runs parallel to a hiking path we often walk on. The creek is beautiful complete with winding sections, boulders, whitewater and even a waterfall. But it is also pretty much the same every time we see it. We never bore of it but it never offers a new experience.
There is something invigorating about any new experience, even if it’s something you are resisting. Call it adrenaline, excitement or just raw energy. One thing it isn’t is boring. When one travels, especially overseas, almost everything you see is different from home. It could be the materials homes are built with, the cars that are driving by, the smells in the air or the food being served in local restaurants. It is all different and utterly unique. I always find it fascinating that for locals their daily experience is no more exotic than it is for us when we are at home. In the end it is all about one’s perspective and attitude. If you’re open to new experiences then it can be glorious. If not . . . c’est la vie.
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
8. Refusing to “Grow Old”
All of this excitement and invigorating experiences keep travelers young. Not just spiritually but also physically and emotionally. And this feeling is always there if, like us, you’re either traveling or planning your next trip. The event and the anticipation both fill one with the expectation of a new experience. As mentioned before, the more you travel the more open your mind becomes to accepting new things. As a result, your mind is always in expectant mode and getting pumped up for whatever comes next.
We also tend to always incorporate some sort of physical element to our travels. Whether it be walking the entire Campo Marzio section of Rome in a day or waterfall chasing in the forests of western North Carolina we’ve found that there are multiple benefits. One is the motivation to stay in good shape all the time so we can fully enjoy any type of adventure. The other is staying active means there are few destinations that we aren’t willing to explore. It’s hard to beat the thrill of swimming with the Manatees in Florida or the views from the top of McAfee Knob in Virginia. Age is just a number with the right attitude!
“A ship in a harbor is safe, but it’s not what ships are built for.”
9. Passing Along a Legacy
We all want our children to live a fuller life than ourselves. We want them to be happy, successful and filled with a joy for living. Since travel has always been so beneficial for Ramie and me, we wanted to pass our love of exploration and new experiences along to our children. We never wanted them thinking that where they lived was necessarily a reflection of the rest of other parts of the world. We wanted them to appreciate things that were different from their own experiences in a non-judgmental way. We hoped to open their minds to all kinds of possibilities. If in their later years they have no interest in traveling, at least they make this choice not out of ignorance, but rather because their interests lay elsewhere.
“To travel is to live.”
10. Great Memories
Why do we take so many pictures when we’re on vacation? It is to preserve the memories intact when we revisit the pictures later on. It is those memories that allow each trip to become a part of who we are. Every experience we have adds to who we are as a person. These memories take on a different life over the years. When I smell diesel fuel I am reminded of a childhood visit to Bremen, Germany whereas our kids associate trains with our underground Eurostar ride, when they were still in elementary school, through the Channel Tunnel from France to England.
To this day our kids remember our trip to Disneyworld in Orlando when they were even younger. They still remember visiting the Bird Kingdom on our visit to Niagara Falls. Ramie and I both remember camping with our families in Yosemite National Park. These, along with countless others, are memories we will always cherish. They bonded us as a family while also allowing us to experience places so different from where we called home.
“Oh the places you’ll go.”
Conclusion
What we hear most often from others is that they would love to travel but . . . too busy, too expensive, too much of a hassle, etc. Not everyone is wired for the joy that traveling brings but there are plenty who are just can’t seem to find either the time, the resources or the energy to do so. Ramie has written a great piece on 27 Travel Tips for Your Overseas Trip that helps us to negate a lot of the travel bugs that plague many vacationers.
One thing we do that is very helpful is schedule deliberate free time. We’ll do the tours and visit the museums but also make time for just walking around or sitting in the village square and soaking in the activity all around us. It was one of the great joys of using Untours for a trip to the Rhine Gorge in Germany. We had a local guide for a few scheduled local jaunts but we were also able to explore the village of St. Goar, St Goarhausen and Loreley all on our own.
The planning aspect is also huge. The more you prepare for those things you can control, like what you eat, how much sleep you get, your physical conditioning, etc. the less time you waste not being at your best. If you’re getting tired by mid-afternoon because you aren’t in very good shape or chose to eat a starch-heavy lunch then it lessens your joy. Take a look at our blog post 7 Simple Things to do Every Night Before a Travel Day to see some of the things we do to prepare when on the road.
In the end we all get the most out of what we put in. It could be our attitudes, our previous experiences, our expectations or our desire for new experiences. When you prepare, both from a practical place as well as an intellectually curious place, all travel becomes even more enjoyable.
Why do you love to travel? We’d love to hear from you and your adventures!
