Things I Love About Traveling – Cultures, People and History

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Things I Love About Traveling – Luckily, the things I adore about traveling, such as experiencing new cultures, outweigh the hassles. Having the ability to travel around the world is one of the most amazing things in the world, there are so many awesome things to learn, and help us grow.

I could probably name hundreds of reasons why I love traveling but for today here are my top 5 reasons why I continue to be motivated to travel on a budget. 

Things I Love About Traveling

Things I Love About Traveling
5 Things I Love About Traveling

I Love to Travel and Experience New Cultures

I’m almost obsessed with experiencing and learning about new cultures; I absolutely love it. It is so much better to experience cultures and the overall vibe in person versus reading about it or watching Youtube videos. Just a simple walk down a street can lead to insights into the people, commerce, and lifestyles of the people who live there.

I learn so much by visiting places with a different culture than my own. I also find that by understanding the culture, you can understand why the people are the way they are – on such a deeper level.  No matter where in the world your travels take you, you’ll find the culture interesting, often very different from your own, and thought-provoking. There is always something cultures teach you if you are open to learning.

Experiencing New Things

Whether you are trying something new such as skiing, scuba diving, or lobstering, or taking in new scenery and climates, there is always something new to experience when traveling. 

South Africa - Adventure Awaits

Things I Love About Traveling History

I’m not usually a big history fan, but when it comes to traveling, I really love to know the history of every place I visit. By learning the history of a place I get a better appreciation and understanding of why things are the way they are there. Reasons to Travel More

Things I Love About Traveling Food

Food, and not just eating it, is a big part of travel for me. I love going to supermarkets, cafes, little boutiques, and outdoor markets, and can literally spend hours just looking at new, interesting, and sometimes strange food items which I’ve never seen before.

I’m fascinated by the norms as far as times people eat and what different countries eat for their breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. It’s also interesting to see how food is served and in what combinations. If you can time your travels right, you can experience food festivals in the area. Take it a step further by mixing food with culture and visit the food fight festivals in Spain for a memorable experience.

Things I Love About Traveling The People

Things I Love About Traveling The People
Things I Love About Traveling The People

Often I meet travelers bragging about how many countries they’ve been to and all the ‘fun’ things they’ve done. To me, that doesn’t really matter that much; what matters to me is not the places you go to but more importantly the people you meet while you are there.

One must always take precautions when traveling; however, there are many opportunities to interact with locals, even if you can’t meet them. Plan to converse with the restaurant and market staff as well as the staff at the hotels or wherever you are staying. 

Things I Love About Traveling Using the Five Senses

Another thing I like to remember from my travels are the different smells, sounds, food flavors and visual colors you get to experience. My brain finds itself working on overdrive trying to take it all in, and long afterward I can think back to a place and still remember what kind of vibe I felt. I’ll always remember the feeling a place gives me, whether it’s good or bad.

The things we may see as normal can blows another other person’s mind, and it’s sad that such a simple thing as nature and freedom is a rarity in many parts of the world. This was something I knew and was always told, but didn’t realize until I actually saw it with my own eyes.

Traveling makes you REALLY understand what you’ve already learned but never really experienced, and I think everyone can benefit with a good dose of travel. How about you? What is something you realized you had been taking for granted once you started traveling?

Travel Realization – The Luxury of Having an Escape

Spending a hot summer in the city for me isn’t always ideal, often I start feeling really uninspired and restless. I feel like I need to get away from the concrete, the roads, the shops and crowds of tourists, so I pack my backpack once in a while and escape to the most idyllic place in Sweden – my grandma’s house in the forest, by the lake.

My grandma lives in the middle of nowhere, a gem almost completely unknown, and even though I have traveled the world and seen so many amazing places, for the mind there really is no place like this.

I didn’t realize until now how I have taken this place so much for granted, how spoiled I’ve been to have a place like this to escape to.

For me this used to be something I assumed everyone had, but after having traveled I realize that the simple pleasures of life outside of the city is something only a few can really enjoy.

Being able to walk barefoot wherever I like in the forest on anybody’s land, swimming in a lake with nobody around, and being able to breathe fresh air is something so simple and natural but unfortunately so hard to find these days.

I remember reading an interview with the two children who played the main characters in Slumdog Millionaire. They were so thrilled about being in Hollywood, but what they were most amazed by in all this glitter and glamour was the amazing fresh air. They wanted to live in Hollywood forever just so they could breathe the air.

What I’m trying to get to is that in the end, it’s the small things that matters the most, and it’s easy to forget what they are when you always have access to them yourself.

Turning the Negatives into Positives

I love traveling, I really do. But there are parts of it that I can’t stand. I have to be honest and say that me and travel have a typical love-hate relationship. As well as bringing out the ‘best me’, traveling also has a habit of bringing out the ‘worst me’, but no matter how frustrated I get with traveling I need it – it’s like a drug.

Once you’ve traveled for more than a few months, you’ll never want to stop (just occasionally get so frustrated you think you want to, but deep inside you know that you don’t).

Waiting

I reckon that you spend at least 25% of your time on the road waiting for something; waiting for the flight to leave, the bus to come or the half an hour delayed train. And if you’re not waiting for the plane, your waiting in the plane. I know it’s not the destination but the journey that matters, but that can be hard to grasp when sitting in a plane for 16 hours straight. 

Turn waiting into a positive when you can. Use the time at the airport to catch up on friends and family with texts and social media. Go through your photos, and upload them to a site such as Snapfish or Shutterfly so you’ll be sure to have them in case you lose your phone. Plan your itinerary for the next leg of your trip. People watch. Read. 

Stressing

Traveling is rarely a balanced and healthy lifestyle, you either sit and wait until you’re so bored you start solving Sudoku, or you find yourself rushing from one place to another just making the bus, just getting through customs, just getting on the plane, just – just – JUST! 

Life on the road is life on the edge and while it creates such amazing excitement, an overload of stress can really affect your state of mind. Remembering it’s a holiday and that you don’t have the daily pressures of your regular life can help.

Uncertainty

I’m a girl who loves changes, action and adventure, and that is exactly why I need the opposite. I need some routines in my life to be able to keep my feet on the ground. Having routines is hard when traveling, although I have now managed to achieve this more or less – it comes with practice.

Watch What You Eat and Drink

All those amazing-looking foods will pack on the pounds when we aren’t careful. Yes, I do lots of walking when traveling but when I’m at home, I don’t eat late. When I’m on holiday, anything goes, especially when traveling to parts of the world in which late night dinners are the norm.

Also, it’s challenging if you are someone who thrives on eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Sometimes it’s not possible to access them when you’re in different countries. In addition, if you have allergies, that’s always a big risk because you won’t know the sub-ingredients in many of the foods.

Keeping in Touch with Friends

It’s do-able, but it really wears down on the relationship. The first two months are alright, but after that there is just too many things going on and you have no time, and at the same time so many things have happened back home with your friends’ lives that you have totally missed out on.

So when finally seeing them again, you’re no longer the same person you were when you left, and often neither are they. You’ve missed out on a lot of the activities your friends have done without you. The great news is that technology makes it easier than ever to stay in touch.

Staying in Shape

This relates back to all the amazing cuisine. All the late nights, good food and drinks put their share of kilos on your belly, and at the same time there is no time or place to really get rid of them. If you are staying in a hotel instead of a hostel, you may luck out with a small fitness room. However, oftentimes, at the end of a long day of traveling and seeing local sights, that may be the last thing you feel like doing. 

Coming Back

Coming back home or to your ‘base’ is always tough. It’s hard to adapt to the certainty and everyday life. No more new sights and foreign cultures. The days are similar to each other and nothing really seems to have changed. It’s difficult to share all your experiences, and even if you could nobody really wants to hear it. They’re either not interested or get jealous.

In addition, there’s lots to catch up on. If you were gone for an extended period of time and work remotely, it’s not quite as bad, but for others, it’s tough going back to work. There is also doing all the regular maintenance on your home. Even doing laundry and unpacking is sometimes a lot.

I Love Traveling and Experiencing New Places

There are so many things to love about traveling. With globetrotting, like with life, there is the good and the bad. The good far outweigh the negatives in most instances. Having the opportunity to travel is a blessing and it’s best to really try to get the most out of it that you can. Bringing back a fresh perspective to your everyday life will help enhance it until you leave again.

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