The number of times I've heard people say shit like 'traveling makes you grow as a person'. Someone please specify what this growth looks like because I've never experienced it.
I don't think traveling is life-changing. I think most people have a romanticized, cinema-like idea of traveling that has been exaggerated even more because of social media.
It definitely is fun to go on a vacation. But in most cases, that's all it is -- a source of entertainment. Maybe an ice-breaker the next time you go to some pretentious party.
Am I missing something?
Personal observation:
I see traveling in two parts. One is either being a tourist or a backpacker.
Whenever I've been a tourist enjoying the comfort of lavish hotel stays and a cab to take me around I have felt no emotion in that trip whatsoever. I do enjoy the fancy food, but it just doesn't connect with me and I have felt those trips as mere checklist of items to be ticked off from an itinerary.
Backpacking is where I've truly experienced the essense of travel. With a shoestring budget and ready to brave the weather, surviving on water and maggi, hitchhiking on random vehicles, jostling for space in a local public transport, endless walks, taking help from random strangers - this is what I still prefer and enjoy to date. It helps me connect more with the place, culture, and helps me appreciate simple things in life, not to forget making me realise how privileged I am. I make it a point to do one major trip like this every year.
One hundred percent true.
@BrisbaneBunny , there is a third category of people, like me. We do opt for hotels, but budget ones. We can take public transport or a cab depending on the cost difference and how tired we are. We'll not wake up at 8 and roam around till we are sleepy, so we would want to relax, wake up late, but then have a busy day and not stay holed up in the hotel. We believe in quality over quantity, so okay with missing out on a few things in the checklist. 😃 @deadpm , for me, I don't think any growth and enjoyment would happen if I book a package from an agent, who will plan the whole schedule and I won't have to worry about a single thing. I personally like planning, hitting some obstacles, learning from it and that's where the growth and fun is. It just takes you out of your comfort zone and helps you better cope up with unforeseen circumstances, helps you learn new ways of doing things etc.
It depends how & where u travel.
I will put a quick example - Someone close to me always assumed ki roads usually breakdown in monsoons because it is normal in india. Once they traveled abroad and to a tropical island where rains are very common. After seeing the roads there, first comment was - “Roads don’t break always due to rains”. So, this was a life long learning for that human, broke the mirage of road quality and execution in India.
Similarly, once I went to a 3-days long trek with a friend to inner jungles of SEAsia. We had to carry drinking water with us & took bath in flowing river. If you have seen “Iss jungle se mujhe bachao” (desi version of fear factor) was shot there. This friend of mine after landing back made a statement “yaar jisne bhi shower invent kiya hai, it’s a big gift”. Takeaway from this travel was - He was able to appreciate the simplest thing which we take for granted.
Many people learn new things about culture, practices of a new place. My personal surprise was when I traveled to Bali and saw similarities between theirs n ours practices. Helped me to go back n read about various things of empires.
Multiple such stories, so yeah, it depends!
I've lived and worked across 19 countries so I can probably answer this question much better than anyone else here.
Travelling isn't overrated. It's the best thing any living organism with legs and ability to travel faster can do. I've been a very introvert person throughout my college life. When I landed my first job which was a small startup of 48 employees (including the founder) we were expected to do everything. I got my first travel opportunity to Kuwait in 2014 where my customer was literally located on Kuwait Iraq border guarded by the US marines. I spent 6 months here developing a HR and Payroll software along with a BI application. I made some great work relations with people from different nationals. We lived together, cooked food, went around exploring Kuwait city. I learned alot of life lessons and became really extrovert in nature. I made tons of mistakes since I wasn't aware about the etiquettes of dealing with different nationalities.
Once I was back after my stint I was sent onsite again this time to Dubai in the UAE to work with a public sector customer to implement a costing and profitability system as an ETL developer. I was there for 3 months and Dubai is one of the best cities in the world. Whatever they do they thrive to be world class. Having learned from my previous experiences, I learned and networked with alot of other nationals and locals alike. I even explored around Abu Dhabi during the weekends. Following that I got many such assignments in the Gulf especially in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Jordan.
Our VP decided to give me a new region and sent me on a project to France in 2016 for a one year long stint where I learned French language and even had a French girlfriend. I traveled all over France and explored many places around Europe and the UK. I was also put on another project in Portugal for a few weeks. I explored this beautiful country in under 3 weeks.
There's so much traveling has taught me and made me who I'm now.
I'd also like to add that I've also travelled extensively across India since I don't like to stay at home anymore. During pandemic, I left my home and went on a 8 month long workaction with friend exploring Himachal, Uttrakhand and Kashmir.
I was 42 days in places like Darcha, Jispa and Keylong exploring the remote villages of Himachal and working from places wherever I found peace of mind.
Travelling makes you step outside your comfort zone and makes you a problem solver. You're constantly challenging yourself and building yourself in the process as a better human being. We're not meant to settle down at one place. Life is meant for exploring, learning and travelling. Not WFH looking at your screens all day.
Totally agreed. Thanks for sharing. I would like to start doing this, any tips you can give on all the learnings you have had? I loved your experiences, would want to experience something similar
Kaafi log Instagram ke pressure me ake travel kar rahe hai
No! it isn't overrated.
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