We all have distinctive images running in
our heads when we hear the word “travel”. Some think of a relaxing holiday on a
deserted island.Others dream of an adventurous mountain climbing trip, visiting
friends and family. It could also be travelling to afar countries you only hear
in the news to see how people live on the other side of the world. Or it could
just be getting on a plane for the very first time, going on a pilgrimage…
The thoughts are almost endless though there
is one aspect in common - awaiting experiences. If there were anything any
traveller would tell you about is their experience, whether good or bad;
experiences are inevitable.
I recall my first memory of travelling, at
the age of 8, where we were going to visit my grandmother in Zanzibar. I had met her before but I was quite young
only that my parents kept my memory alive by reminding me of my “bibi”.
Not so quite an adventurous trip but for an
eight year old, I was constantly counting days. I could feel the excitement in
my bones. My parents would tell me the same bedtime story of Unguja (main island of Zanzibar) for weeks on
end - what we would be doing and who we would see. It all sounded very magical
in my head, every morning I would wake up and ask how many days were left until
we would see “bibi” and what would be doing there. And very patiently, my
parents would help me explain the days left by stating how many times I had to
sleep and wake up for us to get to Unguja.
It goes without saying that our external
influences create these images in our minds that we crave to experience, to
live long enough to tell the story. Travel is an act that all humans have in
common, from our forefathers, explorersand alike – history tells us that through
travel is how we learned that a year has 365 days.
It is what connects us as humans, we learn
about others and most importantly through travelling we learn about ourselves.
Some travel for leisure, business, religious purposes and other for pure
curiosity.
The latter in my opinion is what creates the
sizzling side of travel – when one connects with oneself and the environment. Taking
it all in and learning from the people, culture, attitudes – probably one of
the greatest gifts to mankind.
Landing in a “strange” country can be mind
blowing or frightening, though after a few trips, you learn that even if you do
not speak the same language, there’s the language of “humanity.” You will find
it anywhere you go in the world.
Despite what the media tells us on the do’s
and don’ts, it is ofcourse vital to take precaution, though at times one needs
to learn to travel with an “open mind”.
Having no expectations of what you will
experience is one of the calmest ways of travel, since you will be travelling
like an open book.
Taking note of every single detail – the
smells, the features, the foods, the beats, the weather conditions and so on.
It is exciting, daunting, mesmerizing, shocking, pleasurable, uncomfortable…but
they are all experiences that you will put together to describe your travel.
And when you return home, you realize that
the sizzling side of travelling is in fact discovering that everyone is wrong
about other countries. Taking for granted what travel books, websites and
magazines tell us about a country is not fair, one must travel to discover
about that country.
The whole idea about travelling is meeting
the people and discovering the sizzling aspect of it!
www.grassroots-traveller.com
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