My favorite aspect of traveling is probably just exploring a new place and having that sense of childlike wonder for walking through seemingly unchartered streets. There's nothing quite like waking up after arriving at a new destination. At first you are disoriented, and all of a sudden you remember that you are on vacation & there is a whole new world to discover just outside of your door. To me, there's nothing quite as euphoric. I would actually equate this feeling to waking up on Christmas morning knowing you have so many presents to open, but not quite sure where to start.
I honestly have never had a bad experience with traveling. As long as you prepare a couple of phrases in the native tongue (including please & thank you), wear a smile and a can do attitude, most people are eager to help. When I first got to Rome, I had trouble finding my Airbnb, but every Italian* that I spoke with was kind & courteous. They helped me to the best of their abilities and one even went as far as getting me right to the front of the door.
Something else I wanted to touch upon was to encourage all of the wanderlusty individuals out there to try traveling solo. I boarded a Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam solo and it was probably one of the best decisions of my life.You have so much more freedom traveling solo as opposed to bending to the will of a bunch of different people while traveling in a group. I went to bars that I wanted to go to. I went to museums that I wanted to go to. I went to clubs that I wanted to go to.
These days so many people are so concerned with being politically correct and/or not trying to step on anyone's toes that they forget it's truly okay to be 100% selfish some of the times. After all, you are the one living your own life, not for anyone else BUT yourself. If there is any one thing that I would recommend people to do is to try solo travel at least once in your life. It is both exhilarating & humbling because you are able to form opinions of a particular destination that is all your own. Most of the time, our opinions are formed by inputs from the people around us (nurture). We rarely form opinions that are a result of who we are at our core (nature). As inked on my back, "Travel far enough, you meet yourself."
*Sidenote: Italians are fine as hell. A good majority of the population belonged in an Armani ad.
Share This Article
