There are at least
two ways to travel: as a tourist, and as somebody else. If you have the time,
you can always try to be both.
When I visit new
places, I always try to give it a second, third look. First, I allow myself to be
a tourist, you know, of the snap-happy, spot-hopping kind. I comb through the
map and the checklists.
Then, I stay for
another day or come back to get to know the place and its people a little bit
better, deeper, in a more reflective, respectful manner. I just walk and
wander, stopping to drool over a lamppost leaning in a way not so common, or to
try a local drink or snack.
While tourism is
not necessarily a bad thing, for sure there are many other reasons to grab your
backpack and take the next bus to somewhere. Let’s hear what #RoverRecommends
regarding this moving matter.
1.
Ecstasy.
Not the drugs, not so much as that trance-like state, but in the real Greek
sense of it. And that is “to stand outside oneself.” I understand that some
people, in order to get to know themselves better, they try to introspect, to
see themselves by looking within. Well, that’s chill. But you can also try
going outside of the self, and discover the Other. You can’t underestimate the
depth and breadth of knowledge and experience you gain by meeting strangers and
tasting strange things.
2.
Study.
I spent around five years of my life “studying” in Europe. While it wasn’t the
easiest episode of my existence, it was one heaven of a traveling chapter.
Studying abroad not only makes you go out of your academic comfort zone, it
also gives you a wider world view. Your horizon of perspectives becomes far
richer than the one you cling to back in your small safe corner.
3.
Work.
Sometimes the grass is indeed greener on the other side. But you’re not there
for the greens, but also for the blues, the burgundies and other colors that a
different work place and culture offers. I had once worked as a gardener in Normandy
through a help-exchange program, and also helped out a family in Slovakia doing
household chores. Wrestle weekdays, wander weekends. Works for me.
4.
Culture.
Sounds cliché by now, but if you really allow yourself to immerse in a
different way of living, of seeing and doing things, you would definitely learn
and enjoy at the same time. We were once in Morocco during the Ramadan, and we
did try to fast as the locals would. More than once, we were treated to a free
meal by the end of a day’s fasting. Visiting a place during festivals could
also prove to be a very satisfying endeavor.
5.
Eat.
No captions needed. Well, if you insist, who wouldn’t want to go for seconds in
that small pizza place in a corner of Naples? Or for sushi in the traffic of
Tokyo? Anyone for tacos in Mexico or a big slab of steak in Buenos Aires? Full
veg anywhere in India?
6.
Capture.
A once-in-a-lifetime moment. The most surprising photobomb. The biggest life
learning. Caught in camera. Immortalized by ink. Engraved in the corners and
caves of your memories. We all are collectors of things beautiful, interesting,
life-changing. We want to keep now to share tomorrow, to remember in the future,
for purposes of emergency or just to emerge from something, somewhere.
7.
Spirituality.
A pilgrimage is part of any religious experience, both organized and
free-wheeling. For some it’s the Vatican or the Way of Santiago de Compostela,
for others it’s the Mecca or the desert and the seas. Some walk barefoot to
commune with nature, some sail or cycle towards a deeper understanding of the
universe and the human spirit.
8.
Read.
It’s a win-win situation. Reading helps you travel, travel better informed and
updated. Traveling allows you some reading time while waiting for flights or
the next bus or your hot meal. Many of my travels are based on books, as in I
read about destinations, as in I visit a city for its bookshops. From a lovely
bookstore by the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to Church Street in Bangalore
dog-eared with the best secondhand bookshops in town, I don’t really mind the
extra mile or page or kilogram.
9.
Bridge.
Gaps. Differences. Islands. Continents. Universes.
10. Breathe.
Just to do nothing, away from work, from the chaos of the city. Or exactly the
opposite, to absorb the frantic lights of the capital and electrocute boredom. Some
require a plane ticket for every hiccup or long bus rides for a nagging thought.
Some just need to be there, outside. Some would like to live in Mars, some just
would like to go back home.
Whatever floats your
boat, what trips your trigger. For whatever reason, the need and desire for
travel must be addressed. Get it? Addressed. Choose a destination. Go where
your toes take you, where your dreams lead you, where you will be at home
anywhere in the world. // for Oasis Holidays
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is a worldwide-eyed wanderer currently based in Bangalore, India. You may follow his musings and journeys on this blog. "All Rover the World" chronicles his continuing travels wandering about the world and stumbling upon strangers.
