Why travel, part 3

I like to travel because I enjoy seeing the wonders of other countries; seeing how the people live and how they adapt to being around ancient and modern times. I like the idea of seeing areas on TV or hearing about other parts of the world and saying to myself " Oh, I have been there: it was so beautiful and exciting" -- Irma

When I travel, I feel free. I travel to meet new people, and experiece new places. I enjoy experiencing the beauty of other places that I am not familiar with, and I enjoy photographing that beauty. -- Cheryl

My wife likes to travel to meet new people, see new things, enjoy different foods and find out about other traditions. Me, I travel to keep from working -- Don

Why do I travel? Why do I learn? Like a book, traveling opens my senses to a world outside my own. More than words or opinions, I am actively experiencing new cultures, people and places. All my senses are alive to something new… something different. Having just returned from my third trip to South Africa – once again, everything within me was stirred by the beauty of the land, the kindness of the people, the simplicity of life and the sacredness of nature. My memory tank is full as I try to replay some highlights in my mind. Now, back to the mundane… I long for the next travel experience. I hunger to learn more inside the best classroom life has to offer – the Classroom of Travel!! -- Trina

Why travel, part 2

Here are several more responses to my question of "Why do you travel?"

For me, what delivers a satisfying travel experience is walking. I see gardens and barking dogs, chat with women in their barnyard, walk by old junk piles, return waves of greeting. Walking takes me through ancient ruins of abbeys in England, into the kitchen of the Italian train station master for fresh home-made wine, and Bedouin tents for tea in Morocco. Arab tots clamber to kiss my hand in the pre-medieval neighborhood of Marrakech, a French woman in a pink polyester suit makes total side-body contact to give directions I don't really need and a New Yorker sets up my entire four-day visit, learns my personal history and all about my children in the 30 minutes after we cross a busy street together. Not one of these experiences would I have had, except by walking. I thought travel would be about history, art and sights, but it is with living, breathing people where I experience life. -- Tyler, Oregon

I wonder about Turkey ( old Constantinople) and Rome and the Libraries of Egypt, destroyed long ago. Although I know I can never see those old libraries, the destruction of the ancient books and papyrus drives me crazy as I wonder what was written, what knowledge did we lose? I was taught in school about the invasion of England by the Romans. Their arrival changed the history of Britain more so than the arrival (previously) of the Danes or the Saxons. The Roman influence is still seen in lots of cities, especially Bath. Names like Chester, Cirencester, Worcester indicates that these towns were named by the Romans. Some roads built by the Romans remain today, the Fosse Way and Watling St., very straight roads (the Romans realized early on that the quickest connection between two points was a straight line).
So i often wonder about the people who brought civilization to England. About those who taught us about government, health, central heating, architecture and taught women about beautification (make-up, jewelry and how to dye hair). Yes, that all fascinates me and makes me wonder. So I like to travel because I'm curious and because I can. -- Gillian, Vermont (by way of England)

I travel to learn about things I never knew existed. I travel to experience life in ways I couldn't imagine. I travel to discover parts of myself I didn't know were missing. -- Paul, USA

I like to travel because I enjoy seeing the wonders of other countries; seeing how the people live and how they adapt to being around ancient and modern times. I like the idea of seeing areas on TV or hearing about other parts of the world and saying to myself "Oh, I have been there: it was so beautiful and exciting." -- Irma, Houston

Why do we travel?

I recently asked the people on our blog list why they traveled. Here are a few of the responses:

To remind myself that we’re not the only ones on the planet. There are other cultures, foods, traditions, clothing, climates, languages … all out there for us to say “hello” and “thanks for sharing this space with me.”-- Michele

For me travel is education/growth. New places and cultures with their different architecture, art, music, styles, people, food, history, etc. all combine to broaden understanding of the world as a whole, which tends to be a pretty bizarre and cool place if you take the time to really look at it. And at the same time it helps one redefine the idea of home. -- Glen, Germany

[T]he more you experience, the more diverse your experience of life, the more it has meaning. It becomes less morbid to think that though we all die in the end, we have several decades to absorb the richness around us. For me, travel is also a creative stimulant and a mental relief from mundane motions of contemporary living. As an artist, the experiences give depth to my work because they help me better understand relationships: man and nature, man and man, nature and nature. As a student, any opportunity to get away from school is a welcome respite! -- Amrita, Virginia

We find traveling, both locally in the U.S. and abroad, to be one of the most educational experiences one can have. Not only do we thoroughly enjoy the experience of trying out the local foods and wines of the countries we visit but we love to experience the local culture. We enjoy either biking or walking wherever we are . . . the chances of meeting locals is far greater this way than to move around by car, rail or bus and is a far more intense education than reading either a textbook or even the best travel guide. We'll be traveling worldwide as long as we have the physical and mental wherewithal to do it! -- Stan and Margie, Colorado

I'll be adding more responsese over the next couple of days so stay tuned!

Thanks again for sharing your ideas with all of us! I find it fascinating that so many of us, most of us strangers to each other, are traveling for pretty much the same reasons: to experience, to learn, to grow.

And travel doesn't have to involve long flights to exotic countries, but can be something as simple as driving to the next county. It's the journey and what you learn from it that seems to be so important to at least the people who stop by our blogs and websites to say hello.