Some Thoughts about Travelling

People travel for various reasons, but when you travel for leisure what do you like to do? Obviously, the time available determines a lot, but, say you end up in a foreign land with a week's worth of free time. What do yo do?

I'll tell you what I'd do. First, I'd get a nice, clean and safe hotel. Nothing fancy as I won't be spending much time there. Then I'd go out, from very early in the morning until very late at night. I'd want to catch a sunrise, I'd want to mingle with the people, smell & taste their food, listen to their music, have a siesta, drink their wine (or beer), watch a sunset, go out to dinner where the locals go, and peer into the night sky from that perspective in the universe. Notice that I didn't' mention shopping. I have nothing against this activity, and if I happen to see something interesting, I'd buy it. Yet, I wouldn't travel to or spend my precious time in a shoppingland.

I usually don't like travelling for leisure with more than one more person. It just gets too complicated as people have different priorities, levels of energies, interests, and whatever else. I'd rather go alone to get the experience I want. It works better for me this way. As a matter of fact, I'd prefer having a nice time in my backyard [well the park nearby] than going off to a place where I wouldn't be able to experience it my way. Selfish? Maybe. But, I don't want to say I've been to ________ [insert place here] just to impress people. I mean, I have friends who have gone to nice places but spent most of their time in a hotel, or shopping [mind you, not in ani nteresting bazaar but in a mall], and eating American food overseas.

I think that the way we travel perhaps reflects upon our personality, which is rather true for most things we do on our free volition. We are who we are and sooner or later our true self comes out. By the way, I'm not at all suggesting one way (or my way) is better than anybody else's. It is after all a personal experience. It's like drinking coffee or seasoning your food.

Speaking of food, do you make an effort to try the local cuisine? I'm adventurous and I have a wide range but I admit I couldn't normally eat certain food. On the other hand, I like octopus on the grill--something that's probably utterly disgusting to many persons.

Humans began to travel out of Africa some 50,000 to 75,000 years ago. Within a few thousands of years, they've reached the continents. Yet, if you exclude the few nomadic tribes--especially the marauding tribes that came out of middle Asia--humans didn't travel all that much until the Industrial revolution. Most were born, raised, and died (very short life spans) within a few miles radius. Isolation and no news was the norm. Change didn't take place for generations, and if it did it was rather by accident.

Anyway, what kind of memories do you bring back from your travels? Do you need pictures to reinforce those memories? May ask, what kind of pictures do you take while on vacation?

These pictures here are random, not from one place. I took them a few years ago. If you click on them, they should open bigger in a new window.

Happy trails to all. Isn't life but a journey?

:)