I think I am ready for some slow travel.
As I’ve written before, most of my trips in the past, even overseas, have been brief—maybe a week if I’m lucky, or a long weekend if that’s all the vacation time I can muster. I’ve been in Turkey for four days, Argentina for five, Iceland for three. I managed to eke out six days in Thailand last year, which by my standards was close to an epic journey.
In the past, I never thought much of this. I just figured I was using my precious vacation days to get as far as I could as fast as I could. If I didn’t get to stay long enough to really get to know a place, soak it up, and come away better understanding its nuances and what makes it tick—well, at least I’d seen it and could check it off my bucket list, right?
It wasn’t that I was averse to longer trips; like most people, I’ve just never had both the time and money simultaneously to enable me to take one. When I was working, I had to be mindful of vacation days (and the pressure of trying to see as much of the world as I could with those weeks every year, which often meant long plane flights a few times a year in totally different directions). When I wasn’t working, I was usually either a broke student or looking for a job, so while I might have time on my side for a leisurely exploration of a new corner of the planet, I didn’t have the money or freedom to just take off. The stars never quite aligned for me to indulge in long-term journeys.
Lately, however, I’ve been really thinking about my life as a traveler, and what I want to get out of it. And reading a ton of travel blogs written by serial expats and globe-trotting nomads has impacted me too. Yes, I live a very different life than these people do; I don’t have the luxury of just taking a six-month leave from my job to go explore a new continent. And yet…the older I get, the more I see the value in that kind of leisurely exploration. I want to travel farther, sit myself down in a new corner of the globe, and stay awhile.
So this is my new travel dream. But how to make it happen?
Truthfully, I’m not 100 percent sure. I know I have no plans to quit my job, pack a backpack and book a one-way flight to Bangkok anytime soon. I love my job, I love the city where I live, and I’m not interested in the backpacker circuit anymore.
But I still believe that, if I want something badly enough, I can find a way to make it happen (see moving to DC, living in Prague, studying in London, visiting 30 countries as proof). When I set my mind to achieving something (especially something travel-related), I have a pretty good track record.
In a perfect world, I’d love to take a two-month trip: one month in Southeast Asia (where I’d explore countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Hong Kong, and more of Thailand), and another month split between Australia and New Zealand (Sydney, Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef, Wellington, Queenstown, Wanaka, and other places on the South Island). I figure these places are all close enough to one another to make a long trip to explore them all at once seem feasible, and Southeast Asia seems like a perfect slow-travel destination (inexpensive, beautiful, fascinating culture, great food, and yoga opportunities apparently abound).
Realistically though, I may have to choose one or the other—a tough proposition, as Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand all sit right at the top of my bucket list! But in all honesty, even a month and a chance to explore one or the other location at a fairly leisurely pace would be a welcome change. And one month might well be feasible. Maybe I can bunch my vacation time together, or take advantage of the next time I begin a new job to carve out some free time in between to go traveling.
In any case, as I told my friend, this idea has taken hold of me and won’t seem to let go. It’s not something I expect to happen this year, but it’s firmly in place as a medium-term travel goal: maybe 2017, or 2018, or whenever I can figure out a way to combine slow travel with an often busy life.
Because no matter how difficult the logistics may be, I truly believe that the opportunity to slow down and see a country or region at a pace that’s less than rapid-fire will be well worth the effort. And I think that for me, the ultimate weekend-break type traveler, the time for slow travel has finally arrived.
Have you ever taken a months-long journey? Do you love slow travel? Any suggestions or advice for me?