Author Archive: Melissa Kaplan

In the almost two years I’ve been blogging (and, more to the point, reading travel blogs pretty voraciously), I’ve noticed that a lot of themes seem to come and go in the travel blogging community.  There’s almost a pattern of push-pull, in which an idea is trumpeted by many bloggers to the point where it becomes cliché, only for another blogger (or two, or three, and then more) to push back and say “well, actually, I don’t really agree with that…”  And the cycle goes round and round.

View of a mist-covered mountain outside Nairobi

For instance, when I first discovered that travel blogs were a thing, there were a TON of inspirational blog posts along the lines of “quit your job to travel and start living life to the fullest!”  Then, a year or so later, I noticed a pattern in the opposite direction: more and more bloggers of the non-digital-nomad variety writing pieces pushing back against the idea that the only way to live your best life was on a yoga retreat in Southeast Asia while drinking something out of a pineapple.  A number of blogs popped up stating that, in fact, you could have a normal life and travel too.  (For the record, I agree with this, though I certainly also see the appeal of dropping everything to move to Thailand and do yoga on a beach.  In fact, my whole life is kind of a balancing act between wanderlust and seeking stability as twin goals, so I understand both sides of this debate).

Lately, I’ve noticed another emerging trend among travel blogs.  The new idea being espoused in many corners is that, if people don’t want to travel, that’s perfectly okay and we shouldn’t make them feel bad about it, because after all, travel isn’t the be-all and end-all of life and there are many other ways to live a fulfilled existence, even without possessing a passport.

And while I see the point being made here, I have to raise my hand in the back of the room and say…I don’t completely agree with this “no-travel-is-totally-okay” philosophy either.

View of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Look, I’m all for live-and-let-live, for not judging others by the criteria of my own desires and goals.  I get that we’re all different and want different things out of life.  I know that there are plenty of people out there whose goals don’t include travel at all, and I know I should say that’s just fine.

But here’s the thing:  if you’ve never traveled, how do you know you don’t want to do it?   How can you definitively close yourself off to something you’ve never actually experienced?

Now, I understand that we humans don’t have to experience everything possible in order to know if we do or don’t want it as part of our lives.  For instance, I have friends who absolutely know, without a doubt, that they don’t want to have kids—and they don’t need to go out and give birth to one and try out raising it for a few months to confirm that to themselves.  They just know in their bones that parenthood isn’t the right choice for them, even without having tried it.  Fair enough.

But I do think travel is different.  For one thing, it doesn’t involve nearly the level of commitment that raising a child, buying a house, or changing careers does.  If you have sufficient funds and a week or two of vacation days per year, you can travel somewhere.  Maybe not a six-month backpacking trip through Europe, but you can hop on a plane, or a train, or a bus, and go somewhere new.  And I’d argue  you have little to lose by doing so, and a lot to gain.

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Travel is a funny thing. I think, often, you do need to experience it to know for sure whether you want it in your life or not.   I mean, I’ve been consumed by wanderlust since I was a child staring at maps of the world and tagging along with my dad to the travel agent to collect brochures to plan all the trips I was going to take “someday.”  But I’ve known other people who never gave much thought to travel, but then decided to give it a chance and discovered they loved it.  And considering our society often doesn’t put much of a premium on travel (we’re just supposed to work, work, work and pride ourselves on our unused vacation days, apparently), I think it often helps to think outside our boxes a bit and give travel an opportunity to take hold of us and our imaginations.

I wrote last year about the importance of getting out of your comfort zone to see the world, and I still believe very strongly in the value of doing so.  To people who claim they don’t have any desire to travel, I have to wonder: leaving travel aside, how often do you get outside of your own comfortable space of the familiar?  Do you try new restaurants, read new books, talk with people who hold different viewpoints than you do?  If so, great; and travel will likely only enhance these experiences.  If not, well…maybe your lack of interest in travel is symptomatic of a lack of interest in trying new things in general.  And while I know it’s not my business to judge anyone’s life choices, I have to believe that ultimately, stepping outside the box we’re accustomed to—through travel, or any other means—can only benefit us.

The Louvre in Paris

So, I challenge everyone out there who has never really thought they wanted to travel: give it a shot.  Just try it out.  Whether it’s a weekend away a few towns over or a trip to China, use travel as a means to explore the world around you and see if it’s something that brings you joy, and maybe expands your worldview and appreciation for this glorious planet we’re fortunate enough to call home.  You may be pleasantly surprised by how rewarding you find exploring the world in this way.  And if not—well, at least you tried.  You got out there and took a chance and hopefully learned something about yourself, and that’s a great thing.

There’s no shame in not being a wanderlust-filled globetrotter. Not everyone will want or need a passport filled with stamps from around the world.  But I truly think that, all other things being equal, travel is one of those things we owe it to ourselves to try out, at least once in our lives…just to see where the road may take us.

What are your thoughts on this? Is travel something everyone should try if they can, or is it fine to eschew it if you don’t think it’s for you?

“That is what roses are like; this is how they smell.  We must remember that, down in the darkness.”

–Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, 1941

Seattle, Washington

I blog as a hobby—one of several.  In my professional life, I work on international development issues at a nonprofit organization, trying to help people around the world who live in poverty that most of us cannot even imagine gain access to food, clean water, and better lives.  In addition to these things, I’m also a history buff, a political junkie, and someone who believes deeply in the interconnectedness of the planet and everyone who lives here.  I’m a proud internationalist, in a world that seems more and more to be slipping away from this ideal.

The past few weeks, needless to say, have been difficult ones for me to process.  In the aftermath of the recent election, everywhere I look I seem to see rising tides of intolerance, ignorance, and even hatred.  I have a hard time reconciling these disturbing trends with my vision of the America I know, and even more, with the need for our world to move toward greater inclusion, understanding, and love.

A few nights ago, I was speaking with my (incredibly patient) father on the phone, pouring out my anguish and uncertainty about how to move forward.  He said something that resonated with me; essentially, even amidst the craziness of a world I feel I don’t understand, I not only have the right to be happy, but I have an obligation.

That, to me, is a fascinating concept.  Happiness as an obligation: to oneself, to the people in your life, maybe even to the world—because doesn’t the world need happy, hopeful people now more than ever?

However, as compelling an idea as it is, it’s been very hard for me to find much to be happy about in recent days.  So I started thinking—what can I find to make me happy even in the worst of circumstances?  What can be, essentially, my light in the darkness?

And then the answer came to me: travel.  Of course.

Travel makes me happy.  Travel has exposed me to so many beautiful, even magical places over the years, introduced me to wonderful people I never would have met otherwise, offered me new experiences I could never have dreamed of undertaking had I stayed at home (scaling the side of a mountain without a harness in Slovenia, anyone?  Yeah, I actually did that, and I survived).

And most of all, travel has expanded my understanding of the world we all live in by letting me partake, even briefly, in cultures and ideas and experiences vastly different from the ones I grew up considering to be the norm.  In short, travel—and the benefits it can  bring—represents not only my best hope to find happiness in difficult times, but also one of the best hopes for the people in the world to learn about one another, understand one another a bit better, and start approaching the world outside our bubbles with kindness and compassion rather than fear.

And so, I have decided: for the next few years, travel will be my light in whatever darkness may come.

I will continue traveling.

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

I will visit new places I’ve longed to see: the Hermitage in St. Petersburg; the rain forests of Costa Rica; the beaches and rice paddies of Bali.

I will finally make my big trip to Australia and New Zealand happen, and officially have stepped foot on every continent (well, except for Antarctica, but I’m okay with bypassing that).

I will gaze upon magnificent art, sample scrumptious foods, climb mountains, and dive in oceans.

I will explore the world outside America’s borders as fully as possible, while also being careful not to fall into the trap of neglecting my own country, as there is much to learn and experience here as well.

I will do my very best, wherever I go, to be a good ambassador of my country, and learn all I can from people whose lives and perspectives and experiences are different from mine, even when it’s hard.

I will keep traveling.  I will keep exploring.  I will keep learning.  And I will keep being happy…because I’m fortunate enough to be able to do something I love that brings me happiness even in the most trying times.

Travel will be my light in the darkness, whenever darkness may fall.  I hope that all of you find a similar light to keep you going when times are rough…and simply to bring you the happiness of a life spent living out your dreams, whatever they may be.