Travel Musings

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my new year’s resolutions.  “Travel” is pretty much always at the top of my resolution list, and this year is no exception.  But rather than talk about the places I hope to go this year (I’ll get into that in another post soon), I wanted to talk about some of my broader, travel-related goals for 2016.  Because much like life, travel is a process, and just as we’re always (hopefully) evolving as people, I believe we can and should evolve as travelers too.  So here’s my list….

Melissa’s Travel Resolutions for 2016:

• Stay Longer. In the past, I’ve been a lightning-quick traveler—a day trip here, a long weekend there.  I haven’t ever really had the luxury of getting to do a months-long, backpacker style trip, and I’ve often felt overwhelmed by all I want to see in the world and figuring out how I’m going to fit in as much as possible into my travels.  This is the year I want to slow down a bit, spend more time in the places I visit, and really get to absorb them.  That means longer (and perhaps fewer) trips, but also basing myself in places where I can see a lot without having to go too far.  A certain tiny country is calling my name this summer….

• Be More Spontaneous. In the past, I’ve had trips planned out like military operations years before they happened.  And that hasn’t really changed; I still know exactly what new cities and countries I want to hit well into 2017.  Old habits die hard.  However, within that broader plan, I want to leave room for more spontaneous getaways, and give myself the freedom and flexibility to seize travel opportunities that pop up unexpectedly.  For example, the other night at dinner a friend casually mentioned she might be traveling to Costa Rica this year, and would I be interested in joining her?  Um, absolutely!  Was Costa Rica on my list for this year: no.  But who could pass up a chance for a spontaneous getaway to a country I’ve longed to see for years?  I just need to make sure I save up enough vacation days to make such spontaneity feasible….

• Try new activities. Travel isn’t just an opportunity to see sights and eat way too much local food; it’s also a great chance to try something new that you might not get around to at home.  For a while now, I’ve been wanting to learn to scuba dive and ski, and while I don’t know if my travel locales for 2016 will accommodate either of these goals, I do plan to do some more hiking, possibly kayaking, and any other new-to-me activities that strike my fancy while I’m on the road.

• Get Back to Nature. Or in my case, get to nature, period, since I’ve never really spent much time there.  I’ve always been a city traveler, hopping from Prague to London to Buenos Aires to Istanbul without bothering to explore the countryside very much.  But lately, I’ve been drawn more to settings that let me reconnect with the natural world.  I see lots of lakes, mountains, and waterfalls in my future.

• See Friends and Family. When I chatted with my mom the other day about my upcoming travels, she immediately reminded me, “Don’t make any plans for Memorial Day weekend!” And indeed I won’t, because my plan for that weekend is to be with my family in Florida for as long as possible.  The older I get, the more valuable family and friend time is to me.  I want to not only visit my parents regularly, but also visit (and hopefully do some cool trips with) friends around the country I don’t get to see that often.  Seeing new countries and exploring the planet is great, but sometimes, there truly is no place like home (or wherever the people most important to you live).

• Explore More Locally. I’ve lived in Washington DC for well over a decade, and I’ve seen pretty much all the big ticket sights here many times.  But I’m embarrassed to admit there are a number of places I should have visited long ago that are still on my list.  Library of Congress?  Never been.  Botanical Gardens?  Been meaning to go for ages.  Not to mention the endless supply of restaurants, bars, shops and galleries the city offers.  In between my journeys around the globe, I’m determined to take advantage of living in one of the coolest cities in America (for this politics and history nerd, anyway) and enjoy my time at home to the fullest.  No more excuses!

Do you have any travel resolutions or goals for 2016?

And you know, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  (I have my own list, written last night, scrawled in my notebook as I type this).   No judgment on resolutions from me!

Over the years, like many people, I’ve had mixed results with New Year’s resolutions.  Some I’ve kept (going to the gym more regularly; yay!), some have fallen by the wayside.  But there’s one resolution that always tops my list, and that I never fail to make a reality: I will travel somewhere new this year.

The simple truth I’ve discovered is that travel is the best new year’s resolution you can make.  Why is that?  Well, several reasons:

• It’s achievable. One big benefit of resolutions is that they give us something to strive for; who doesn’t love having a goal to pursue?  But it helps if that goal is at least somewhat attainable.  You may not read 100 new books this year or become fluent in Swahili or get to the gym every day, but you can almost certainly squeeze in a weekend away at some point in the next 12 months.  And in that case, you’ve met your goal and fulfilled your resolution!  (Which is not to say you shouldn’t even aim higher, but it’s a start!)

• It’s positive. So many resolutions and goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year may be well-intentioned, but they’re also kind of depressing.  Lose 20 pounds; stop drinking so much; save more money.  Now, all these things are probably good ideas, but the getting there isn’t likely to be too enjoyable.  We’re focusing on parts of our life that we don’t like and want to change, and necessary that may be, but it’s kind of hard to get excited about it.  Travel, on the other hand, is a completely positive resolution: I want to see more of the world; I want to explore; I want to challenge myself to gain a new perspective.  It will benefit you enormously, and not in an “eat your vegetables” kind of way.

• It’s often necessary. I know so many people who say they want to travel, but don’t make it a priority.  Well, friends, here’s your chance!  It’s a new year, you’re figuring out what you want to prioritize in your life for the next 12 months.  Why not put “travel more” right at the top of the list?   If you do, you’ll be more motivated to make it actually happen, and that’s important.  Like anything else in life worth having, travel isn’t going to fall into your lap by sheer luck and happenstance.  No one is going to walk up to you in the street and offer you a free cruise to Mexico or plan your summer trip to Europe for you.  You have to do it yourself, and that takes some work and planning (though perhaps not as much as you might think).  So make a resolution to keep travel as a high priority for yourself next year, and then take steps to make it happen.  The new year could be just the kick you need to turn your travel dreams into reality!

• It’s fun! The best reason of all to resolve to travel more: it’s fun!  Chances are, if you are interested enough in travel to read blogs about it, then it’s something you really want to do.  Wouldn’t it be nice to achieve a goal that’s enjoyable from start to finish, and not just looking back on it after it’s accomplished?

Bottom line, life is short.  Chances to travel can be fleeting.  So if travel is what you want, make your resolution and don’t let anything stand in your way.  Go out and explore Europe, Africa, Central America, Southeast Asia, or a city near your home….whatever’s calling to you.

Make 2016 your Year of Travel!

Is travel one of your New Year’s resolutions (if you make them?) Any exciting travel plans/goals for the year ahead?

At the last minute, however, I decided against it. Or rather, I decided to delay.  The complexities involved in traveling at that particular moment were too overwhelming to make the trip worth it; the timing was off.

Although I was disappointed at not getting to take a new country by storm, one thing consoled me: I now had it to look forward to in the future.  (Hopefully within the next year or so, if all goes according to plan).

What’s the point of this near-miss travel adventure story?  It got me thinking that, as much as I love traveling, it sometimes feels like I enjoy the anticipation even more.  I love discovering new cities and countries, making real to myself places that before I visited were only photos on Instagram and lines on a map.

But at the same time, I can’t help but notice that, after I’ve been there, these places lose a bit of luster in my memory.  I often look back fondly (“What a great city that is”), or even in rapture (“That trip was AMAZING! Most beautiful beach in the world!”).  But a country or locale never quite has the magical hold of the unknown again.  You can’t un-experience a place you’ve been to; it will always be part of your past now, rather than your future.

The Bucket List Trap

In a way, I think this phenomenon ties into the whole issue of bucket lists.

For years, I felt a nearly frantic need to check off certain places from my personal must-see list, to the point where I felt I couldn’t tackle other major life milestones until I’d visited them.  The world beckoned to me, it called me from long distances and seduced me with the allure of the new and the unfamiliar.  I HAD to get out and explore all of it before I settled into “adult” life.  Otherwise, I’d be selling my dreams short.

As the years passed, however, I realized something both wonderful and disconcerting: my bucket list was only getting longer and my desire to see the world more intense as I grew older.  For every city or country I checked off after years of anticipation, three more popped up to take its place.  Travel, and planning my life as a traveler, began to take on an almost desperate quality. I cannot rest until I’ve seen this place.  I must scratch this amazing site off my list before I can move forward.  I must chase this rainbow before I settle into official, duty-bound adulthood.

I began to be afraid that I’d never be able to see all the things I wanted to in my lifetime, and that this would lead to one of two outcomes: 1) I’d have to pull the plug on travel before I was ready in order to “settle down,” and always feel resentful of it; or, 2) I’d never manage to settle down at all, because there was always some new destination calling to me.  I’d spend my life chasing those rainbows, and never accomplishing any other dreams for myself.

I’m not sure which possibility scared me more.

I have friends who never travel at all.  I have other friends who travel occasionally, or whose bucket lists only contain one or two places.  In a weird way, I almost envy these people at times.  Travel is one of the most amazing, rewarding experiences a person can have in this world; I believe this with every ounce of my being, and that’s what drives me to keep on exploring.  But sometimes I can’t help but think how much easier my life would be if I wasn’t always putting off other things I want into the future so that I can travel somewhere today, or tomorrow, or in the next five years.  Wouldn’t that life be simpler?  In the end, might such an attitude enable me to accomplish more non-travel-related goals and dreams?

The Value in Postponing Adventure

But as I’ve thought all this over more and more lately, I’ve realized a few things.  For one, while I firmly believe in seizing travel opportunities and being proactive about seeing the world because it’s not going to come to you, I’ve also begun to understand that, in the wise words of my dad, the world isn’t going anywhere.  India will still be there to dive into, whether I do it next year by myself, in a decade with young children in tow, or in thirty years as a retiree.  I don’t have to see my life as such a frantic rush to the travel finish line, because there is no finish line until the very end.  And with some effort and ingenuity, I can still see a lot of the world before then.

And I’ve realized something else; sometimes, as cliché as it seems, anticipation really is half the fun.  As much as I love making my travel dreams come true, I need some of them to stay dreams—at least for now.  Part of what makes travel magical is imagining how incredible it will be when you discover your next rainbow–whether it’s lighting up the sky over a waterfall in Iceland, or the Scottish Highlands, or the mountains of Machu Picchu.

I can’t live without travel, but I also can’t live without travel dreams: the anticipation of what that far-flung destination you’ll make it to “someday” will bring.  I need to keep some of my dreams safely in the future, where I can unfold them when the time is right.

Someday–perhaps in just a few months–I’ll make it to the country I almost flew to this summer.  In the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming, planning, and anticipating.  And I’ll be happy that I still have one more dream destination awaiting its turn to be discovered.

From riding the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia to snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to skiing in New Zealand to wine tasting in Chile, you’d be hard-pressed to find a person with more travel dreams than me.

However, “travel dreams” doesn’t mean the same thing to all people.  As far as I’m concerned, they come in two varieties:

Person 1: “I really want to visit Bali and learn to scuba dive.  I’ve been putting away money for the trip for the past six months and this week I started checking out airfares, and I just bought a guidebook and am researching Bali on Pinterest every day.  I can’t wait to go!” (Ed. Note: not that I really know what Pinterest is, but it seems to be a big travel deal).

Person 2: “Oh, I’d love to go to Greece.  I’ve heard it’s so beautiful.  But you know, it’s a really long flight, and probably pretty expensive to travel there.  I’m not sure when I could get time off for a big trip like that.  Sigh…maybe someday.”

See the difference? 

Dreams can mean a lot of different things.  They can be sheer fantasy, as they sadly remain for far too many of us.  Or they can be less dreams and more goals: things we’re motivated to work towards because we know they are achievable, step by step, and that the work we put into making them happen will be well worth it.  We apply this logic to our careers, our personal lives, our long-term plans (hopefully), so why can’t we do the same for our travel dreams?

The answer is: we can!  And we should.

So rather than prattle on about how we all need to get off our butts and get proactive, I thought I’d offer a few examples of how we can make our travel dreams happen, one little step at a time.

(I’ve already written more extensively about trip-planning how-to’s HERE.)

Five Things You Can Do Today (or soon) To Make Your Travel Dreams Into Reality

• Buy a Guidebook. One of my favorite things to do in the world is to walk into a bookstore travel section and just wander around, entranced by all the beautiful places and potential adventures in exotic locations around the globe. Take an hour or so this weekend to visit your neighborhood bookshop (or go on Amazon if you’re really time crunched, but bookstores work better), and take a look at all the guidebooks on display for different cities, countries, and regions, then buy one to read up at home.  Spain?  Thailand?  South America?  You may already have a dream destination picked out, or an afternoon of browsing could turn you on to a destination you never even considered and get you excited to begin the planning process for your next trip. I may be hopelessly old-school, but even in today’s online world, I find guidebooks the best way both to incite wanderlust and give a real, practical handle on where you’ll be traveling, what to see/do/eat there, and how to make your dream trip into a reality.  Shop away!

• Sign Up for Travel Deal Emails. There are any number of email lists you can quickly sign yourself up for that will deliver travel deals to you inbox every week or so. Some of these can contain pretty great deals, so it pays to be a bit flexible and spontaneous in your travel plans, but some offers are good for a few months so when you see a deal you like, you can snap it up now and travel later.  Hopefully seeing a fantastic deal to a dreamy destination will help kick your serious travel planning phase into gear!  I recommend signing up for Travelzoo and Sherman’s Travels weekly e-newsletters for some excellent travel deals and inspiration.

• Start putting aside money each month/paycheck. Ah, the really fun stuff…but this is how you can start, dollar by dollar, to commit to making your dreams of travel a reality. Every month or paycheck, figure out how much you can afford to put aside into a travel fund, then commit to doing so.  Even small contributions can add up quickly: $20 a paycheck times 25 paychecks a year = $500.  Of course, the more you can sock away, the quicker you can finance your dream trip, but if you have to start small, it will still build momentum and help keep your goals on track!

• Download Skyscanner. The Skyscanner app is not just my new favorite app but one of my new favorite things, period. It’s an amazing tool for travelers and those planning future trips, which allows you to type in where you want to go, where you’ll be flying out of, and see what months/days offer the best deals for that route (you can also search specific dates, but being flexible can often pay off).  Or even more magically, you can simply type in your location, enter “everywhere” as your search, and see how far you can travel for how much money.  This app is free, so if you have a smartphone, go ahead and download it today and begin playing and dreaming!

• Immerse Yourself in Your Chosen Culture. This last is a fun one: start immersing yourself in the place you want to go, in any way you like.  Have dinner at a Thai restaurant; stream a Bollywood film on Netflix; check out an exhibit of Asian art at a nearby museum; start reading that Russian novel you always meant to get around to.  Do anything that will help you get a sense of the place you’ll be visiting and what you want to see, do, eat, and experience there, and get excited about the adventure!

Anything to add to this list?  How do you begin the travel planning process?  What is your dream destination that you’re determined to make a reality?