So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour (Why (not) travel?)

Member Name: genmil

Product:	Why (not) travel?
Date:	07/02/09 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Discover new culture, customs and way of life

Disadvantages: none

I only started travelling out of my country when I was in my mid twenties. Prior to that, I have never yearned to travel; perhaps it is fear of unknown and probably flying. My cousin invited me to visit her in Sydney and after much thoughts, I picked up my courage and travelled alone to Australia. Since then I have never stopped.

I am sure there are people with genuine reasons for not travelling. Some people may be afraid of flying on a plane, some believe in the horror stories told about the locals and some people just don't see any benefits in travelling.

So, what's good about travelling?
- Travelling open my eyes to different culture and customs. I become less insular and more accepting of people who are different to me.

- Travelling expose me to the different wonders of the world, keeps me in awe of the natural beauty of earth.

- Travelling makes me respect the difference practices and way of life of other people and places.

- Travelling take away the stress of work and momentarily bring me away from reality.

- Travelling enable me to try new things like participating in a local recreation, learning a new craft and even trying new cuisines.

- Travelling builds my confidence. I remember the earlier days where I was afraid to venture out on my own, now I am not afraid to go to places alone.

- Travelling brings to reality the things I have read and heard. Seeing and knowing the truths for myself and not to be led by rumours. If I have followed other people's fear about safety in South Africa, I would not have discovered the friendliness of the locals and the beauty of the place.

- Travelling inspire me in terms of home decoration for example; I hang Thai designed fabric on doors and Thai wood carving on the wall. I know I can get the same inspiration from magazines but being at the place enable me to get the authentic stuffs.( at a good price also)

- Travelling allow me not to depend only on common hearsay; before coming to UK, I would only connect London to UK and nobody told me that fish and chips is not the only favourite food here.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

Mark Twain was right. Twenty years on, I am glad to have travel to several places and to have come to discover this lovely country. I could see another twenty years or more of travelling coming my way.

Summary: what's good about travelling?