10 Reasons Why Everyone Should Travel
Get your passport or fill up the gas tank because it’s time to hit the road to unseen sights and wonders. Traveling is an essential part of living in society and educating yourself about cultures. If you still need a little push or need to convince someone, search no more and read on!
You get to experience new cultures
Traveling to a foreign country is like being transported into a movie or a page from your favorite book. You get to see how different or similar the place is to how it has been shown or related to you before. Culture is not something you can fully grasp without experiencing it personally. For example, you may learn the language, see documentaries, hear the music and study all the other social and historical contexts, but it will always be missing that little puzzle piece, which you can obtain with the purchase of a train, airplane, cruise ticket or just plenty of gas in the tank.
One way to immerse yourself in the culture is with food. That’s why you must take a bite out of these culinary havens. No proper culinary trip in Italy is complete if you haven’t had pizza, pasta, bread, tiramisu or gelato, and a strong espresso in the piazza or a sip of wine by the colosseum. If in France, you can’t miss the freshly baked goods at the boulangerie or rich escargots and crepes while strolling by the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées. If in Spanish terrain, a trip to the nearest mercado will leave you gazing at the endless choices of tapas, hams, and paellas. But save space for a decadent cup of dark chocolate with churros to dip at the Chocolatería San Ginés.
You get to see amazing arts and creations
Now, first thoughts Europe. More specifically, the endless museums they have dedicated to displaying the most illustrious and priceless art pieces humankind has produced. Now, let me support my argument with the following evidence: the Louvre in France; the Vatican in the Vatican City; El Prado in Spain; The British Museum, UK; and many, many more.
Now, if you’re from the western part of the world, a trip to the east will fill you with lots of flavors, colors, and habits that are beautifully dissimilar to yours. China is full of rich ancient heritage that prevails in their customs and care of national monuments. In China, you will see beautiful temples, fantastic landscapes and gardens, wonderful traditions, and super kind people. The same goes for South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, and Japan, as for any other lucky place you get to experience.
But the ultimate bucket list must contain a visit to the seven wonders of the world: The Great Wall of China, China; Chichén Itzá, Mexico; Petra, Jordan; Machu Picchu, Peru; Christ The Redeemer, Brazil; and the Colosseum, Italy.
You get to test your own character
Traveling requires patience, sympathy, respect, and adaptation. If you don’t currently possess these qualities, a good trip will polish them to perfection. When traveling, especially to a different country, the rules, habits, and way of life may be different from what you call normal. But, it’s not less nor deserves lesser acceptance and appreciation than your reality. You may have to try new foods, modify your dressing, adapt your volume and expressions. Just as if you were a visitor in somebody’s house. Be a good guest and do as they do. Don’t try to change what you can’t, embrace the differences, and learn from them.
You get to face your fears
Fear of flight, leaving home, meeting new people, getting lost, not fitting in, diseases, etc. anything that may stop you and has stopped you from living your best life, can all go away with just a leap of faith. Buy that ticket and see with your own eyes if the world is as scary as it seems. The reality is that the media can sometimes portray an incomplete picture. And we will always accept what we want to believe. Also, the notion of fear is probably induced by the nerve-racking aspect of the unknown, and the good thing is that you won’t know what you like until you know what you don’t and vice versa.
Also, diseases, crime, prejudice, strife, danger, and the whole categories of things that may detain you are sadly a universal thing. The important thing is to do research, protect yourself, and have fun, because the chances of you getting into trouble are pretty much the same as you have back at home.
You get to see things you’ve seen on TV, movies or school
The Safari, the Outback, the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef, and endless natural wonders of waterfalls, cliffs, volcanoes, mountains to see are waiting for you. Also, unfamiliar wildlife you will admire in their natural habitat without artificial barriers and cages. As well as, people and their culture, tea time in London, the deserted streets during “la siesta” in Spain, the smells and tastes of street foods. Hop in a double-decker bus, ride in a rickshaw, on a horse’s back, on a camel through the desert, an aerial lift, or any other different commute and enjoy the ride.
Attend the traditional and fantastic performances custom to the place, such as a cabaret, an opera, a sumo match, a dramatic performance, a ballet, a flamenco, just pick your favorite and take it from there. You will stride the streets you’ve seen on tv, sit on fountains you’d only dreamed of sitting on, and leave your print on the grounds of your favorite films and stories.
You get to build stronger relationships
Your travel buddy becomes your support system. Travel tests relationships since a new environment tend to mold or expose new aspects of a person. It’s a good opportunity to grow together and make memories that’ll accompany each one for the rest of your life. If you book a tour, you get the chance to make fast friends with people from other countries. Either way, alone or with someone, you’ll build a stronger relationship with yourself, as well.
You get to see and try new things
Some countries offer more dynamic activities, like zip-lining in the Costa Rican forests, water rafting, hiking, rock climbing; while other places, promote more slow-paced sightseeing options, such as a trip to the Greek ruins in Greece. But, the possibilities are endless, you have all the options in the world from wildlife, architectural, seasonal, climatical, artistic, technological, and ancient sights to choose from.
You get a better perspective about world problems
You get to relax and escape the chaos that may brew from only focusing on the negative aspects of your surrounding. Like a relationship, with space and time, things can be put into more proper context and evaluation. You get to appreciate your home state even more while nursing an inner admiration for other places.
You get amazing stories and memories to share
You know, they say that if you didn’t take a picture, then it didn’t happen, but it’s more true to say that if you haven’t felt the moment and lived it personally, then it didn’t happen. More than just pixels in a camera, you’ll have many folders in your mind of laughs, beauty, fun, accidents, people, places, sights, and love that you’ll cherish and want to share with everyone.
Because if you have the opportunity you should!
It’s impossible to encompass the whole spectrum of benefits that one obtains by traveling. Many people don’t have the resources to leave their state or even their hometown, and if you have the opportunity, seize it and make it the best you can. It is one of the best investments you can make on yourself. I guarantee that no matter how far or foreign you go, you’ll learn, grow and have an amazing time.
