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Published: July 26th 2015
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I've gone through some travelling blogs and read some of them for inspiration. Until I came upon this one question that brought up five more, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I need to write about it. The question is: What do you travel for?
That is the main question of my existence. It is not only one question, but five questions in one. We have all studied the five "Ws" in school. Here's how it goes.
Who : Myself and whoever wants to join.
I have always told myself that I would never depend on anyone for my travels, or wait for anyone. It has happened to me many times while planning a trip; friends telling you that they are all in, that they will join you on a trip to Greece, or Spain or South America, and last minute, they pull out for whatever reason. Once the decision is made on the place of travel, my organisational skills take over. I get excited and thrive on this adrenaline boost for months. I'm like a travel agent that works for free. Travelling with someone does not always go as planned. I can say that most of the times I have planned a trip with someone, that person would back out at the time of buying the plane ticket. The most common answer would be of financial nature. I still don't understand how you can say yes to a trip and not take the necessary measures to save enough money to buy your plane ticket. For me, as soon as I have the money for the plane ticket, the purchase is completed. The rest is part of the adventure. Once you have your plane ticket, it becomes your motivation. It becomes so exciting to think about what is coming up, a trip to Italy! Can't stop working, give me double shifts, a second job, I'll cut the neighbours grass! All I'm thinking about is that date where I will board the plane and be free again.
Am I a travel agent? No, but I have to say, I love planning trips. I love looking for the cheapest plane tickets, the nicest hostels or couches to surf on, the best deals on activities and tours, the best ways to get from one town to another.
Google flights has proved to be a resourceful tool for finding cheap flights. There is also this new app that has amazing deals on flights, on
Momondo , I found a one way flight from Montreal, Canada to Sydney, Australia for 757$ CAD ! Thats cheapness! And the flight was with
Air Canada and
Air New Zealand , two amazingly friendly and comfy airline companies. It's one of my passions, researching a country before getting to it makes you feel more secure about the plunge you are about to take. Usually, planning a trip takes a good two months, I write everything in a notebook, and then create a travelling document that I share with my loved ones. I stay in hostels, which is always the cheapest option, usually
HI hostels and
YHA hostels are clean, cheap and they have wifi. If you get a membership card, you usually safe 10%!o(MISSING)n each night 😉
It's good to have at least a few people that know where you are, where you will be staying and which country you will be in. Most of my trips are planned, but not to every minute of every day. It's nice to leave place to spontaneity. I never really book more than the first two nights of my trip at a hostel, the rest is part of the adventure. I was in Sydney two years ago, I had only booked two nights at a hostel when I first got there, then came the weekend. It was in October and they were celebrating the 100
th anniversary of the naval fleet of Australia. The whole town was booked out; Rihanna was in town, so was One Direction and Prince William. I had no place to sleep that night. Certainly didn't plan that. In a situation like this, no panic, you embrace any new opportunities. So I booked a flight to Melbourne and left 2 hours later. That is how you travel.
Travelling on your own makes you more open to meeting new people. When you travel with a group of people, or a partner, you are less open to others, because you are comfortable in your group. When you travel on your own, you are bond to meet new people, make new friends with the people in your dorm room, or in an organized tour of a historical place. Travelling solo has advantages but it can also be scary at times. You always have to play it safe, especially at night, being a girl. It is not recommended to get lost in any city after 10pm at night! I am from Montreal, Canada, and I would not recommend to any women to walk home alone at night. Playing it safe is part of the game, but making it seem like you come from the place is also a fun game. I travelled around Spain and Portugal on my own when I was 20 years old. During that whole trip, backpacking in Spain, I practice the Spanish I learned in school, and not once did anyone ask me where I was from. Gotta entertain yourself when you travel alone!
Back to the original question: What do you travel for? I travel for the life experience. I haven't answered the whole question yet, because when you travel, you have to figure out which part of you is travelling, and who will be joining down the road. So to the question Who is travelling? the answer is: me, myself and I.
Up next: Where do you travel to? When do you travel? Why do you travel?
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