Category Archives: Thoughts on Travel

Random Ramblings, Thoughts on Travel

Live Small, Travel BIG…

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Happy with what they've got in Cambodia!

There are many different ways to live this life. So many choices, that we often don’t even realize we are making.

Much of the way we travel through life, an expression of things we were taught by the experience we were born into, for better or worse.

Living “within your means”, to me, has always meant spending less then I earn. Early in my adult life, I realized that, above all, I did not want to become a slave to my possessions. Debt makes me nervous. This may not be the recipe for accumulating enormous wealth, but it lets me sleep at night. Isn’t it interesting that living “small”, or frugally, seems to be frowned upon in our culture? Or is it just human nature to want to accumulate?

As a kid, this would have been my dream house, I loved building forts and sleeping in them!

Society, media, government, all tell us that it is our responsibility to consume, acquire, buy more, and bigger. It is easy to rationalize charging it all on credit cards when we really believe we NEED all of these things. I somehow missed that part of the ‘how to be a patriotic American’ indoctrination. I am just not a big consumer. I did try it for a brief stint, but found it left me cranky. Buying is intoxicating, but the high wears off quickly, and I was left pissed off at myself for wasting money that could have been allocated to my next plane ticket.

My “Live small, Travel BIG” motto has not always been easy, I have at times questioned myself.  Do I lack drive, ambition?  Am I just lazy? Am I missing the boat by not taking advantage of “leverage”? (that oft-heard, cocktail party buzz word of the 90’s) For the last few decades, I watched people pass me by in the race to have a bigger house, newer cars, and more toys, and I wondered, why don’t I want all of that?

No garage to fill up with stuff!

Well, I am still not sure what made me a saver, not a spender, but I am damn glad I missed the “credit” boat! (That doesn’t mean I am completely immune, we have a mortgage, and I somehow managed to clutter our little condo with way more “stuff” than we need)

We have to discover our own path to happiness, and I do not presume to have the answers for the rest of you, all I know is that living a simple life that allows me to pack up and GO, is what fulfills me. Maybe, contrary to what has been drilled into us, it is an option for you too? I guess we just continue to strive for balance in our lives.

Recently, I have been feeling an even stronger urge to purge, load the backpacks, and wander the world for a few years. Watch for more to come on those plans! 😉

 

 

Thoughts on Travel, Travel Tips

Relationship Test Drive…

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Spain

Guys get big points for carrying the purse!

Before you get too far along in a courtship, travel with your beloved (a “vacation” doesn’t count, sipping Mai Tais at a beach resort will not really tell you what you need to know!) I guarantee this will be the best relationship advice you ever get, and will save you a fortune in self help books and therapy!

To test your compatibility, invest in a real trip, preferably with few set plans. If you have been dating someone for awhile, and are wondering if this is “the one”, traveling will answer that question, in 2 or 3 weeks, instead of years!  The daily trials and tribulations – figuring out where to eat, where to sleep, and navigating, either in a rental car, or public transport, will test every skill you will ever need for a long relationship. You get to see how your mate behaves when they are tired, hungry, and frustrated. You see how they handle challenges, and what sort of problem solving skills they possess. It takes a whole lot of energy to hide the whiner, pessimist, blamer, control freak, for extended, uninterrupted periods. If these personality traits are lurking behind the curtain, they will be exposed. Better to find out now, than later!

My best travel partner, sherpa and hubby!

You will also see what kind of team the two of you make. Are you both struggling to be the leader? Or do you fall into natural, comfortable roles? When one person is having an off day, does the other “step up”, or crumble at having to pick up the slack? Are your biorhythms in sync? Does one enjoy sharing food, while the other guards their plate? Travel is the best way to discover these important answers in a short period of time.

My husband David had not traveled internationally when he met me. (That seems hard to believe now!) After about nine months of dating, we rented a car and toured Italy. He drove and schlepped bags,  I navigated and scouted pensiones. Our final test came in Florence, where a train strike thwarted our plans. Faced with missing our return flight from Milan to the U.S., David sprang into action. While I sat on the curb with our bags, he ran off to rent a car, again, then drove at break neck speed (not in his nature) on the autostrada to come screeching up to the curb at Malpensa, where we handed the keys to a porter and ran for our flight. We were stressed, but still laughing, and I was impressed by his ability to keep cool under pressure.

All travel has challenges, as do all relationships, but in three weeks we had learned more about each other than most people do in years. Fast forward 20 years, and we are still happily rockin’ down the hiway together! (He has learned to ignore me when I tell him how to drive) 🙂

For the male perspective, read Mike’s very funny take on the travel and relationships!

Thoughts on Travel

Choosing between Travel & Vacation…

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Travel to feed your soul…

Sharing home made vodka, from a tin cup, with the locals in the Republic of Georgia

As you journey through life, choose your destinations well, but do not hurry there.
Wander the back roads and forgotten paths
Seek out new voices, strange sights, and ideas foreign to your own.
Such things are riches for the soul.
And if, upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, do not be disappointed.
Know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you arrive at the journey’s end,
but in who you become along the way.*

Who you become along the way, that is the difference between travel and a vacation. When people ask me “where should we go”, that is the first question I ask them “do you want to vacation, or do you want to travel?” Both have their place, but if you give some thought to the purpose of the trip, you are more likely to get what you are looking for.

By my definition, a vacation is mindless, relaxing, maybe even involves pampering.  Whether that means just sleeping until noon, reading a book by the fire,  snoozing by a pool, or playing tennis, hiking and ending the day with a great meal – all good ways to spend a much needed vacation.

Travel involves not always knowing what comes next, giving up control, relying on the locals, and often, some degree of challenge, or even discomfort, but through all of this, you experience a destination and it’s people in a very different way. No matter how off-course an adventure goes, I have found the pay off is always there – enriching experiences that leave me connected in some small, but deep way, with another culture.

It can be a tough decision whether to travel or vacation. We all have too much stress and can certainly make the case for being entitled to relaxation and pampering, but in my experience, indulging myself gets boring pretty quickly. The good news is, these days, it is possible to combine soul-nurturing, mind-expanding travel, with a little vacationing.

Vacation replenishes the body, travel feeds the soul!

*I am a master Googler, but I could not dig up the author of these wise words. It is used on many websites, plagiarized on a few, and attributed to “anonymous” on others. (and once to Jorge Heredia, but I could not verify that)