my 7 travel truths
August 18, 2011
I haven’t written a post about travel in a while, so I figured, why not? When I saw the post that my friend & awesome blogger Kyle Hepp wrote, I knew I wanted to steal the idea. When I saw that she ALSO stole the idea, I wanted to steal it even more. Here goes…
Travel has a way of illuminating things. I might even go so far that one of the great things about travelling is to learn more about yourself, even if it isn’t so pretty. Like that time I was in Guangzhou & instead of checking out the city, I lazily napped in my hostel & watched a marathon of How I Met Your Mother. Yeah, that happened.
So here it is, ladies & gents. My 7 travel truths. Things I have learned about myself through travel that I probably wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
1) I love handwashing clothes. Yeah, I definitely would not have learned that one if I hadn’t been forced to hand wash my clothes in my hotel’s bathroom sink while travelling. There’s something awesome about washing your clothes the same way millions of other people do, and millions of others did before you were even born. It helps save electricity & water too! Let it be known though, winter coats are NOT fun to hand wash. Ha
2) I’m drawn to the mundane. Everywhere I go, I am instantly attracted to the simple things. An average meal, public transportation, the way that stone house has weathered, etc. It probably seems really lame to everyone else who hears me gush over my OK plate of fried rice. As my Chinese travelling companion Amy put it, “Wow, you really like walls”. As awesome as a country’s attractions can be, it’s the mundane, simple things that make up a culture.
3) I have more patience for long bus/train rides than anything else in the world. I seriously surprised myself on this one. Once I took a 48 train ride in China. I thought I would go crazy, but it was pretty mild! I even once wrote an entry in my journal titled “How to waste time on a Chinese train”. I became a pro at it & even looked forward to it. There’s something awesome about having a huge block of time just to think, sleep, play cards, and eat cup noodles.
4) I can sleep anywhere. Sketchy hotels, previously mentioned long train rides, or even quick 30 minute bus rides across town.
5) I easily trust people. Luckily that hasn’t come back to bite me in the butt, but it has led me to some of the best experiences I’ve had while travelling. A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet. Sure, random dude I just met, I will come back to your house & have dinner with you & your wife. If my gut tells me no, I say no of course. But otherwise…
6) Sometimes I like the beaten path. ‘The Great Wall of China is a hug tourist trap for a reason. IT’S AWESOME. Sometimes you just have to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a ticket to some huge attraction because it freakin’ rocks. Being a good traveller doesn’t mean you should miss awesome, frequently visited places just because lots of people have been.
7) Travel made me appreciate home. Sometimes if you are somewhere for too long, you stop seeing its ridiculous greatness. Travel gets you out of your comfort zone & for me, helps me appreciate the comfort of home.
Well there you go. My 7 travel truths. What has travel taught you?
