The moment I spent a few days in Vietnam, all my views about the country just vanished. Vietnam is a country that had gone through a nasty civil war and is still regarded as an underdeveloped nation. But, once I got there and had the opportunity to blend in with the community, I did not bother about the civil war or the fact that the world regards it has an underdeveloped nation. I rather had the opportunity to see those feeling of completion among the people, when some of the most basic things they did made them happy. The people there did not care about what they ate. They rather cared if they were hungry or not. Most of the people had very simple scooters they used to get to work. They didn’t have cars like we do here but they were still happy. Many were poor but they had a sense of completion in the simple life they lived. We don’t see this by sitting in a place, reading an old book or even through mainstream media. We see these hidden things through travel. So, I believe travel is a way to grow by having enlightening experiences, meeting new people and uncovering mysteries one would never learn by being stationary.

Once we pass through some mandatory security checks, we are officially inside a new country. We then have the opportunity to discover a whole new world. But that depends on us, the travelers. A traveler maybe traveling to attend a business meeting, or sometimes maybe just to check into a hotel and lay down in a bed spending hundreds of dollars. But, we won’t be getting the most value out of that kind of travel. So, in order to travel as a political act, we need to get out and connect with their place, their values, their beliefs, religions etc. We have to get out of our comfort zones and choose to be challenged. We have to overcome the fear of going to their poorest villages and asking an old man for a bed to sleep. It all seems so difficult, but that’s how we can get out of our comfort zone and travel as a political act.