I Travel Because…
I personally love to travel and it is one thing that occupies my mind most of the times. However, recently it has started to occupy other spaces in my life as well , one for example is my online life. Travel is all over my social media- my Face book timeline, on my Instagram and twitter feeds as so much so that even google is not far behind in suggesting me with the cheapest and most affordable women friendly travel options every time I log in. Probably it knows my financial condition and I don’t have to wonder how. Google knows everything.
Nevertheless, the point I am trying to make is that it is travel every where- with travel tips and suggestions, ‘ten places to visit with your best friend’, ‘ten most romantic gateways’, ‘ten exotic places to visit before you die’ and the list goes on and on. Instead of ‘check-in’ at pubs and restaurants, my timeline is full of people at various towns and cities of the world, posing at touristy places around the world (not to forget also acting touristy) and they just can’t stop to show-off how happy they are to be there and how cool they are and so are their lives. Travel has become a trend and is so ‘IN’.
But we all know that one thing about trends- it either changes or dies a slow death. Would it be safe to say that same would be the case with this new travel trend? I am having a difficult time finding an answer to that, however what I would want to say is that such social media trends and bandwagon effects leave even a lover of travel like myself to hate every mention of it every time.
That said, remember the one friend we all have or have had who never is/was fashionably in? The one who never cared to follow fashion nor made an effort to learn the tricks of the trade. Who didn’t know how to match hair clips and the bags with the skirt perfectly,or someone who dint own a crop top because she knew better.
Thankful to these few, I am glad that the real travel lovers do and will continue to travel no matter what. And you would not even know when they do. Because you don’t travel to inform others or to prove a point as to whose been to the best, the most erotic or the most adventurous holiday/destination in the history of mankind. They travel because…
Now that brings me to the reason why I started this article and what I am going to talk about in the second half of this piece of writing. When this thought came up in my mind while browsing through my friends recent holiday pictures on Facebook, I thought of asking the same question to a few friends who travel. I dint go further after the second friend. Because I realized that like me even they dint not have the answer. And that there can not be single answer for everyone’s travel needs. Which is because people travel for various reasons. Apart from the usual reasons like need for a short break to rejuvenate, seeing the world, experiencing various cultures, meet new people, party at new city, etc it is widely believed that many people travel to escape. This caught my attention. I knew that a lot of people would give me this funda of traveling. We try to escape from a lot of things. It could be the monotony that our lives have become or a troubled relationship or the society, or something else(no one can have just one problem). We feel the need to continuously escape the life that we are living. Escapists? Are we? Then why are we living that life if we have to escape it every now and then.
I shall save this topic for next time. Coming back, I am sure not everyone of the thousands and lakhs of travel lovers are escaping. Not every chooser of nomadic lifestyle is running away from something. If I may say, may be they are travelling ‘towards’ something. Something which they ‘find’ while they lose themselves on the move. May be they find solitude , peace or I would say may be find themselves. It is said, when you indulge into something you truly love you connect with an unseen supreme power. For some people it could be dance, music, art. Similarly, for some its travel. The gigantic rocks, the warm sun, the mighty mountains, the never ending sea, the music that waves makes, the leap that birds take and the sweet nothings that the winds say to us ; are all creations of god which he has created in order to bring us closer to him. These are our chances we take with a faith of his existence and his powers.They become your/our medium to him and we feel guided. Think about it. I might be wrong but still let your thoughts lose. Think because your thoughts would want to wander once in a while. Let them travel far and wide. And while doing so, if you may find any other reason of travel, do share. I would love to know that you travel because…
