Sunday 14 March 2010

Hunger for Travel



“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard


Many people I know travel to have a break from work and from the everyday humdrum of life’s demands. Relaxing by the pool or hanging on the beach often seems to be the priority. For me, travel is one of life’s true purposes. I travel not merely to see a new place and experience a new culture, but also to search for self. It is a journey to seek knowledge – knowledge of a nation, knowledge of humanity, but above all – knowledge of life.

It is immensely elating feeling to stand on the streets of Pompeii and imagine toga clad people who would have lived there once upon a time, or to envision the Statue of Liberty being transformed across the ocean from France to America. Knowing something exists is nearly not as good as seeing that it does.

It is always difficult for me to decide where to travel because I want to go everywhere at once. Unfortunately, not being a millionaire or a British asylum seeker, I have limited time and resources and therefore difficult choices must be made. I pick and choose, and hope that I live long enough to see the rest of the world – or that the nuclear war, glacier floods, tsunamis and earthquakes don’t destroy the world just yet.