A letter to my children as they leave for their first trip.
Hope. Fear. Excitement. We know you will be excited about new possibilities but afraid of the unknown at the same time. When we first left, we knew nothing except that we wanted to seize all that the world had to offer. We had a guidebook and some starting points (our list of 100 things to do before we die) but we grew into travelling as the years and miles passed before us. We were young, inexperienced, and naive and made lots of mistakes.!! But over the years our dreams grew from 100 things we wanted to see to 1000 things we wanted to experience. As we met travelers who shared their stories and we read and discovered all the places we had not even know existed when we started- we grew into travellers!
With close to thirty years travel experience now, we give you the gift of our wisdom. The world is a wonderful place filled with sights to take your breath away, people to steal your heart and experiences that will make you the person we know you will become. But not everyone has the desire to travel, because travel forces you way outside your comfort zone. There is no doubt it is easier to stay in one place, surrounded by the familiar and safe, than it is the make the decision to move!
We hope that by making travel something that defined you and something that was ‘just a part of who you are’, you would have no such fears or hesitations. We hope that you would see the world as something attainable and yourself as equipped to reach out and grab its delights. We hope that you would grow to share our passion and that the experience of travel would make you a richer person.
As you leave us to begin your own life as a traveller we want to share some thoughts with you. Our travels have taken us to 100 countries on 50 trips (some as little as 2 weeks and others as long as 2 years). You have shared many of these journeys with us and many of our memories of you as a child come from our travels together. But now you need to lead your own heart. You need to decide what sort of traveller you want to be and where your own passion lies. You need to learn your own lessons and make your own mistakes. You need to blaze your own trail. These tips are to help you when you are uncertain and remind you when you falter, why to travel is to be truly blessed.
“Breathe, breathe in the air, don't be afraid to care; leave but don't leave me. Look around and choose your own ground, for long you live and high you fly, and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry. And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be”.
Roger Waters & David Glimour
Not all the people you meet on the road are travellers. Many are tourists. A tourist goes to ‘do’ something. The culture that they may experience or the people they meet are a biproduct of the trip, almost accidental. The experience is about them getting something in an environment that is a comfortable and similar to home as possible. It does not make them work too hard, think too deeply or question themselves. They see the world through the ‘rose coloured glasses’ of large hotels and tour groups.
Travellers are different. They make a conscious decision to see the world in a different way. They travel so that they can be changed! They do not look for things to be like home but for them to be as different as possible. They want to know and understand the local people. They want life-long friendships with people who share their passion.
Travel is not something you do for a holiday- travel is who you are. Travel is not what you see but what your experiences have stirred in you. Does an amazing volcano make you driven to learn more about nature? Does a beautiful beach help you take a stance on global warming? Does the poverty in India make you fight against multi-national company domination? Does the small child in Somalia make you fight against child slavery?
Travel is not always pleasant and relaxing. It becomes the way in which you grow and learn – it becomes your mentor.
So, this is the starting point of any journey. Decide if you are a travelling at heart. This decision once made will form you. It will influence may major life decisions and you will carry it with you to your grave.
“The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”
Travel is about stepping out: Fear stops too many people from tasting what the world has to offer It is not a bad as the TV makes it look! If you’re a bit sensible, you’ll avoid the .01% of situations that are unsafe. Remember – you have more chance of being hurt in a car accident at home than you have of being hurt overseas. So, keep it in perspective. So many people say “I can’t afford it. I would love to do what you do”. They can- the money is an excuse because they are afraid. To be afraid is to miss too much!
But let’s be honest- not everyone wants to travel. Some people need and want the security of the familiar. They chose a way to grow in other ways and take a path that keeps them at home. And that is OK. But is the need to travel is in your heart you will find a way to do it even when life takes turns that make it seem unobtainable.
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”. Lao Tzu
Travel is about following a feeling: Guidebooks are good for an overview and maps, but you’ll never find the best stuff in there. They tell you what to see but sometimes you just need to wander. People are your best resource for information. Ask your fellow travelers. Websites often have a broader range of ideas to ‘catch your eye’. Don’t be drawn into going to the ‘trendy’ places- find you own path. The most interesting and memorable days will be in the places you never expected them to be.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trial”. Emerson
Travel is personal: Travel in a style that is in alignment with your values and suits your likes and interests. Ignore everyone else’s opinion. Don’t think you are so awesomely cool just because you’ve visited 58 countries on a budget of $25 a day and all you do is go off the beaten path like a real hard-core traveller does. Know your style as a traveller. The speed you travel depends on you. Some people can sit around on beaches for months and others (like mum) would be bored silly. You can still travel fast and see a lot if you want. Most common is to rush around sights and then suddenly, when finding the right place, take a good rest and enjoy what's there. There is a breed of traveller you will come across - maybe you are one of them -who tends to spend weeks in any sort of resort with good prices and facilities. These traveller's hang-outs are all over the globe and a great place to relax for a while, but not months! The main reason, and one that perhaps many of their residents might not admit to, is that travelling is hard work. No one likes sitting on buses, but that's how you get places and independent budget travelling overall is not about relaxing. If you want to get the most out of your trip and make it the best value for money, to a certain extent you do have to be determined to push on. Travel as hard or fast as you like, just don't set any standards in your planning stage at home - things change.
Travel is about Freedom : Freedom means different things to different people. To us it is to be able to move as you choose, not bound by expectations, debt or obligations. It is liberating and exhilarating knowing that you carry with you all that you need. You are in ultimate control of your journey and choices. Some people would see that as frightening and irresponsible; A traveller sees it as a gift and longs for it when it is gone. We wish for you the feeling of freedom to discover yourself!
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Travel is not easy: You do not travel to holiday. They are different things. You come back from travelling and need a holiday! So, rest on a long trip (we have Sunday off every week), stop and work when you grow complacent, make a home when you tire of hostels and most of all know that the gains of you ‘hard work will stay with you forever.
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
Travel is about open and respectful mind: If you do not want to understand others and honour their lives than you should not travel. You will be frustrated, and you will take little from the experience. Open your mind to different cultures and perspectives. Seek to understand and take every opportunity to learn. Celebrate local customs and festivals with the local culture in their traditional manners. Learn about other religions, not necessarily to believe something new, but to understand and perhaps to bring light unto your own beliefs. Do as much local as you can: local food, local transport, local accommodation.
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Travel takes time: Sometimes we do only have limited time; but when you have a choice slow down. We know it can be tempting to try to see it all. Who knows when you’ll get another chance? But DON’T! When you travel, less is more. It allows you time drink deep from each culture and soak it all up. Go slow, and you’ll experience more.
“I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen”. Disraeli
Travel is about friendships: You will make a lot of great friends on the road. Some will be life-long friends. If you don’t get their contact information and you regret, it forever. With social media it is easy to stay in touch with people for years after your trip. To find friends who share your passion is a great gift.
“Some roads are not meant to be travelled alone”.
Travel is about taking risks. Now don’t you quote me and say it is Ok to take risks. Some risks are worth taking and mixed with common sense are the only way to achieve your goals and dreams. Travel in itself is a risk but have a level head and challenge yourself. Do one thing each day that scares you and push those comfort barriers a little further out each time. Try new adventures. You may only ever do it once but at least you did it.
“Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel”. De Castro
Travel is about putting yourself out there: It takes a lot of courage to talk to strangers. There you are alone in a hostel, and everyone is sitting around talking. Speaking up takes courage. Most people are travelling because they want to meet new people. Say “hello” and it will all unfold. No one ever said no when they were asked “Can I join you?”. The other important decision you will have time to think about when on the road is, what sort of person you want to be remember as? Will they say, “I remember travelling with the great Aussie guy Brett, he was so funny and so helpful, he knew so much about Namibia”. You have 1000 first impressions a day- make them all count!
“Sometimes in life you lose sight of things-of yourself and who you should be - when you travel, everything balances out”.
Travel is about never losing the wonder: Never lose the wonder of amazing people in amazing places. Close your eyes and listen and smell. Sit in silence and think. When a wonderful mountain or an amazing market no longer fills you with anticipation it is time to rest a while. We promise that the joy will return. And remember sometime travellers get bored with the routine and work of travel- but take a rest, change your focus, or ‘regroup’ if the feeling of awe is lost.
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places that take our breath away”.
Travel is about letting go of home : Do not take this as permission not to keep in touch with you mother.!!!!The people at home (and other travellers and friends) want to be a part of your life. But they are not your only life. Have an emergency contact system but outside that ignore your emails for a week! Enjoy the time to focus on the travel and don’t waste the whole time thinking about home!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the Trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream”. Twain
Travel is about changing and growing: Look for opportunities around every corner. Listen, question, read, debate and have you mind and heart open to what you see and experience. The biggest and potentially most rewarding travel risk you can take is to use the new experience as a lens to re-examine your basic beliefs and assumptions. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable, it is how you grow. Travel is an opportunity to gain perspective, not only about the world at large, but also about your life back home. Ask yourself questions. Revaluate your lifestyle in light of new experience. Be honest with yourself and stay open to the possibility that your travels will change you in profound ways.
“The great journey is not seeing new places but in having new eyes”.
Travel is about knowing it is as long or as short as you chose it to be: With a little effort, faith and know-how, world travel can be cheap, easy, and fun. If you chose to stop it is because you chose to stop. You could find work anywhere in the world if you chose it.
“A traveller who does not watch and listen is a bird without wings”. Saadi
Travel is about being flexible: Go with the flow. Change plans when you get a better idea. If you are really hating it, then change direction.
Travel is about trusting in the kindness of strangers.: Almost all people you will meet in your travels are good-hearted, hospitable, and sincere. It is tragic when travellers let fear get in the way of real experience and a chance to connect with the locals. If you stay in tourist zones that’s where the most trouble exists.
“Travel is not about seeing the sights- it is about the change that goes on deep in the minds of the living”. Beard
So, with those thoughts, go with our blessing!
Let the journey begin. Be safe and know you are loved.
Mum and dad
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