She turned to me and asked:
“Why travelling?”
She is the girl who always asks countless “why”s. Why do you like listening to podcasts? Why get married? Why read books? Why write books? Why not go to a Bruno Mars concert?
“I can escape from my daily life for a while. I can meet new people. I can be a different version of myself. I can dress sexy and walk around without anyone pointing or judging me”. I blurted out without realizing it.
After that, I kept thinking about my answer.
“Why do I want to escape from my daily life?”
My current life is not bad.
“Why do I want to be a different version of myself?”
I’m pretty happy with the current version of myself.
…
I remember the feeling of walking on the vibrant sidewalks of foreign cities. Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ubud, Bali. Orchard, Singapore. Shifu, Taiwan. Northern European girls, American men in yellow socks. They all wore big backpacks and could be seen everywhere.
There were so many people. The crowd of travellers with different skin colours and complexions. They were all like raindrops, evaporating in an instant.
When I woke up, I saw a strange pink sky. The sound of cars and people walking on the street was noisy. But I felt excited. Oh shit. It was different from the kind of familiarity that related to my hometown. It was the familiarity of a past life.
You don’t need to carry your roots or past in strange cities. You can start over.
That’s one of the reasons I love to travel.
Sometimes, people choose to go on the road, not out of desire or temptation, simply because they hear their inner voice.
We travel to follow our souls.
…
Travelling alone brings a special kind of satisfaction. It’s both scary and exciting. Obsessed is an understatement.
In a place where you don’t know anyone, you’re on your own, navigating unfamiliar streets, awakening your survival instinct.
A million possibilities exist. That driver may take a detour with bad intentions. Or perhaps he sees your misplaced destination and offers a free ride out of kindness. Or you could try that weird dish, trigger an allergy, and end up in a hospital (and delay your flight). But you might love it 3000 that you order three helpings then!
I’m passionate about that sense of wildness. Dressing like a slut, dancing wildly with strangers on the street to the music. The feeling that you could go missing or disappear at any time.
Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
– Rumi.
Sometimes, just doing something you’re afraid of – and then overcoming – is a form of therapy. If you’re so scared to go outside, go outside. If you’re afraid to try new things, try them.
Sometimes, this can be terrifying, but it can also be liberating. In familiar surroundings, your mind gets stuck on itself. But travel throws you into a new place, forcing you to see things differently.
…
Travel isn’t always a solution or even a choice. But it will definitely help you in some way.
As Maya Angelou wrote: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
Travel isn’t just about the sights. It’s about gaining perspective and realizing the vastness of the unknown compared to our limited knowledge. We break free from our mental bubbles and become a little more humble. You see how small your world has been, how insignificant your problems seem.
And your perspective? It becomes strangely free.
…
So, back to those initial questions: “Why do I want to escape from my daily life?” and “Why do I want to be a different version of myself?”.
The word “escape” doesn’t seem quite right.
It’s about living many lives, one adventure at a time.
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