Travel

Whether its pristine water bordered by sandy beaches, patches of fluffy snow or the rich vegetation of the rain forest, everyone can get some joy from traveling. If travelers know where to look, not only can they enjoy the natural surroundings of foreign places, but they can appreciate the complexities of a culture more completely.

Becoming acquainted with food, music and language are just a couple of ways that travelers can gain their bearings in a new place.

Traveling is the perfect opportunity to try things you never thought you would. Can anyone say balut? However, immersing yourself into ones culture can be a delicious experience. The tasting of new food is as exotic as it is exciting. New flavors light off your taste buds like little firecrackers that explode in the night.

Another way that travelers can get the most from their experience is to explore the night life of a city. In Spain where most people stay up until the early morning hours, travelers can gain insight into this rich culture by taking part in the festivities long after other travelers have gone to bed.

One of the most important things a traveler can do is put down the travel book that they purchased at Barnes & Noble and really experience the place that they are visiting.

Some travelers briskly walk the streets of well known tourist destinations with a step full of false confidence and are unaware of the treasures that they are missing. These travelers, while making home in luxury suites, remained sheltered in their hotel rooms awaiting expensive tours and delightfully rich meals. They may not even know what they are missing out on.

More seasoned travelers embrace and inhale the culture that surrounds them. They make slow, calculated steps instead of the boorish speed walk of the amateur. To become a seasoned traveler one does not use the examples or suggestions of infrequent travelers but learns from trial and error. Seasoned travelers wake up before dawn touches the land; they do not wait to get accustomed to jet lag, but are thirsty for adventure.

Unlike less experienced travelers, seasoned travelers conjugate early in the morning of the hostels and share their knowledge with other travelers. In their conjugations they share with one another how to get the furthest for the small bit of money they possess and then move on. These travelers move with one bag and are not afraid to make a stale, stained train chair their home for the night in order to save money on hostels as they ride on to their next destination.

However, travelers do not have to go on a national or even international trip to experience cultural differences. While one person may be perfectly content staying at a local beach with friends, others long to see the pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China.

It does not matter how many miles a person ventures from their front door, only that they actually go somewhere and experience something. Like Saint Augustine said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”