Monday, 10 August 2009
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Why It’s Important To Travel
post by LOVELIFE of Art of Backpacking
“Experiencing places and cultures, one has a chance to lead and experience a thousand different lives themselves in one lifetime.” – Steph D
People these days are starting to realize little by little how important it is to travel. But, what I mean by travel is going out there and really see what the world has to offer.
Back in June I went to Cancun, Mexico for a few days. Cancun was beautiful; the water was warm and crystal clear, the food tasted great; overall the entire resort was outstanding. But, the only thing was, I did not get to see Mexico. I was inside the resort most of the time, and when I did leave the resort, it was for only a little while.
Sometimes going to a different country and staying in a resort will not get you to have the experience of a lifetime. You can say, “I went to a resort in Thailand and it was the best experience of my life!” Don’t get me wrong, the resorts in Thailand are amazing, but the only down fall on staying at a resort is that people do not get to see outside of that resort. People can say whatever they want ”Oh, it’s not safe.” Or “It’s too dangerous, you can get hurt or kidnapped.”
Everywhere you go has “bad areas.” Just do some research and you’ll see that being outside a resort will not kill you. If anything, you’ll gain more knowledge about the country, have a better experience and realize that it is not bad after all.
I interviewed 14 of my friends asking them why they think it is important to travel. I can go on and on about why I think it is important to travel, but I wanted to see what other people had to say.
Most of them all replied saying it’s important to travel because you will experience different cultures. But, why should we care about how other people live?
My roommate says “By experiencing different cultures and geographic locations you are educating yourself about the world.” Learning about other country’s cultures in a history or a geography class is one thing, but experiencing it for yourself is another.
“Experience is better than book knowledge” says Zach who’s been hiking out in west and east of America.
A really good friend of mine Jessica who I’ve known for years says “Its also our responsibility as people to see how others lives differ from our own, which can only be experienced through travel. The world has so many interesting things that are meant to be shared with everyone.”
A person can learn SO MUCH more by going out there and adsorbing it all through their own eyes. Ryan mentions, “If you go to places you have never been to before, you are given a first hand experience.”
Another commonly given answer was people need to get out so they can escape from a monotonous life they may be experiencing where they live. Melissa who is a friend of mine says “Sometimes you need a change of scenery.” I completely agree with her statement. After awhile looking at the same thing over and over again gets old. Another good friend of mine Jon says, “ I live in Pequannock, NJ and nothing ever happens, nothing will ever happen here. That’s why I think it’s important to just get out and see new things.” He mentions how he wants to visit a lot of places for example, Las Vegas and Japan.
Me – “So Dan, you’ve been to a lot of places around the world, why do you think it’s important to travel?
Dan Z– “Easy, to open up your world-view. Through travel, you don’t just experience a country, but its culture, its traditions, the people, the food, the music. Traveling allows you to open up your mind to what else is out there, apart from what we all know as America. I came back to America with a huge appreciation for what I have and what I was able to experience while I was abroad.
Seeing the world really does open up so many doors for you. Do it! Dream big and make sure those dreams come true. Hell, last week I planned a backpacking trip into the Maine wilderness with my friend Sam. We’re bringing sleeping bags, a tent, knives and fishing poles. We’re living off the land. I LOVE to travel and see places other than New Jersey.”Dan Z has been to Italy, France, England, Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Egypt, Spain, West Indies, and a lot more.
Everyone that I talked to seems to agree that traveling is important. Why? Well, think about it…would you want to see the world? Wouldn’t you want to see what else is out there? Wouldn’t you want to see how other people live so much different from you? And if you don’t want to, then you have no idea what you’re missing.
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About the Author
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- From: artofbackpacking
- Name: artofbackpacking
- About Me: www.artofbackpacking.com Tourism is growing at an exponential rate. Tourists are exploring new destinations but sometimes don’t know where to go and with the economy, most tourists want to cut back on spending. Art of Backpacking provides information on safe destinations and eliminates their misunderstanding of other cultures. Not only are we providing the latest and greatest information, we are linking you to travel news, unique photography and videos, travel gear and much more. Whether you are fresh to the idea of backpacking or this is your tenth trip around the world, Art of Backpacking will cater to your needs. It’s cutting travel costs, but not cutting the exciting elements of adventure. Our mission is to help you travel in style; to distinctive places and to have fun doing so!
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Comments (11)
A guy I work with is going to a resort in Cancun for his honeymoon soon. I'll be going to Mexico City for a conference. I was appalled when he blatantly said he does not want to leave the resort. Well, actually I was more appalled when he said he wasn't going to spend anytime in the room if he could help it, regardless of what his bride wants. Poor girl.
Anyway, my point is when I go to Mexico I intend to go out and experience it. I won't be able to go very far for very long, but I refuse to stay at the hotel the entire time. What's the point of going to another country (and paying all that money to get there) when you're going to stay in a resort the entire time. You could do the same in the US for a lot cheaper.
Personally, I want to experience other cultures because I want to see how other people live. The U.S. tends to be quite stuck up, believing our way of life to be the only way. I like to be able to relate to people - understand where they're coming from.
I love to travel. My family goes to two different states a year.
I don't get to travel on holiday very much, but I've lived in some pretty extreme opposites and I love being able to compare the different lifestyles.
I definitely have to agree with you on this. I don't travel as much anymore, but I still go to new places that are near me.
I agree. When Im in a new city, I like to see the people in they everyday activities, I like to see the houses, the parks, the schools, not just the tourists attractions ( i dont know why I have this fixation with seeing people in their way to work, I love to have breakfast in downtown and watch all the people walking with their different clothing styles and briefcases aaaah..)
This post made me remember my ex. We are from a small town in Mexico and we were talking about how much I'll like to see the world and travel as much as I can, his response was:
"Why would you like to go to Europe?? Everything there is old!! You should go to USA where you can go shopping"
.....
Thank God we broke up.
Think of all the great people you'll meet around the world as well :) & amazing beautiful sights & adventures! I have already gotten bitten by the travel bug.
x
totally agree with this post. i tried convincing my friends who are homebodies to travel and experience the world, but some are either too scared or have no money. they are both legitimate excuses, but still, i think it's worth it. anyway, it's hard for me to understand why people don't want to travel.
When I first started to read this and saw that you were saying you went to a resort in Cancun, I was praying that the rest of it would be about how you wished you had gone somewhere else besides just the resort. THANK YOU for realizing this!
I love to travel because I (like your friends) love to experience different cultures, different ideas, different places, different foods and, like Melissa, "a change of scenery". It's fun to basically live a different life for a week or two or more.
I, like the first commenter, have been appalled by folks who outright say "I only want to to go to the beach/resort; I don't care about anything else". When I studied abroad in the Dominincan Republic (DR), for our last "hurrah" and kind of a "gift" at the end of the trip from the coordinators, we stayed at a resort. We met many interesting people there and I got interested in talking to them to see if they were going to travel the amazing country at all (at LEAST go to the historical capital, Santo Domingo). One guy outright said "I would NEVER go outside the resort! It's first of all dangerous (sure, but where isn't? Besides, he was a BIG GUY, no one was going to attack him) and second, why? There's NOTHING to see or do"(OH. MY. GOD. Nothing to see/do? I about had a heart attack. I'm fairly sure the looks on my friend's face and mine were like :O DID YOU SERIOUSLY SAY THAT?) Needless to say, he was a lost cause, no amount of telling him about our experiences (most of us are small to average sized girls) and how we'd been there 6 weeks and LOVED it. Oh well, his loss.
Anyway, I'd love to experience other places the same way I experienced the DR. I saw everything from family life to working life (we had internships) and simple citizen life and then we got the tourist aspect as well. It was amazing.
I definitely want to make a point to learn some of the culture anywhere I go from now on.
Traveling is part of my upbringing. It gives enormous motivations in your life.
Really
Traveling is one of the most important activities of the modern world.
Smokeless industry have called it, and plunges us into a world of
knowledge and fun. Different cultures, different languages, different
ways of living we face new worlds. Mexico is a good example of cultural
diversity in the same country that we know. The expectaculares Cancun
beaches and Cancun resorts are to show us a world unforgettable.
Hey guys! I just want to thankyou all for the comments!!! It means a lot! I'm reallllly glad you liked my article!!!!!!!!! =D =D