5 MYTHS ABOUT TRAVELING

When you travel, your moments have two faces:

 

One of melancholy for what you’re leaving behind, and one of excitement for all the new lands you’ll be encountering. Melancholy brings loneliness, excitement brings longing, and all those together make for a perfect balance. Those of you who travel know well how beautiful the challenge of maintaining such balance is. You also know, even better, how untrue are all the things people say in order to make you stop your meanderings.

 

So there is you, for whom traveling is part of your life, your life’s philosophy, and your personality, and there are those who make up myths about traveling, in order to sabotage your biggest love. These myths are usually excuses for all those who choose to spend their time and money on things whose value cannot compare to that of a journey. That’s for sure.

 

Myth #1: Trips are expensive 

Truth: Trips are a matter of priorities. 

 

Of course a three-day trip looks expensive when you have spent all your money on some latest-technology smartphone. If, however, the trip is you number one priority, then you will organize your other purchases accordingly. You will minimize them and instead of a brand new pair of shoes, you might opt for a two-night stay at a rented room somewhere in Croatia.

 

There are numerous choices for budget travel and keep in mind that there are travelers out there who roam the world with far less that what you imagine. There are also countless deals and tips on how to travel on a budget. If traveling is your heart’s desire, then you will always find a way to travel – I don’t mean money; I mean a way.

 

Myth #2: Trips are not safe 

Truth: Trips are safe when you organize them properly. 

 

It’s a fact that there are many countries where it’s dangerous to travel. It is you, however, that is making it dangerous. When you leave your country, you should be in a position to adapt to new conditions. For example, you should not walk the streets of Brazil wearing an expensive wristwatch (because you may get unlucky like we did). You do not depart without photocopies of your passport. You interact with caution, and, in general, you try and keep a low profile. When you walk about like a rich tourist, you are bound to become a target.

 

When you organize your trip properly, when you behave normally and don’t provoke those around you, rest assured that you have equal chances of finding yourself in danger abroad as you have back home. If you are used to traveling alone, then I am sure you can recognize danger from miles away, and I am sure you know what to do in each situation. Good organization and common sense are the keys to safe traveling.

Myth #3: Trips are for the loafers.

Truth: Trips are for the dreamers.

 

The difference between the loafer and the dreamer is huge. The loafer travels to kills his time (and maybe to spend his money), while the dreamer travels out of longing to see the world, to chase the dream. Unfortunately, this myth tends to become the greatest excuse for those who don’t travel but pass judgment on those who do.

 

This is a huge mistake. Traveling out of longing, gathering the money for your hotel with great effort, spending time in front of a computer screen looking for the cheapest tickets, and constantly dreaming of trips, is your way of life. In all this, you may not find co-travellers that easily, but why do you need them, if you do not share the same dream? Right?

Myth #4: Trips equal loneliness.

Truth: Trips equal beautiful loneliness.

 

This myth usually follows those who travel alone, the solo travelers whom I admire and praise. I’ve been a solo traveler many a time, I’ve eaten alone, drunk alone, walked alone for countless hours in cities old and new, I’ve been on guided tours alone, I’ve enjoyed trips alone.

 

Yes, a trip may have many moments of loneliness. These moments, however, are important for you, because you test your limits, you learn your self, you become one with the foreign land, you discover aspects of your character you did not know existed. You discover yourself, away from home, and that, believe me, is priceless.

Myth #5: Trips require time

Truth: Trips require the best of your time.

 

Yes, trips do need time, but so does a weekend on a deck chair on a beach on some island. So does an entire day with a tablet in your hands, or a movie and TV marathon. Everything takes time. A trip, after all, does not necessarily mean 10 days in New York; it could simply mean a single day excursion next to a river, or a two-day excursion to the mountains.

 

How you make use of your time is entirely up to you. If traveling is part of your life’s philosophy, then you will never fall for this myth, same way I never did. You will always find time for excursions, for short or longer trips, for expeditions, or for simple walks on the mountain or by the sea.

 

If you are waiting for the right moment to travel, I am telling you it will never come. You have to make the moment yourself, organize it and live it as you like. 

 

Bust the myths, start traveling, and discover your self in the process.

 

And somewhere along the way you will discover the greatest truth of all:

 

Trips change your life.

They make it more beautiful, meaningful, and colorful.