Travel is not for everyone
What a person likes and loves in his life is an outcome of several things in life. For someone the favorite sport will be cricket , for some it would be football and for some it can even be rugby. Our choices are made subconsciously by our inherent desires and also social pressures. In a country crazy about cricket, a football lover is always on the fringes. One’s knowledge about cricket gives him better socializing advantage than football. So naturally out of peer pressure even footballers tend to slide towards cricket.Its the same thing with travel too.
Some people like to travel while others don’t. Deep down inside certain people like outdoors and certain people don’t.
If it rains we go out for a walk to get wet while others rush to find shelter and look for hot coffee and bajji, even some find the rain disgusting and constantly complain about it. We still list one of the most memorable moments in our life as a 5 km walk we took right in the middle of a blizzard when the temperature was -20 degrees Celsius. For another person it would be absurd. It is just the way people are ! We are inherently different and there is nothing wrong about it.
While the picture can look nice the reality is not. While taking this picture , our car was stuck in the snow and we were on the way to get help. The snow had gotten into the shoes and the feet was freezing. The picture does not show that, can it ? But we were happy and enjoyed the moment, though there was a bit of tension regarding the vehicle. For another person this would have been a nightmare situation.
In the current society we are made to follow formats where we are driven to do maximum number of things in life rather than the things that add quality to life. Even if individual passions and skills are different , we all are made to do the same thing. For one person that passion could be travel and for another that could be writing, singing, painting etc. But we are made to do the same activities in life. So how can one really know whether travelling is something that he wants to do ? Simple … Before anyone decides to travel , we would always say, take a moment and ask – do i really want to see Taj Mahal or is it that everyone has seen and I should too. If you are a person who gives peer pressure a higher weightage then we can say one thing for sure – you will travel and the tourism industry will ensure that the right pressure is created on you.
So why travel when you can paint? When you can sing ? Just sitting and reading about travel is also a thing and if you like it then should anyone else say, you have not done something in your life ? Why should you try to replicate another person’s life ? Answer these questions to yourself and then decide whether to travel or not. The life is too short for doing and experiencing everything. One has to decide what he really wants in life and then work towards it. Decide to travel if it refreshes your mind, rejuvenates your body, gives life lessons else there are tonnes of other things to do in the world.
Landslides are part of everyday life in certain parts of Himalayas. Getting your hands dirty is part of travel. For many people this might not be to their liking.
What we really need to understand is that travel is time consuming, financially straining , physically tiring and sometimes mentally exhausting. We live in an age where just for seeing something we do not need to travel , we have internet and mass media. 200 years ago when you want to see new york you have to travel, now we have street view of google maps that shows everything , even the shops.
When such is the situation one has to evaluate priorities in life and then decide how much time he/she can spend for travel. In our case , we almost spend half of the year on the go and in the rest we take rest , plant trees and now blog. Our travels are rather a need or rather a means to achieve something. Our travels are for exploring the natural world and thus not really our core passion. Our real passion is the natural world. So if one’s passion is food then travel and explore food but don’t travel just for the sake of bragging.
Travel is also a commodity now and highly commercialized . Travelling is a product/thing to be owned rather than experienced . We indulge in it just to brag on social media. Photographs are no more for capturing memories rather they are evidences of travel to be published in social media.
Travel seems to be mandatory because of the constant feed that we get from mass media and social media. Most of these people would have preferred a home cooked meal and relaxing Tv but still here they are, waiting for more than an hour…. all dressed up and taking selfies ! Is this an urge to travel or social pressure to show the world that I am doing good in my life ?
We know families that fight right through their “mandatory vacation” but will share pictures with bright smiles to everyone. I wish I could share some of those behind the scenes pictures here !
Remember that being a tourist is different from being a traveller. A tourist travels to satisfy social needs whereas traveller travels to open his mind.
So when we say travel is not for everyone we mean the hardcore travelling. It is fancy as well as tricky. If one thinks one can just carry a backpack and go, forget that. Believe us , we all are bought up with certain values and comforts in our life and by the time one is old enough to travel , these aspects are hard coded into our mind and body. We can stray within a certain wavelength from this limit but when you push your body to lead a backpacking life you cannot sustain it forever. That is just the body part, controlling the mind is a totally different aspect. Like the movies , it is not always rosy. Sweet people you meet on the road will not welcome you into their life. The world is driven by money and you will soon get a reality check.We are saying this because we have met certain characters who have lost everything and are pretty vexed about it.
All we say is , travel is for everyone only if there is a great deal of inner drive. Start travelling weekends, take vacations , explore places and if those travels expand your mind then take the next step of moving from a tourist to a full time traveller.