My Thursday, New Zealand time, was full of good people, good conversations and a great book club meeting. We discussed Mexican Days by Tony Cohan. It was not a well received book by everyone, and not as good as his On Mexican Time, but the conversations it sparked about travel and identity were well worth the hot teas and hot chocolates we sipped.
Why do people travel?
The answer to that question determines much of how trips are planned, if they are planned, where one goes and what one hopes to accomplish or receive.
Some people go to sit and absorb warmth or sun.
Others go to absorb or experience culture, history or adventure.
For other people on the move it is all about their traveling companion or companions.
I like to travel alone, though I don't think I'm alone if I have a good book with me. I take along the author and his or her characters! I've been on trips alone where I wished I had friends to enjoy the journey. On other trips I've realised I hadn't matched the right friend to the right journey! Nothing wrong with the friend; just not a good match for the trip.
I went to Wellington in May alone to spend time with Monet. Next week I'm off to Brisbane to visit a dear friend. I'll go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef later in June with another friend who loves the water. I had an offer a couple of years ago from a friend that she'd go with me, but watch from the beach as she didn't like swimming where she couldn't see the bottom. Hmm, Great Barrier would be the wrong trip for her!
I've gone on roadtrips where we got to crossroads and flipped a coin to see which way to go next! I loved it! Those I was with warmed to it. Many would hate it!
Some people don't like to travel at all. There are too many unknowns, too many frustrations. Why be uncomfortable and pay heaps for it when you can stay home and save money? Others just have that wanderlust, that curiosity, that sense of adventure that knows there must be something out there . . . .
I reckon travelers have contributed much to the cross-pollination of ideas and understanding. Fascinating converstions take place in the common rooms of backpacker accommodation and pubs.
I've traveled with friends who like to eat cheap. I'll sleep cheap and frequent backpackers when I'm on my own, though clean is a must, but I like to eat well at least once per day.
I remember some cheap memorable meals on the roadside in Jerusalem eating shwarma from a donkey drawn cart. That cost me very little. One of my best all time meals was in a park in Edinburgh. I had an apple, a hunk of bread and some cheese. It was terrific! So I'm not a foodie as such nor a snob, except when it comes to good tea, but I do like to eat well.
Travel, how we travel and why we travel, is all quite personal.
While we didn't discuss it today cause I might appear to be a snob, I think there's a huge difference between tourists and travelers. What do ya reckon?
Why do people travel?
The answer to that question determines much of how trips are planned, if they are planned, where one goes and what one hopes to accomplish or receive.
Some people go to sit and absorb warmth or sun.
Others go to absorb or experience culture, history or adventure.
For other people on the move it is all about their traveling companion or companions.
I like to travel alone, though I don't think I'm alone if I have a good book with me. I take along the author and his or her characters! I've been on trips alone where I wished I had friends to enjoy the journey. On other trips I've realised I hadn't matched the right friend to the right journey! Nothing wrong with the friend; just not a good match for the trip.
I went to Wellington in May alone to spend time with Monet. Next week I'm off to Brisbane to visit a dear friend. I'll go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef later in June with another friend who loves the water. I had an offer a couple of years ago from a friend that she'd go with me, but watch from the beach as she didn't like swimming where she couldn't see the bottom. Hmm, Great Barrier would be the wrong trip for her!
I've gone on roadtrips where we got to crossroads and flipped a coin to see which way to go next! I loved it! Those I was with warmed to it. Many would hate it!
Some people don't like to travel at all. There are too many unknowns, too many frustrations. Why be uncomfortable and pay heaps for it when you can stay home and save money? Others just have that wanderlust, that curiosity, that sense of adventure that knows there must be something out there . . . .
I reckon travelers have contributed much to the cross-pollination of ideas and understanding. Fascinating converstions take place in the common rooms of backpacker accommodation and pubs.
"Where've you've been?"
"How was it?"
"Where you off to next?"
"Share the taxi?"
"How was it?"
"Where you off to next?"
"Share the taxi?"
I've traveled with friends who like to eat cheap. I'll sleep cheap and frequent backpackers when I'm on my own, though clean is a must, but I like to eat well at least once per day.
I remember some cheap memorable meals on the roadside in Jerusalem eating shwarma from a donkey drawn cart. That cost me very little. One of my best all time meals was in a park in Edinburgh. I had an apple, a hunk of bread and some cheese. It was terrific! So I'm not a foodie as such nor a snob, except when it comes to good tea, but I do like to eat well.
Travel, how we travel and why we travel, is all quite personal.
While we didn't discuss it today cause I might appear to be a snob, I think there's a huge difference between tourists and travelers. What do ya reckon?
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