I always wondered why I wanted to travel.
See new places, new cultures, meet new people ........
But I think one facet that I was over looking was the fact that when you travel without any predetermined plans is that it challenges you to deal with new circumstances than are not part of the routine way of life that we have all been accustomed to.
Not knowing what tomorrow brings, how the day will progress, is gallant of ones self in a way that can only be expressed by a quote by Henry
David Thoreau

quote:

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If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours

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Andrew

"catch you on the flip side"

I thought I wanted to travel for the adventure and to learn about other cultures, but what I discovered was that travel is like looking deeply into a mirror.

Instead of seeing yourself in the reflection, though, you see yourself the way others see you.

My year long adventure has been the best learning experience and an amazing way to come to grips with my 'Amercian' self.

"Travel lets us leave behind our unrealistic prejudices about other places and the people who live there and develop new, more realistic prejudices based on their actual deficiencies"

i think i like to travel because i have no expectations.
experiencing the world as it is, and being in that moment that is so crisp and so real, and feeling SO alive...that's why i travel.
And because, for some reason, there's always a lot of free beer involved in traveling.

i think one travels to heal, to "runaway" from their situations,friends & families. to boot you learn, you grow and you become better and more aware of who you are "hopefully".

i try to expect nothing- from anyone, any place, anything- that is what's different about traveling, for me, and that makes all the difference.
simple things, gestures take on a new meaning.

My last big travel was backpacking through Europe last year. I think that I went to experience the place and have a good time(drinky drinky), which I did, but the real lasting experience was having all of my problems and vices held up to my face, looking deeply into the mirror if you will. I came to the realization that I needed to let go of my Peter Pan complex and grow up. I also realized that I had to drop my neurosies in the road and walk away, because I would never work through them, because the need to do so is a neurosies in itself. Dont ask me how backpacking through Europe taught me that, but it did. I also learned more about my identity as an American. I learned just how much anywhere in America is home to me. Through this experience I gained some first hand understanding of what young muslims experience when they go to the US or Europe and become anti westerners and extremist. It can really screw with your head to be an unwanted alien. I think that it is worse in Europe because, and this came as a surprise, alot of Europeans are much more openly racist compared to the US. But I also learned that, at least in the western world, ignorance and intelligence seem pretty evenly distributed. Anywho, I could go on.

To be perfectly honest, I expect travel to solve all my problems, open my eyes, re-arrange my values, and change my life.

So far, so good. Travel has long ceased to be a lark and has become a lifelong quest, a tangible way to search for....what? Who I am (SO narcissistic)? What I believe? Life, the universe and everything?

Hi
Travel teaches me to be accomodating and adjusting. Moreover, sleeping under a starry sky teaches me that I am just a speck in the Universe, it is very humbling

Yeah !
For me - Traveling without expectations ....... : D

I just travel for adventure
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

All of my previous vacations have been just that. All I expected was a getaway from the daily grind to somewhere warm and different to go play.
I'm about to go on my first solo trip and I expect to learn a lot about the area I'm traveling to, get out of my shell some, be/feel more independant and have boatloads of time for reflection/journaling, and take amazing photos. On a larger level, I'm hoping travel will help me solidify my life purpose...i hope that's not too much to ask

I want to discover the unique feature of the other countries about the new cultures, new places and people in these places. I think when coming any places we also discover many different things....