Zen and the Art of Traveling

Traveling does not equal going on a holiday. Holidays are a break from everyday life, a 2- to 3-week trip to charge your batteries and shape up for another 9 months in the office. Traveling has no time limit, you always go over your estimated budget and you don't know in advance on which continent you'll be in a week, let alone in a month. So what is the adrenaline, the excitement in traveling?

For a lot of people, traveling is a long time break from a habit they built over many years. You wake up one morning and realize there has to be more in life besides your cubicle and the occasional beer in your local pub on Saturday. Then there's only two options: you do something with it or decide to just let it pass and wait for what has to be a depression to go away, which actually might happen. Eventually. Or not. As you probably have guessed, I myself am part of the first category. About 9 years ago I wanted to see whether there was more, and if so, would I enjoy it. Yes, yes and definitely yes. After making the most radical decision in my life, I left for Colombia, not knowing it would change my life forever. One 4 month trip lead to another and nowadays my life is mostly based around a 6 month season working in a beach club in Holland and traveling 5 months around the globe, discovering some of nature's wonders, beaches and bars. Have I ever regretted it? Not one second.

I'd even go further and say that all schools should promote gap years, exchange programs or volunteer work and make it easier for young people to broaden their horizon (although I hate the expression) so they know there's more in life than Big Macs and MTV. When kids (or young adults) reach the age of 18, they have to make the most important decision of their life and choose what it is they want to do for the next 40 years or so. They have no experience whatsoever to base this on and for a lot of them, there is no way back. Once you've chosen, that's it, like it or not.

What's more, traveling is getting easier and easier. Cheap flights are available all year long, hostels keep appearing even on the most isolated parts of the world and if that's still too expensive, websites like Couchsurfing or Craigslist offer plenty of opportunities for a cheap stay. No reason to get homesick as cyberbars and free wi-fi connections make home only a Skype call away. When you travel, you get to meet people, see all kinds of things you never imagined possible and if anything, taste food you'd never ever put in your mouth back home. Which might not always turn out for the best, but it will definitely provide great stories afterward. With all the social networks like Facebook and Myspace still growing at hyperspeed, it's very likely you'll even stay in touch with your new made foreign friends even years after your trip.

A lot of things can be learned from textbooks, TV or even the Internet, but nothing beats the real thing. A picture of a landscape is beautiful, actually seeing it will make a far bigger impression. Talking to local people about their situation, sometimes even going through the problems they have to face on a daily base is something no history-book will ever be able to compete with. My advice: start packing now, there's a whole world to discover...