Why YOU should travel THE WORLD!

Why should you take the daring decision and decide to go travelling? Why should you spend your precious savings or hard-earned cash  for University, life, or a house deposit in unknown foreign destinations? Why should you leave the comfort of your parent’s house with free food, hot showers and comfy beds to travel in your gap year? Why take that chance and leave everything behind? The important clichéd question is, why not? 


Below are five vital reasons out of  innumerable thousands which should inspire you, the reader, to get up from the sofa, pack your backpack, open your door and start your travels around the globe.

1. To see the WORLD!

Travelling will show you that life exists outside of your hometown. There’s a bigger picture to  daily living then waking up and doing the same thing day in and  day out five days a week. On your travels you will see cultures which are completely opposite to your own. During my time in Asia I rarely used a knife at mealtimes but was given  a set of chopsticks, and I can tell you now, eating a bowl of fried rice becomes the next Mount Everest.  I treasured each moment when I was given a fork and a spoon. Travelling will open your eyes and you will see things that you will never forget, things completely contrasted to your local high street and it will be amazing. The first taxi/bus ride that you will take from the airport to you cheap backpacker hostel will leave you both stunned and excited for what's to come. I remember being thrust into the manic streets of Bangkok, watching thousands of people twist and dodge around cars  on mopeds, hooting their horns like a never-ending chorus of mechanical birds,  and sometimes using the pavement to beat that red light. You could be exploring Bangkok yourself or the ancient temple of Angkor Wat hidden away underneath the ever consuming rainforest in Cambodia . Why not? 

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

2. Exotic Food and Flavours

One of my favourite aspects of travelling is tasting the local cuisine. When you go travelling try to avoid the tourist traps of MacDonald’s and Pizza Hut (this may be hard after a few months on the road though!) and sit down at a local restaurant and try the local food. I promise you; you will not forget your first meal! I remember in Cambodia being served chicken feet with my fried rice when my friends and I stopped off for a longed-for lunch. I can tell you now, it was not satisfying to find chicken toe-nails popping up every now and then when I took a bite of my rice. You will taste flavours and spices that you will not find anywhere else. In Asia fennel is used as the main flavour in garlic bread, and if you're like me and is not a lover of aniseed this is a devastating thing, especially when your craving comfort food from the West. Some countries also have interesting delicacy’s which will make for a great travelling story. For example, fried tarantula legs in Cambodia taste weirdly like bacon. However, I warn you, DO NOT EAT THE BODY. My friend Jo was the brave one of our group and attempted it, apparently all the flavour it gives is insect...delicious.

Fried Tarantula, a delicacy in Cambodia

3.  To RELAX!

Travelling will give you time to relax without the ever-present pressure of  knowing what you want to do with your life; this mysterious “life plan” which everyone talks about and no-one quite seems to know how it works or what it is. Travelling is your excuse to put this step-by-step action plan for success to the side for a few weeks or even a few years. The only stress that you will face is what bus to catch to your next destination or which beach to spread your towel on for a day’s sunbathing session.

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

4. To meet NEW people and make NEW friends 

One of the things which everyone will take away from travelling is the new friendships you will form. The experiences that you will share with these unknown people will be something you will never forget. You will brave the unknown with them, getting lost in the bustle of foreign cities or banding together on a night train across the country, using each other for pillows and protecting one another from pick-pockets. I remember a particular bonding experience that I shared with my friends during my trip to Vietnam. We naively choose the cheapest seats on the night train which would take us up to Sapa (a mountainous region bordering China which is the only place in Vietnam to have snow in winter). After telling several people of our 'bargain' and instead of the expected praise  we received sympathy looks and shaking of heads we realised that it was an ERROR. The 'cheap' seats are in fact park benches stapled to the train carriage. We soon found out that the floor was comfier and spent the rest of the night using our backpacks as pillows. You will definitely experience a different style of life with these strangers and I promise you, they will feel like your new best friends after a week. 

Invasion volunteers in the Maldives

!!WARNING CLICHÉ!!

 

5.   To find YOURSELF  

Travelling will help you figure out exactly what YOU want in life. It will help you gain an understanding of what you like, what you don’t like and what you want to do. I’m not saying that it will hold all of the answers but it will certainly help you along the way. Even if your travels are not quite what you expected you will never regret it because at the end of the day, it is EXPERIENCE.

Despite all of your burning questions, fears and worries one thing is for sure, you will NEVER get this opportunity again. So take it with both hands and go with it, and remember, ENJOY it.

By Victoria Root.

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