Travel slow and enjoy the moment!
I love traveling. I love exploring new places, people and cultures. It’s the greatest luxury I could ever imagine.
Travel is the only thing you can buy which makes you richer.
But the more I travel and the more new places I see, the more I think about the way we travel these days.
I think there’s something wrong on how we travel.
Not for the moment itself, but for the selfies and instagram pictures we take. We don’t select our destinations by wanderlust, but by how fancy they are. We rush from restaurants to sights to places all recommend by Yelp or Tripadvisor being afraid that we miss something important. After our trip we feel exhausted, but at least we took tons of pictures we can proudly show to friends & families.
The pressure of social media has made us to become travelish photo monsters (not sure about that word, but you know what I mean)!
I spent half year abroad and wondered how I could adapt myself to not be a tourist in a foreign city, but rather a resident.
I watched a lot of tourists at that time rushing through the streets with their smartphones & cameras aiming for the next big shot. I somehow began to feel sorry for them. Because I felt they are missing it. The are missing the moment of being in a new city. Feeling the vibe.
So here’s my advice: take it slowly.
It’s not about getting to see every super-awesome sight recommend by Tripadvisor. It’s not about going to the best rated restaurants on Yelp. It’s not about rushing through the streets being afraid missing something.
It’s about the little things.
The best and greatest travel moments happen when you don’t expect them.
They happen on some random no-name street where you stumble into an elderly local philosophizing about the world. It happens when you go to non-tourist restaurants and bars eating, drinking and having fun.
Don’t be too busy missing the real adventures and moments.
You make great point about slowing down, I don't think you get to see the real place unless you try avoid the tourist areas. I find people in general, not just tourists, are too busy to notice the sights sounds and smells of the nature around or sometimes even the people around and slowing down to take all that in is very relaxing and rewarding.
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