It is said, if you stay in one place all your life, you have read only one page of the book called the world. However, if you have travelled to different places, and travelled like a conventional tourist, well then that’s just waste of a place! There is a significant difference between being a tourist and a traveller; between visiting and truly exploring a place.
So, let s make a few points that you need to keep in mind to make the most of your next trip and hopefully being a traveller will be a more fulfilling experience for you than being a tourist. What good is a journey or a trip, if it has not added an aspect to your being? Here are a few tips that can help you become a soulful traveller who takes life lessons from his/her travels!
Pick a place, not for show but for yourself
Choose a place, not by its status-quo or thinking of all the great pictures you will get to click there. Choose it because your heart wants to truly visit it; something that has always been on your bucket list or a place that fascinates you. Pick a place that’s close to your heart and the traveller in your will come to life as soon you land at your destination!
Read about the place & get a map!
Reviews given by fellow tourists on different websites are great. But it is their experience, and you need to make yours on your own! Following other peoples experience blindly will only lead you to a path that’s already walked by someone else. Read up on the place, see what strikes your interest and catches your eye and then make a note of it. Get a map. Yes, a real one, not the Google map. Then set out, to create your own experiences, in your own way, on your terms, not someone else’s.
A guide? No, thank you.
When you reach your beloved destination, do not hire a guide (unless it is a historical monument or site)! They tend to restrain your travel to the conventional way, and that is not what a traveller does! Befriends the locals, have conversations with the local restaurant that you’re eating at, asks them to recommend spots that are not hot-tourist destinations! Find places that have never been found before!
Don’t hesitate to try new cuisines
Are we all not tired of the same noodles or the butter chicken-nan, yet we end up ordering exactly that when at a restaurant. Try out the local cuisine, try to taste the flavours that are indigenous to the place; observe what that the locals are having and order it! You won’t know if you like it unless you try!
Take ONE bag
Try to carry just one bag, preferably a trekking bag. Carrying too many bags everywhere can create a setback when it comes to travelling freely. Decide whether to carry your home with you everywhere or to bring a part of the world back to your home.
Ditch the watch.
This is supposed to be a break from your everyday life. No, you do not need to rush to catch that bus. No rushing, that is the only pre-decided rule you ought to follow. Do not set any pre-decided timeline. Have a rough sketch, but do not become obsessed with following it. If you like a spot, sit and take in the moment. Stay till you are ready to leave.
Time is a luxury that you can afford when you’re travelling.
Walk slowly. Take it all in!
Take a walk, take a turn into a random lane, ditch the fast-pace and go slow. Let it seep in, the beauty of the place, the chaos of it; just embrace it all. Walking in the streets of a random is probably the most typical ‘traveller’ thing that you can do!
Write it all down
It’s when we travel that we have most of our epiphanies. While tourists would be taking only photographs, you – the traveller – can write down what you were thinking about while taking that picture. Years later, you would be holding not just a picture in your hand, but a part of that place that stole a part of you.
True happiness does not come from purchasing innumerable things, but collecting experiences of a lifetime. So, make your travels more about gathering beautiful and soulful experiences, rather than status updates.
Go on! Set free the traveller in you! And don’t forget to send a post-card from wherever you are making new memories!
Article by Shubhayan Giri
