In the last post I discussed the fact that I am planning to travel, indefinitely. What I didn't go into detail about was why.

So, why travel? So many people have already provided the answer so perfectly that it makes sense to use some of their words alongside my own.

"The world is a book and those who do no travel read only one page."
I want to read every page, to visit every country.

"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries."
I want to see them for myself and reach my own conclusions.

"To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world."
I want to be somewhere that I know nobody, so I can be whoever I want to be.

"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."
I want to see the beauty, feel the charm and have the adventure. I want to be so amazed by the world that I couldn't physical close my eyes even if I wanted to.

"The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted."
I want everything to be unfamiliar. I want to sleep in a bed that I've never slept in before, eat foods I've never heard of for breakfast, go to the local shop and be amazed at the items they are selling. I want to be grateful that I am alive and able to experience these things.

"Travelling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance."
I want to be off balance. I want to be lost and terrified, only to be rescued by a kind stranger. I want to miss my friends and my family, only to appreciate them more when I spend time with them.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
I don't want to regret not seeing the world, not making the most of my youth, not having an adventure.

I want to see. To smell. To taste. To hear. To touch. To feel. To do. To learn. To know. To understand. To experience. To grow.  To live. Is that reason enough?

What are your favourite travel quotes?

PS. For some more inspiration, see these five TED talks that will make you want to travel.

2 comments :

  1. eemusings11 February, 2014

    These are great quotes! For me, a LOT of it was about the food (and am pleased to report that the eating was so, so worth it.) http://nzmuse.com/2013/02/why-i-travel/

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    1. Catherine12 February, 2014

      If my first stop was Europe/USA/Mexico, I would be so excited for the food, but to be honest I'm a little nervous about the food in SE Asia, I don't like spicy food or rice!

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