Updated: 12/04/19 | December 4th, 2019
As I lay on a beach of the island of Ko Lipe in Thailand, my Kiwi good friend Paul counted on me as well as asked nonchalantly, “Backgammon?”
“Of course,” I replied. “What else is there to do?”
We’d play for hours before heading to our preferred restaurant in the “town center.” The owner would show us Thai as well as the regional Chao Lay language while chuckling at our inability to manage spicy food. We’d laugh together with him, share some jokes, as well as head back to the beach.
Then, at night, we’d walk barefoot to the island’s primary beach and, with the generators buzzing in the background, drink as well as smoke with our other good friends into the wee hours of the morning.
When the generators turned off as well as we only had starlight to light our way, we would quote each other great night up until morning, when we would do everything over again.
When I very first started traveling, I envisioned myself as Indiana Jones on the quest for the holy Grail (definitely not some odd crystal-skull area aliens like in the last movie). My holy Grail was that best travel moment in some off-the-beaten-path city nobody had ever checked out before. There, I’d have a possibility encounter with a regional that would provide me a window into the regional culture, modification my life, as well as open my eyes to the appeal of humanity.
In short, I was trying to find my version of The Beach.
The beach was a book published in the 1990s about backpackers in Thailand who, fed up with the commercialization of the backpacker path in Asia, sought out a a lot more authentic, excellent paradise.
It crystallized what backpackers envision themselves doing.
Ko Lipe was an island full of banana pancakes, Wi-Fi, as well as tourists. It wasn’t that location nobody had ever heard about, however it was my paradise. just off the vacationer path sufficient to be remote however still on it sufficient where I’d have some contemporary amenities.
To me, The beach exists. It’s not a specific location or destination. It’s a moment in time when total strangers from opposite ends of the world come together, share memories, as well as produce bonds that last forever.
You discover those moments regularly when you travel, as well as when you do, you begin to recognize what travel has been trying to show you from the beginning:
No matter where you are in the world, we’re all truly the same.
And that basic realization is the most interesting “Aha!” moment you can ever experience.
After my trip to Costa Rica, my mind couldn’t stop believing about elsewhere. somewhere else was a location of foreign lands as well as people.
Of hiking.
Of discovery.
Of cafes chuckling with new friends.
Of freedom.
Of unencumbered possibility.
My present life was a prison. A prison that kept my new discovered uncaged spirit confined to routine as well as dread. I had seen the light in Costa Rica. available in the world, people were repeating my experience while I went into data into Microsoft programs as well as arranged phone calls as well as meetings for my boss.
If only I was available in my mythical elsewhere, my life would be much better as well as a lot more exciting.
But traveling around the world has taught me that the lawn on your neighbor’s yard is the precise exact same shade of eco-friendly as your own.
The a lot more you travel, the a lot more you recognize that everyday life as well as people around the world are precisely the same.
Everyone wakes up, concerns about their kids, their weight, their friends, as well as their job. They commute. They kick back on the weekend. The go grocery shopping. They listen to music as well as like movies. They laugh, they cry, as well as concern just like you.
How they do these things may be different however why they do them isn’t.
Humans are the exact same no matter where you go in the world.
Local culture is just exactly how different people do things. I like exactly how the French obsess over wine, the Japanese are so polite, Scandinavians like their rules, Thais seem to have a clock that is permanently 20 minutes late, as well as Latin cultures are passionate as well as fiery.
That is culture. That range is why I travel.
I want to see exactly how people online life around the world, from the farmers on the Mongolian steppe to the office workers in fast-paced Tokyo to the tribes of the Amazon. What’s the regional handle the mundane stuff that I do back home?
Bill Bryson when stated we travel to enjoy with enjoyment people doing the mundane stuff we do back home.
I believe he’s right.
We may want to believe that the world is nonstop enjoyment anywhere however where we are — but it’s not.
Det er det samme.
I utilized to online in Bangkok mentor English. While I had versatile hours, I still dealt with commutes, bills, landlords, using fits to work, as well as whatever else that includes an office job. JegKom sammen med gode venner etter jobb til middag i tillegg til drinker, så vel som gjorde alt igjen dagen etter.
Der var jeg, kontinenter hjemmefra, i tillegg til at jeg bare bodde 9 til 5 rundt igjen. Det føltes annerledes for meg siden det var på et nytt sted – men som jeg viser på det nå, var det nødvendig nøyaktig det samme uansett hvor forskjellig bakgrunn.
Og alle lokalbefolkningen rundt meg så for meg livet tilbake i USA så interessant som jeg så for meg livet i andre land.
Det daglige livet til mennesker halvveis over hele verden er ikke annerledes enn din.
Du vil oppdage folk som gjør ting på en annen måte hvor som helst du er. Jada, det er morsomt å spise på Seinen, seile de greske øyene eller løpe en motorsykkel rundt Hanoi. Imidlertid gjør lokalbefolkningen ikke det hver dag. De lever bare livet (jeg indikerer tro på nøyaktig hvor ofte du er en ferierende i din egen by? Ikke ofte jeg vedder på).
Når du kjenner igjen nøyaktig hvor like livene våre er, kjenner du igjen at vi alle er i dette sammen. Du ser ikke lenger mennesker som noen “andre”, men anerkjenner deg i stedet i dem – nøyaktig samme kamp, håp, drømmer, så vel som ønsker du har, de har for seg selv.
Det er den mest avgjørende leksjonen jeg har oppdaget etter ti år som nomad.
Og så, da en intervjuer spurte meg forrige uke om det største som reiser verden, har lært meg, tankene mine øyeblikkelig kjørte med alle disse øyeblikkene på Ko Lipe, så vel som uten å nøle, svarte jeg:
“Vi er alle de samme.”
Hvordan reise verden rundt på $ 50 om dagen
My New York Times veldig populære pocketbok guide til verdensreiser vil vise deg nøyaktig hvordan du kan mestre kunsten å reise for å sikre at du kommer fra allfarvei, spare penger, i tillegg til å ha en dypere reiseopplevelse. Det er din A til Z -planleggingsguide at BBC kalte “Bibelen for budsjettplanreisende.”
Klikk her for å oppdage mye mer i tillegg til å begynne å lese den i dag!
Bestill turen din: Logistiske ideer så vel som triks
Bestill flyet ditt
Finn en rimelig flytur ved å bruke Skyscanner. Det er min foretrukne bla gjennom motoren siden den søker på nettsteder så vel som flyselskaper over hele kloden, slik at du alltid forstår at ingen stein er igjen.
Bestill innkvarteringen din
Du kan bestille vandrerhjemmet ditt med Hostelworld. Hvis du vil bo et annet sted enn et herberge, kan du bruke booking.com, da de konsekvent returnerer de billigste prisene for gjestehus så vel som hotell.
Ikke klarer ikke å huske reiseforsikring
Reiseforsikringsdekning vil sikre deg mot sykdom, skade, tyveri, samt kanselleringer. Det er detaljert sikkerhet i situasjonen alt går galt. Jeg drar aldri på tur uten det, da jeg har måttet utnytte det mange ganger i det siste. Min foretrukne virksomhet som tilbyr den aller beste servicen og verdien er:
Safetywing (best for alle)
Forsikre turen min (for de over 70)
MedJet (for ekstra evakueringsdekning)
Klar til å bestille turen?
Sjekk ut ressurssiden min for den aller beste virksomheten å bruke når du reiser. Jeg viser alle de jeg bruker når jeg reiser. De er de aller beste i klassen, og du ikke kan gå galt ved å bruke dem på turen.