I have often wondered where my passion for travelling actually comes from. Yes a lot of people enjoy “travelling” and yes it is not that niche, it is quite a popular interest. However, PROPER travelling is not that popular. People like to think they are avid travellers and have a knack for exploring, but it’s just not the case 90% of the time. Going on a holiday to Bali and taking instagram stories of fruit bowls, or backpacking in South East Asia when you graduated university, or going on an all inclusive package holiday to Turkey is not exploring the world or travelling (many do think it is though). These are of course just my opinions, and some people may get upset by that, but I did promise an honest blog!
So what do I think “proper travelling” is? For me, it’s going to lesser known places, not just the popular destinations that are flooded on instagram. It is something more genuine, more sincere and being more open to less visited destinations, getting to know about more rural, off the beaten path cultures and destinations. It is about being open minded, having a sincere interest in exploring a large variety of cultures, and having the confidence to leave your comfort zone at times. THAT to me is PROPER travel!
Leaving your comfort zone is what I think most people are actually afraid to do. I am so certain that most people don’t actually research about their next holiday destination. They see where the rest of the crowd are going, where looks “good” on instagram and just go there. This leaves no chance of ever finding their own hidden gem (one of my favourite feelings when travelling). Most people are scared of leaving their comfort zone to try somewhere a bit different, or just outright too arrogant to even give it a chance.
Now, there are of course extremes to both sides. This is not me saying I am totally against mass tourism destinations, or that everyone should only go to countries that have less than 100,000 visitors per year. No. I love a lot of popular destinations (Spain, Turkey and Prague to name a few). I am also not interested in visiting every country in the world either – Chad, for example, off the top of my head, has no interest to me. HOWEVER there should be a balance! If you only go to places like Bali or Thailand or on that all inclusive to Turkey, then that is not proper travel (in my opinion). They are just your standard, regular holidays. You are not opening your eyes to the rest of the world that you have at your disposal.
So am I a “proper traveller”? Well, it would be pretty ironic if I was to have such a strong opinion on travelling and not follow my own rules hahaha! I like to think I embody everything that I have just said, but am I the most experienced traveller? Far from it. My 40/197 countries visited at the time of writing this are rookie numbers compared to some of the others in the travel community. However, I am only 26 and I have already been to some niche destinations. Time is on my side!
Like I said, simple travelling is enjoyed by most people around the world. In fact, if someone doesn’t enjoy travelling at all, I think that is outright weird! I get not enjoying sports, or certain foods, or going out partying, but not enjoying travelling at all? That one I don’t understand.
Anyway, what I call proper travelling is more of a niche and I think there has to be a reason for it. A story, maybe, why that particular person enjoys it. I think for me it was just ingrained into me from such a young age. By the time I was 7, I had already lived in 3 countries, so I was definitely used to being on the road. I was born in Uzbekistan, left for Russia when I was like 2 years old, and then moved to the UK when I was about 7. Ever since, I have just been fascinated in how other people live elsewhere, what other people do and enjoy in other parts of the world.
I had always been a geography nerd for that reason. Human geography, not physical, that is boring hahaha! Why are some countries poor and others rich, why are some corrupt and others not, where does the culture of each country come from. These are the kind of things that always fascinated me as a kid. My Grandad also travelled a lot as part of his job. He had some amazing stories from the likes of Angola, Cuba, Italy etc. I always looked up to my Grandad; he was and still is my hero. These are my reasons for why I love travelling. What are yours?
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