What Does Travel Mean To You?

 "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes" said Marcel Proust.

The course of life teaches us many things. Doesn't it? And I suppose travel plays a big part in our education. Experiencing new things and seeing new places are veritable ways of knowledge and evolution for many. One gets to see oneself and others in different but honest ways when situated in different ambient conditions.

And this input perhaps helps us, in many levels, to grow. But should we not travel for travel's sake?Should we travel to find our happiness? Should we travel to 'find' ourselves?

There's a surprising number of ways to answer these questions. A businessman might say '' Hey! Look, I've been all over the world. China, Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, India, Africa..you name it and I've been there on work and leisure. But I find everything I want in my hometown. I don't see the point of taking the trouble to lug oneself half way across the globe to find happiness when a cuppa with friends & family at home would do it."

A friend of mine asked me "Anu, what is the point of travelling?? Isn't visiting the objective? Air travel, bus travel, sea travel are all a pain. Travelling is the worst part of a vacation! What comfort does anybody find inside a claustrophobic air plane, car or van? "

Another time, a retired couple told me that they're spending all their savings on travel and visiting NGOs in other places. They said it gave them immense happiness and fulfilment in doing a meaningful deed for others. That travel helps them find happiness in others and also in themselves. 

So here was a couple investing all their resources and faculties into something that another found very pointless.For someone, travel is perhaps, a lifestyle statement. For another, it may be a means to make ends meet. So the take away was that, travel, as with most things in life is understood in the context of one's background and experience. Spiritualists, journalists, businessmen, home-makers may all have different understandings of the same thing.

So having said that, my questions to you are:

• What does travel mean to you?
• Should we travel to find our happiness?
• What two places would you recommend to see?

Eagerly awaiting for answers, as it would help me and perhaps other seekers  understand travel and life as such through your experiences. As for me in the present time, travel is a way to escape from routine. It is an exercise to help me broaden my perspectives and a way to increase my level of patience and tolerance. I travel to find happiness. Being stagnant leads to oversight. I've started to appreciate home and its comforts only through travel. Somebody once said "There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way". I find happiness in the journey and in the destination. Two places that I'd recommend are, the Pacific Coast through California and also the Valleys of Kashmir in India.

Let me thank you in advance for participating.

Happy travelling!