Adventure and anxiety
Travel is an inner voyage of self-discovery.
Every adventure brings mixed feelings. Anticipation, excitement, and worry. As the departure date approaches, the anxiety is heightened.
If one is going to a favorite place, there’s a feeling of comfort and reassurance. The beach and the mountains are the popular local choices. Expectations are manageable and predictable, to a certain degree.
However, a trip to another country — for cultural exploration and R&R — is worth some hassles. Anxiety is worse because of the following items: Budget, tickets, itinerary, tours, transportation, and logistics.
To get to the dream destination, there are so many details, items to fret about and handle. Airport security measures, check in and the long queues. One has to endure the painstaking luggage search, countless body scans, and walking sans shoes through the x-ray machines.
In some countries, specific ethnic groups appear to be targets of the immigrations and customs officials. The queues build up as some passengers are questioned at random entry and exit points. The iPads cannot be brought in the hand luggage. Some countries refuse to let an airline fly in their airspace. Schedules are delayed.
The itinerant traveler learns to grin and bear it.
However, the safety of the majority cannot be compromised. One shrugs off the wearisome inconveniences — cancelled and missed flights due to assorted threats and extreme weather disturbances.
“Take it with a grain of salt,” as seasoned travelers say. The rewards are worth the snags.
Aboard the plane, one sheds the protective mask and armor. There is a sudden sense of freedom, a feeling of restored privacy.
Travel is not only about escape. It is an inner voyage of selfdiscovery, and expansion of one’s outer horizon and perspective.
The best part of being away is the novelty — seeing new places, meeting interesting people, and
learning new things. When one meets up with long lost friends at a reunion, getting reacquainted is a pleasure. After many years, one appreciates people and things from another perspective. It is a chance to renew bonds of friendship. As one gets older and wiser, there is a yearning to refresh ties with past. It is like going back to one’s roots.
The adventure bonus is having private time for nurturing the inner self.
One can rough it out, go camping, or join a safari and watch the starry skies. Or one can indulge in a few luxuries to pamper the body and the spirit. It could be a jog on a beach, a yoga session on a mountain, a swim with the whale sharks, a pilgrimage to a shrine, a boat ride at sunset, a session of mediation with a guru, a ride on a steed, a spiritual retreat, a summer camp for creative and athletic children, a hilltop picnic overlooking a lake, an hour at the spa, a hike to the forest, a nap on a hammock, an hour of sketching or learning how to cook. Other pleasures are a day at a museum, a castle or a heritage site, touring on a bike, dancing, listening to a classical concert, watching a favorite sport. Some people climb mountains, visit archaeological sites, and ruins. The list is endless.
Indulgence is sometimes a necessity. It is “me-time,” something essential to wellness. One should spend it ( guilt-free) in any manner.
The worst part about traveling is leaving the comfort zone. One has to leave the bed and bathroom, and the taste and smell of home-cooked meals. One misses the little amenities of home.
One gets tired of restaurant cuisine and microwaved airline food trays. Not to mention living out of a suitcase, keeping tight schedules, sprinting to catch a bus and a train.
When one is away for a long period, one misses so many things — the loved ones, family (including pets) and work. A brief vacation is fine. A prolonged exile (i.e. for medical treatment) causes extreme bouts of home sickness.
Travel fatigue affects everyone — the “newbies” and the seasoned travelers. There is anxiety about safety and security. There are fears about attacks and accidents.
On the outward trip, it takes almost forever to reach a destination. It seems so long, so far away. Travel time seems to stretch on and on — at least in one’s perception. This happens even on local trips. The two-hour drive feels like five hours.
The opposite effect happens on the homeward trip. It seems to be over in a flash. There is no more thrill. Just the inevitable feeling of dread — the piled up work load, the documents, the tight schedule of meetings, the obligatory events. It takes a lot of effort to adjust again.
Back in a familiar but hectic, stressful environment, the urge to escape creeps in. Such is human nature.
The cycle begins anew.
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once wrote, “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”