NOW BOARDING
What do you look for in a good year? Many of you shared thoughts of peace, happiness and fewer traffic fines in our first Story Tellers of the year on page 13. I’m totally on board with the fewer traffic fines – I’ve been working on reducing those for several years, and I’ve had more success than with my waistline. But for me, a year is often marked by how many times I got on a plane to go somewhere cool.
Sometimes, it’s one big, box-ticking trip; sometimes it’s little getaways that change scenery and perspective. All of them, near or far, add something to my life. Not in an earnest, travel-hasopened-my-eyes-to-humanity, creditcard-commercial way, though. It’s mostly in trying new kinds of food that I’ve only read about and discovering they are a) not all they’ve cracked up to be or b) are absolutely incredible and why don’t we have this in Dubai already? I don’t have a bucket list as such, just a stack of take-out menus that inspire upcoming trips – from sushi to chole bhature to pizza.
I’m kidding only a little, of course — going overseas is a priceless way to expand your thoughts and knowledge, and makes you question the things you thought were right and wrong. It can make you question who you are: I love overnight, long-distance rail journeys, mostly undertaken in carriages that are just so-so. Or do I? A ride in Vietnam this summer made me wonder if it was me that’s changed, or the roaches.
In better things on rails, I learned that New Delhi’s airport is best reached on the incredibly convenient metro system and Spain shows movies on their trains, both of which I also believe tell me something about the way people live in those places,
Travel can make you question who you are: A train ride made me wonder if it was me that’s changed, or the roaches
and make me reflect on what I knew.
Mike Peake’s epic travel bucket list story on page 34 will provide you with an hour or so of armchair travelling this weekend, if nothing else. The trips he suggests, by speaking to some of the world’s most adventurous, well-travelled people, take you from the tops of mountains to an elephant-rich delta in the bush, by the way of two Indiana Jones-esque hidden cities and stillsecret dive spots. We’d love to hear your amazing travel ideas – share the best places you’ve visited with us on friday@gulfnews.com.