5 reasons to invest in travel, not things

If my mother had read this post, she probably would not have spoken to me for a long time. And my mother-in-law just calls us traveling fools. And I understand why. Their generation grew up with different values: the house, car, furniture, jewelry and savings were of paramount importance and were a way to show status, personal achievement and development. All this is still important, but my generation is gradually starting to move to a different way of thinking, where experiences are the most important thing.

Priorities are shifting from the accumulation of things to the accumulation of experience.

My husband and I are an average middle-income couple who create memories for most of their lives. Given our limited budget, I would rather drive a Honda and vacation four times a year than give up travel and spend the next 10 years paying off my Mercedes loan. Also, at the beginning of our relationship, we agreed that it would be better to go on a date at a Michelin-starred restaurant than exchange gifts.

You can call us addicts and you will be right. But I prefer to call it passion. In any case, the symptoms are clear: I feel bad if I stay in one place for more than three months; I need to constantly go somewhere for the weekend; I plan my trip once or twice a year and prepare detailed itineraries for each trip.

This is why I am doing this.

1. Travel expands consciousness

As Mark Twain rightly pointed out, travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. A two-year diplomatic assignment in Haiti has opened up life to me from an unexpected angle. You can watch the hardships of developing countries on TV, but until you see them firsthand, you are unable to truly appreciate the day-to-day struggle of the people living there.

new impressions: expansion of consciousness

In Haiti, we did not live in complete poverty, yet I began to appreciate the simplest things like paved roads, traffic lights, shops, cinemas and malls - everything that I took for granted.

2. You meet new people

It's not enough for me to just look at the sights. I don't think you can learn anything about a country and its culture without talking to the locals.

Multicultural interaction is the key to understanding the beauty of this world. A bunch of friends in all corners of the planet gives a feeling of inner wealth.

Traveling is an opportunity to meet different nationalities and learn a little about their culture. Everyone you come across on your way has a story and is ready to tell it.

3. You get a new cultural experience …

A Luo party in Hawaii, climbing the Great Wall of China, spending the night in a Japanese Buddhist temple, diving in St. Kitts, a sumo tournament in Tokyo or dune trekking in Dubai are all ways to immerse yourself in the local culture. It is incomparable to observe how other peoples live and understand what makes their hearts beat. As you travel the world in search of new images, smells and sounds, it opens your mind and enriches you.

4.… and new gastronomic experiences

new experiences: gastronomic experiences

I love good food and try the local cuisine on all my travels. No matter how many people around the world try to recreate these dishes, they will never be as delicious as they were at home. Because in other places it is impossible to find authentic products and spices.

Nowhere will Khachapuri be as good as the ones made in my mother's kitchen in Tbilisi, Thai food will not be as delicious as in Thailand, and Indian food will not be as delicious as in India.

I still remember our food tour in San Juan, when we enjoyed local delicacies while walking through the beautiful cobbled streets. Our latest favorite is Sichuan food from a dining room in some Chinese village on the way to the Forbidden City. It was cheap, simple, and incredibly delicious.

5. You don't look back and ask "What if?"

Life is too short and in the end the only “things” that will stay with me are adventures and memories. I don't want to put off what I can do today, this month, or this year. I don’t want to look back and regret that I didn’t go there and did this.

To be honest, I doubt it will ever pass. I will always have a desire to pack my bags and go to some new exotic place. I don't think if this is right or wrong for your life. But doing as you feel is the best solution. Because we do not know what awaits us tomorrow.