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Read other posts with the label: 52 small changes
I did
not start traveling either seriously or solo until I was in my late twenties.
But once I did, it opened up a whole new world of learning for me. It boosted
my confidence immensely and taught me how to pursue things independently,
without waiting on people whose travel frequency does not match mine. In a span
of six years, I had ended up traveling more than thirty countries, and many of
them, alone.
However,
I had to recently factor in the reality of my new position- being pre-tenure at
a research university, which is not for the faint-hearted. It
requires years of immersion in research, being very active and productive in
terms of publishing and bringing in grant money. Therefore, I do not get to
travel as much these days.
Scratch
that. I do get to travel, but it is a different kind of travel. I travel mostly
for work and conferences, and these are mostly to urban cities within the US.
Baltimore. Atlanta. Boston. San Francisco. Such travel would have thrilled me
many years ago, and I once used to spend my own money to visit these places during
national holidays, but no more. After a point, all US cities look and feel the
same. Sometimes, I do not even get to step out of the conference venue and
explore the city.
When
I think of my happy travel experiences, I think of hiking and driving around
the Grand Canyon. I think of those beautiful sunsets and good food in Puerto
Rico. I think of the blueness of the ocean in Hawaii. I think of the geysers of
Yellowstone and the glaciers of Montana. I think of eating fried crickets in
Mexico and Cambodia. I think of flying over Mount Everest in Nepal. I remember
the flavorful stew in Dubrovnik (Croatia) and the church I hiked in Montenegro.
I think of the cruise ship I took to Norway and the largest ice caves in the
world I hiked in Werfen (Austria). I think of Mount Etna in Sicily (Italy) and
the goosebumps I got visiting a concentration camp in Auschwitz (Poland). From
the forts of Malta to the oceans of Portugal, from the mountains in Sikkim to
the cobbled streets of Estonia, wonderful travel experiences have filled my
life. Naturally, after visiting most US cities, the lure of Washington DC,
Miami or San Diego is not much.
So how
does one travel without traveling?
Once a
week (during the weekend), I routinely spend a few hours watching travel
documentaries on YouTube. I was amazed at the wealth of resources travel blogs
and YouTube provide. It gives me a vicarious sense of travel pleasure. I randomly
pick a country on the map and go find everything I can about the country. This is
how I learnt about the Pamir Highway connecting Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan, the
amazing bhortas and the biryanis one can eat while visiting Bangladesh, the
mountains of the Himalayan range, some of the higher motorable roads in the
world in Leh and Ladakh, the different seasons in a country as small as
Sri Lanka, the fanciest trains in the world and what they offer, the history of Burkina Faso that was formerly called the Republic of Upper
Volta, the monasteries of Bhutan, the island of Bali, and so much more. Although I would much
rather visit these places in-person, this experience gives me a travel high and enriches my knowledge about the history and the geography of a place when I am cooped up working for months and do not even get to visit the downtown nearby. I
find it to be a much better use of time than following the hyped shows and
sitcoms.
If you
want to see the beautiful, awe-inspiring, rugged mountains of Pakistan, watch
the movie Dukhtar. And if you have fascinating travel experiences and itineraries
to share, I would love to hear from you.
sunshine
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