What makes travelling meaningful for me?

Traveling can mean different things to people. Some would just like to go away to a special place to "escape" their lives. Their ideas of escapes could be the beach, or going out in the nature. Some people prefer to go to cities and learn the history and culture, as well as try the local cuisine and participate with local customs or events. The range is so large and broad, and it also depends if you are a novice or experienced traveler. A novice might be unsure of their itinerary and what to do. They might prefer to participate in tour packages where they are guided through a list of places and landmarks to visit. 

I started out as an exchange student, living in a country nearly 4,000 miles away from my hometown. I had grown up in the countryside, and lived in a megapolis during my college years. My time in Newark-New York City area prepared me for adjusting to living in Germany. I was able to head over to the local train station and jump onto a train that could take me to all points of Europe. In 1996, when I was only 20 years old, my idea of traveling was different compared to how I travel now. 

I would spend little time in one place and pack in all the places to visit. It was like checking off a checklist without really learning about the stories behind them. My second trip in Europe took me to Paris again so that I could get to know Paris better and visit some of the areas outside Paris such as the châteaux of the Loire Valley and Mont St Michel. I found this to be nice, yet I felt I was still missing something. The travel guide only gives you so much in narrations about the places, and being Deaf, you don't always have the ability to just participate in guided visits with narrations. You would go to tourist offices to collect information.Sometimes I would look at maps after trips and realise that I could have visited this or that.

The arrival of the internet age has made travel so much easier. I was able to research more information for the places I were planning to visit, as well book the hotel rooms and transportation. Being Deaf, it helps me to avoid talking with people to arrange things like tickets and such. I didn't have to rely on going to tourist offices anymore. Internet helps you find the information focused to your preferences and that makes it more meaningful. You no longer had to follow a common itinerary.

There was a period where I did not travel for about six years after moving to Utah. In 2006, I had an opportunity to travel to Norway and Sweden. I was focused on visiting all of Norway and trying to visit the nature to camp and hike, etc. This was a little ambitious, and I ended up not doing as much hiking as I had hoped to. Norway was also more expensive than I had anticipated, and I ended up staying with a friend a little longer than expected. This has taught me to save more money than what I budgeted for, so that I would not be caught in a situation like this again. Nowadays, I try to research on the budget and save double the money of what I budget for.

Between 2006 and 2011, I visited places and checked them off. After a while, I felt as if I could not remember the places I visited. It was like a whirlwind of places and sights. Although I did indeed see the places, it didn't seem meaningful to me because I did not know why these places existed or why they were important. I realised that I needed to start upping my homework load to "study" about the places I am visiting, and making effort to understand what I was learning. 

Instead of visiting the top sights, I started adjusting my itinerary to match my interests and preferences. I try to include visits to national parks and nature areas so I could do some hiking, as well as visit random historical places in the countryside not easily accessible with public transportations. Road trips have become a thing for my trips lately, as it gives me ability to follow my own timetable and pace. Traveling by trains and bus may be ecological sound solution, but sometimes their timetables can be problematic if you are on a tight schedule.

I feel that my travel experience has changed from when I was a 20 years old kid, and that I am remembering my trips better now because they have more meaning to me now. This has given me better appreciation of the history of the old continent and being able to understand why things happened the way they did. My hunger for knowledge will never stop, nor will my travels. It was no longer a checklist to check off, but now a passion to learn and appreciate the places I am visiting.