ITINERARIES, yes or no?
Each traveler has their own
philosophy about visiting another country.
Some like to mingle with the
locals.
Some like to stick to their own
kind.
Some like to do both.
Some like utter luxury, others want
to test how much they can live without.
There is an abundance of travel
quotes that summarize each of these attitudes towards traveling.
Just to name a few:
1. “A journey is like
marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
– John Steinbeck
2. “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits
better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him
to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.”
– Samuel Johnson
3. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the
bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
4. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t
know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
5. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on
arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
6. “Not all those who wander are lost.”
– J. R. R. Tolkien
7. “When you travel, remember that
a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to
make its own people comfortable.”
– Clifton Fadiman
8.
“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you
like people or hate them than to travel with them.”
– Mark Twain
9.
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to
experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in
which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”
– Bill Bryson
10.
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.
Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”
– Susan Heller
11. “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”
– Paul Theroux
What is my philosophy? I haven't
found it yet, I believe. I used to hate itineraries, because I felt restricted
by them. But then I realised, that an itinerary is just a piece of paper and I
don't have to do what it says. I eventually came to the conclusion that an
itinerary can be a valid source of information that helps me and others find
what they are truly looking for in their perfect holiday.
I have been traveling with an
itinerary in mind ever since, but I kept my options open, by not booking
everything in advance. If I wanted to ditch my itinerary there was nothing to
hold me back. Those were the trips that were the most memorable to me.
Sometimes not having any clue on
what to do at your destination could have you miss out on some great
adventures. You may get stuck in a rut of visiting backpacker bar after
backpacker bar for entertainment, when there is a whole world out there to be
explored. You just didn't know about it.
For those reasons I believe that it
is always important to research at least a little bit about your destination.
First up an itinerary can tell you
whether you even want to visit a place. If you don't like long bus journeys,
but local buses are the only way of getting around, you may want to consider a
different destination. If you love fine dining and wines, but your destination
does not allow alcohol to be consumed, you may be better off somewhere else.
To sum it up: Itineraries don't
just restrict you, they guide you where needed.
To me an itinerary is a back up
plan. It gives you ideas and inspires you. It helps you when in need.
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