Do You Dream Of Distant Places?

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that 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.”

H. Jackson Brown Jr.

 

Athens, Greece

Where do you want to go?  There is a great big world out there to explore.  There are so many wonderful sights and continents to explore, and people to meet.  Do you dream of distant places?  I did, for many years, but I was young then, and had to wait till I grew up and could go out there and see the world.  What is holding you back?  Is it money?  Is it family obligations?  Are those excuses, or real?  Is there a way you can make it happen for you?  Only you can decide.  But if it is something you really want to do, you will make it happen.  Maybe not right now, but in the not too distant future.

Mosque on the Bosphorus River, Istanbul, Turkey

None of us knows what the future holds.  We don’t know how long we have on this earth, so don’t put off your dream for too long.  Think about how you can make it work.  If you think you can’t travel because you have a family, with young children, then I have to say that there are places you can go with children.  If they are very young you may want to wait a few years, babies are hard to travel with.  But young children are curious little beings and they will only benefit from seeing new places and new cultures.  It will expand their minds and make them less intolerant of change and differences in people.

Budapest, Hungary

If it is money that is holding you back, then that is another matter.  If you are so far in debt that you can’t see getting further in debt in order to travel, then I agree.  I don’t believe in traveling if you can’t afford it.  So work on paying off your debt first, and then start saving for what you want to do.  If you don’t have the debt but don’t feel you make enough money to include travel in your life, then consider budget travel.  Going somewhere doesn’t have to be that expensive.  There are lots of ways to save and still enjoy seeing another part of the world.

Going off season will save you money.  Choosing a destinations that is less expensive, where the dollar will work in your favor or which is less traveled, and therefore maybe less expensive.  For instance, it is less expensive to go to Croatia than France.  I have been to both places, and I absolutely loved Croatia, it is a great place to visit. 

Me in Dubrovnik, Croatia

For that matter, you don’t have to travel to Europe to get that travel bug under control.  How about visiting places here in the states?  Or maybe going to Mexico or Canada, which are relatively inexpensive, and close by. 

Hostel in Scotland

Another way to say money is to back-pack and stay in hostels. When my sister was much younger and single, she had no money but she wanted to travel.  She sold everything she didn’t need, she put the rest in storage.  She packed what she needed with her, including a sleeping bag.  She put everything in a backpack and she took off for Europe. She was gone 6 months.  We didn’t hear much from her during that time.  She back-packed all over Europe.  She did odd jobs, sold some of her drawings (she is an artist), and lived very inexpensively.  She ate from street vendors a lot.  She stayed in hostels when she could afford it.  When she couldn’t, she threw her sleeping bag on the ground and slept, quite often in cemeteries because she said no one would bother her there.,  I’m not saying that I would suggest that today.  It is a very different world now, she went in 1972.  What I am saying is that we choose what is important to us, and if we want something bad enough, we find a way to make it happen.



Shanghai, China

As for myself, I made other decisions in my life.  Yes, I wanted to travel and see the world, but I am not quite as brave as my sister was.  I chose instead to get married and have a family, and to wait until I was older to travel.  We did do some traveling when we were young.  I did marry a military man, and we got transferred to different places to live, including two years in the Philippines.  But most of our travels have been in the past 25 years.  I don’t regret that, I was willing to wait, and I’m enjoying my travels now.  I wouldn’t change the life I chose.  That is what is important.  Only you can decide what is right for you.

If you are thinking about how to get to where you want to go and need some help I have 2 past blogs that might be of interest.  The first is – Youth hostels, traveling on a limited budget:

http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/2012/09/youth-hostels-traveling-on-limited.html

and the other one is Budgeting for Vacation:

http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/2012/09/budgeting-for-vacation.html

But whatever you do, don't just dream, find a way to make your dreams come true.