Next week I
get to indulge in one of my great passions in life: foreign travel. My family and I are off to the Philippines
for a week on the beach and I always get excited when visiting a foreign land.
Yes, I have been to the Philippines before but it doesn’t matter. I am still
looking forward to all that travel in a foreign country brings.
Compared to the students I teach (who are incredibly worldly 12 year olds) I was a late starter in the foreign travel department. In 1995, when I was 24, I spent the year travelling the world with a spot of working in London mixed in as well. I had only ever been on a plane once in my life (when I was 17 I flew from my hometown of Cootamundra to Sydney 1 hour away on a small 12 seat plane). Before I left for my year away I wasn’t a very nice person in a few ways. I suppose I was a stereotypical person from a rural town in Australia; inward looking; redneck basically.
1995 changed my life. I came back a wiser, smarter person, thankful for what the world had given me. I embraced all that I came across loving each and every day. My feelings were summed up in a significant journal entry I wrote at Johannesburg Airport before boarding a flight back to Australia. Basically I surmised that the world was an amazing place, people need to see it if possible, we needed to protect and look after it and finally as Australians we don’t know how lucky we have it compared to other places.
1995 was spent in the US and Canada for 2 months, 6 months in Europe and 2 months in Africa. I had no desire to go to Asia. Since then the only travel that I have done (besides a 10 day trip to New Zealand in 1999 and a trip to England and Ireland in 2009) has been in Asia. Sure I have spent 8 years living in Hong Kong, right in the heart of Asia, but this continent is truly incredible.
I have been to 41 countries and as far as I am concerned that is not enough. My favourites in no particular order are: Ireland, Canada, India, China, South Africa, Jordan and Laos.
I have seen incredible sights and landmarks that I have read and dreamt about: climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower, kissed the Blarney Stone, marveled at the beauty of the Taj Mahal, trekked sections of the Great Wall of China, summited Table Mountain in Cape Town on foot, explored the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Petra in Jordan, floated in the Dead Sea and chased lions through the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I know I am incredibly lucky.
It is fantastic to see my 9 year old daughter developing a passion for the world. It has been great taking my children to some unique places in the world and I hope when they grow the passion I have rubs off on them and they want to venture further out in the world on their own.
I love the excitement of travel. I get excited about going to airports, exchanging money finding hotels and great places to eat. The internet makes so many of these things easy. I already know where my family will be eating next Thursday night in Angeles City in the Philippines and what we need to avoid being scammed on the streets, then again this is all part of travel.
Fortunately I married someone who shares my love of travelling. There was no relaxing on a tropical island or by a beach for our honeymoon. Jen and I went to India for 5 weeks. It was the first time we had been overseas together. I thought it was going to be a breeze; I had been to China twice and also Africa. India would be fine. Yes it was and the country holds an incredibly special place in my heart, but nothing could prepare me for the mass of humanity that faces you when you arrive at Mumbai airport or walk the streets. On our first venture outside our hotel I was shaking with what we encountered. Once we went and sat down inside the Taj Mahal hotel (of course we weren’t staying there, our hotel had bed bugs) and calmed ourselves we were fine and loved every minute of it. I would seriously advise nobody to make India their first overseas venture. Try New Zealand or Canada first. India is an amazing attack on your senses, where 1 billion people want to be your friend. In 2010 it was great being able to take our children to India (although many said we were insane).
Travel
enriches the mind, body and spirit. The world is an amazing place. See it if
you can.
Compared to the students I teach (who are incredibly worldly 12 year olds) I was a late starter in the foreign travel department. In 1995, when I was 24, I spent the year travelling the world with a spot of working in London mixed in as well. I had only ever been on a plane once in my life (when I was 17 I flew from my hometown of Cootamundra to Sydney 1 hour away on a small 12 seat plane). Before I left for my year away I wasn’t a very nice person in a few ways. I suppose I was a stereotypical person from a rural town in Australia; inward looking; redneck basically.
1995 changed my life. I came back a wiser, smarter person, thankful for what the world had given me. I embraced all that I came across loving each and every day. My feelings were summed up in a significant journal entry I wrote at Johannesburg Airport before boarding a flight back to Australia. Basically I surmised that the world was an amazing place, people need to see it if possible, we needed to protect and look after it and finally as Australians we don’t know how lucky we have it compared to other places.
1995 was spent in the US and Canada for 2 months, 6 months in Europe and 2 months in Africa. I had no desire to go to Asia. Since then the only travel that I have done (besides a 10 day trip to New Zealand in 1999 and a trip to England and Ireland in 2009) has been in Asia. Sure I have spent 8 years living in Hong Kong, right in the heart of Asia, but this continent is truly incredible.
I have been to 41 countries and as far as I am concerned that is not enough. My favourites in no particular order are: Ireland, Canada, India, China, South Africa, Jordan and Laos.
I have seen incredible sights and landmarks that I have read and dreamt about: climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower, kissed the Blarney Stone, marveled at the beauty of the Taj Mahal, trekked sections of the Great Wall of China, summited Table Mountain in Cape Town on foot, explored the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Petra in Jordan, floated in the Dead Sea and chased lions through the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I know I am incredibly lucky.
It is fantastic to see my 9 year old daughter developing a passion for the world. It has been great taking my children to some unique places in the world and I hope when they grow the passion I have rubs off on them and they want to venture further out in the world on their own.
I love the excitement of travel. I get excited about going to airports, exchanging money finding hotels and great places to eat. The internet makes so many of these things easy. I already know where my family will be eating next Thursday night in Angeles City in the Philippines and what we need to avoid being scammed on the streets, then again this is all part of travel.
Fortunately I married someone who shares my love of travelling. There was no relaxing on a tropical island or by a beach for our honeymoon. Jen and I went to India for 5 weeks. It was the first time we had been overseas together. I thought it was going to be a breeze; I had been to China twice and also Africa. India would be fine. Yes it was and the country holds an incredibly special place in my heart, but nothing could prepare me for the mass of humanity that faces you when you arrive at Mumbai airport or walk the streets. On our first venture outside our hotel I was shaking with what we encountered. Once we went and sat down inside the Taj Mahal hotel (of course we weren’t staying there, our hotel had bed bugs) and calmed ourselves we were fine and loved every minute of it. I would seriously advise nobody to make India their first overseas venture. Try New Zealand or Canada first. India is an amazing attack on your senses, where 1 billion people want to be your friend. In 2010 it was great being able to take our children to India (although many said we were insane).
No comments:
Post a Comment