5 Reasons Why You Should Go Travelling

I'm now writing for gkbc Academy which is a volunteer blog. You are assigned a subject and write a piece for a company or website, adhering to the word count and and including the chosen keywords. Your work is edited and critiqued by professionals and then published online. It's pretty good.

I was asked to write two pieces, both of which discuss a certain statement, to check the standard of my writing before acceptance. Here's my first:

5 Reasons You Should Go Travelling

I try to convince everyone I meet to go travelling; shop assistants, hairdressers, random people I've sidled up to in the pub after one too many ciders. And, I really believe it.

Granted travelling, especially backpacking, is not for everyone. But if you've ever though about it but doubted you could, then I will try to convince you. Here are five of the many reasons I could list why you should go travelling:



Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala

1)   It helps you grow

 Yes, we've all heard it, the Gap Yah staple: "I really found myself at sunrise on a beach in Thailand." Pretentiousness aside, this is really what happens. Travelling changes you, it makes you more accepting of other people, opens your eyes to new cultures and teaches you to appreciate what you have. As twee as that sounds, it's difficult to feel hard done by when you see how some other people live.

2)   If you don't, you will always regret it

That's always a thing that people says, "I really wish I had travelled in my youth", but you never (well, hardly ever) hear anyone say, "Wow, I really wish I hadn't travelled so much and got myself a proper job earlier." Don't let not travelling be something which will hang over you. On my travels I've met fellow backpackers of all different ages, straight from school right up to those who have just retired and are getting out there. It's never too late.

Awesome sloth in the cloud forests of Panama

3)   It's easy

When I talk to people about travelling, they often says, "That sounds amazing, I wish I could do that." Well, you know what? You can. There isn't some secret handshake which you have to learn. Anyone can travel. Yes, even you. Save up, book a flight and plan. And once you've booked, you have to commit. It's that easy. Sure, it doesn't seem that way when you're stuck at  abus station where no one speaks English, or trying to sort out a visa at a border in the middle of nowhere. But remember that the hard times will be a funny story in a few months. Which brings me to my next point...

4)  Memories

Sure, my friends roll their eyes when I start an anecdote with; "This one time, in...." But, it's hard not to. Whilst travelling I've experienced things which I will remember forever, like sitting on a Mayan temple in the jungle watching the sunrise, or celebrating my 27th birthday at a snake feast in Hanoi. I'll have plenty of things to tell the Grandkids about.


An orphanage in Cambodia

5)   The people you meet along the way

Be it the locals or fellow backpackers, those you meet along the way colour your travels in a way which you will never expect or forget. Some you will know fleetingly, others you'll stay in contact with for years to come, but when you think back to a place you've travelled, the people who were with you are synonymous with your memory of that place. It is them who make up your experience.



St. Augustine once said, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." And if that doesn't convince or inspire you, I don't know what will. So, of you're thinking about it, ever considered it or entertained the thought for just a moment, my advice is to just do it. You won't regret it.

Trekking in Chiang Mai - Thailand

NYE 2008 - Rhythm and Vines Fesitval, Gisborne, New Zealand



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