Travelling as a Way of Life My Experience

Question: Discuss about theTravelling as a Way of Life for My Experience. Answer: Introduction Travelling is my passion and it is my enjoyment along with a mode of learning, which can never be done with help of a book. The experience I have gained by visiting different countries and the change of my traditional Arab outlook is benefit that I revel in every time any one mention that I do not act like a person my age. I always tell them I have seen too much of the world to remain ignorant. At the age of 18 I have travelled in almost thirty European countries. Although my trips were short, but the time was enough to get a brief taste of the culture and feelings of the different places. My experience at travel started from my parents, who took me to visit some European countries on vacations over the years. Since then I have travelled to many countries and the thirst or travel is not satiated in the least. Description I have travelled to many countries since my education in the UK started and my application for Schengen visa was approved. This allowed for me to travel to many European countries on a low budget on weekends, which was made possible because of my low academic workload in the first year of my study. This was mostly done on weekends during my first year but the first taste from travel came from my parents. I visited France, Italy, Turkey and Lebanon while I was younger with my parents, which were some of the more conventional destinations in Europe. The countries that I visited were more unconventional vacation destinations. I reduced the cost of stays by visiting the houses of my friends and acquaintances. But this did not reduce the experience in the least and I am thankful for the people who provided me with shelter when I was too short on budget to avail the trips, which were too important for me. My parents were as usual worried about my bizarre hobby and tried to dissuade me because of the safety concerns. However, when they realised how serious I was about visiting many countries in the world and my passion for travelling, they relented but made me promise to be careful and use the services of reputed travelling agencies for arranging my trips. It was these initial expeditions into the other countries that made me realise the vastness of boundaries of the world. The realization made me think that how limited my knowledge would be if I achieved my degree in Egypt. This led to my decision of getting my degree from abroad, where I would be able to learn about the culture of a different country for an extended period of time. The rich historical and political significance of UK in the Europe helped me decide on my choice and the many reputed universities of the country helped me understand that was no better location for getting my degree. Travelling is an addiction in itself, as the thirst for the differentness of the experience of the different countries is never satiated with one taste. Although for someone my age my weekend jaunts in foreign countries might make it seem like an achievement but for me it is just preparation as I have full intention of visiting those countries again for longer periods of time. All of my visited countries are on Eurasia but I have plans for visiting other continents like the South America and Australia in future. The countries I have travelled to are Macedonia, Serbia and Kazakhstan which are far from the beaten path of other travellers. These trips not only satiated curiosity and knowledge but also helped me realise the position of my own culture and its uniqueness of our own customs. This insight into other cultures and their practices ahs made me more tolerant about their individuality which broadened my horizons and gave me an outlook into the world that few can gain (Yokoyama, 2008). The travelling no doubt has many benefit but the achieving of these qualities are not the reason I travel. The travelling is a reward in itself as it soothes the mind and gives one a chance to explore the boundaries of their common environment (Burns and Chrisp, 1995). The times when I was travelling with my parents they were into shopping and only visiting known points of attraction but this is not how I wanted to travel. Now when I travel by myself I avoid common tourist destinations and go into the areas where the common people can be observed in their daily lives (Bitesnich, 2001). The tourist destinations are often too full of a facade of attraction that a good idea of the country and the culture cannot be attained. This habit is one of the most difficult for me to attain and I take every opportunity to indulge. One of the examples is the pre-organized trips of the sports teams of the university. I often go with them to be able to visit new places. I plan on travelling the world some day and I hope to get the opportunity to travel to different places in my professional life. Conclusion It is evident from the paper that travelling is not just a hobby to pass my time and it is also clear that it is one of the most important facets of my character. This desire to travel is inborn and I benefit from this habit greatly. The knowledge that can be gained by experience cannot be compared with bookish knowledge and this method of learning seems to suit me well. Even when I travel with fellow students of the university I get a lot of questions from border control but there is no barrier that can stop this wanderlust from driving me to new and different locations every opportunity I get. However, most important is the realization I came to after travelling so much is that the travelling is not just places but the people are what interests me. I certainly hope the passion for travelling is a permanent affliction and it never leaves me during my lifetime. References Bitesnich, A. (2001).Travel. Kempen, Germany: TeNeues. Burns, P. and Chrisp, P. (1995).Travel. New York: Thomson Learning. Yokoyama, Y. (2008).Travel. Brooklyn, NY: PictureBox.