Ever since the days of our prehistoric ancestors, we have lived with a primal desire to explore. To discover a land beyond what we already know. Our prehistoric ancestors, however, would have been searching for something else, a land of plenty. A place where the land is arable, the animals easier to hunt, the climate more clement.
So why do we still carry this desire to explore, to see new horizons? Society has long since evolved to a state of self-sustainability. We no longer need to discover better land for farming, or fresh springs for drinking water.
Why Travel?
Something else is pulling us. The excitement of visiting a new culture, trying exotic foods, hearing a new language is great. Millions of people leave the comfort of their homes every year. All set to discover something new, to absorb themselves in the unknown.
It has now become so accessible to travel. The only problem facing starry-eyed wanderers is originality. Many self-proclaimed adventurers have gone to great lengths to reach a fresh destination. Places that few have reached before. But on arrival, they seem to find nothing more than the slightly disappointed faces of thousands of other tourists. All of whom have had the same idea.
The Less Beaten Track
In 2010 the border opened between North Korea and China. These first visitors were allowed to visit Pyongyang on a four-day tour. The opportunity to explore was reopened, the chance to do something unique re-discovered.
Another example is Mong La, in the north of Myanmar. This virtually lawless town on the Chinese border has become a haven for all manner of illicit activity. Bringing with it the opportunity for adventurous wanderers to experience an expedition like few others. Somewhat risky, but what is travel without a sense of danger?
Escape and Explore
For those of you who don’t feel as though you should have to travel to the most dangerous pockets of the world just to experience something new. There are other options available. Many like to travel to escape the idiosyncrasies of everyday life. An opportunity to relax that still encompasses a sense of exploration.
The World is Now Smaller
Exploration is now easier to achieve than ever before. Simply book a flight and choose a hotel, it may include meals, a swimming pool, bottomless cocktails, and room service. Package holidays seem very relaxing and refreshing, but there’s nothing new to see. What did we forget?
The Path is Just as Important
The answer is simple, and as the American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Far too often, when we travel, we focus on where we are going and not how we are getting there. Perhaps this is where the real adventure of travel occurs.
The Alternative
Asides from catastrophic disaster, not a great deal of stimulating activity can really occur during a flight — long haul or short. The road, however, provides something different. And it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.
A variety of high end, luxury services such as United Coachline Luxury Transportation now exist. Offering their guests the opportunity to relax and enjoy the sights as they travel from one destination to the next. Land travel is no longer the drag it used to be. Wifi, spacious seating, movies, air conditioning, and more importantly, the capacity to stretch your legs.
With a luxury bus company, you can say goodbye to passports and waiting lounges. Delayed flights and insultingly small portions of pretzels in laughably minuscule bags. Say hello instead to fuss-free travel, new destinations and the opportunity to see something new.
Re-ignite your desire to explore, to see what you never even knew existed. You won’t exactly be discovering a new settlement, but you should at least have your primal needs fulfilled.
People travel and have traveled for so many different reasons. It would be truly impossible to really label what it is that makes us yearn to see more. To go to new places. But the mystery of why should not be of concern.
The best thing we can do is simply enjoy our time whenever we move. Next time you’re thinking of a getaway. Be sure to remember that there is so much more to any journey than the destination alone. The sites we see and the places we visit along the way can easily be just as memorable.
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