We dream of visiting far off lands. And if we’re lucky, we actually find them.
When you were growing up (or hitting your mid-life crisis), did you have your own personal travel dream?
Was it scaling Mount Everest? Dining under the glow of Paris streetlamps? Lying on the sand in Koh Samui?
For me, I didn’t begin traveling until the end of high school. My family couldn’t afford to take any fancy vacations overseas, so I had to watch with envy as friends returned from Disneyland, Mexico, and other exotic climes.
But in truth, it wasn’t the dream of Mickey Mouse or all-inclusive hotels that danced in my head. It was the vision of standing on a remote beach, somewhere in the South Pacific, surrounded by warm, glassy waves, with nothing but endless horizon before me.
It was my dream to stand on the edge of the earth, (or at least feel like it).
While reading the blog of Vancouver musician Matthew Good, I came across an entry describing the realization of his own travel dream – to stand before the Roman Colosseum.
“I was there, you see, in the city that, since childhood, I had dreamed of seeing. I wanted to run my hands along the rough bricks of the Colosseum, walk up Palatine, walk through the ruins of a civilization that I had long studied and been fascinated by. But in the three days that followed it was like trying to walk with knives being shoved in my stomach.”
Unfortunately for Matt, he was extremely ill at the time. And his travel companion unappreciative. Still, he offers some sage reflection:
“Looking back on it, I’m thankful that, despite the circumstances, I was able to see that place with my own eyes. [...] In the end, what we do in this life comes full circle. I’ll get mine just as all of you will get yours. Just make sure that no matter what happens in-between, that you get to touch your wall.”
What was your travel dream? And did you ever find it?
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13 Comments... join the discussion!
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Domestically – Travel for months across the US hitting every state and national park I came across.
Internationally – An Island in Micronesia. Eating breadfruit and sleeping on the beach.
Soon enough though. Dreams can come true.
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I grew up without much money and always dreamed of visiting the U.S. As luck would have it, by the time I started university I had the chance to at first go on an exchange program and then move there for a further five years.
It was, and is, everything I imagined for good and bad and I’m very happy to have that experience behind me.
Now I’m dreaming of exploring Morocco.
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If I ever got married and therefore had a honeymoon – which is very possibly unlikely.
But anyway..
I always thought it’d be nice to go on safari to Kenya – hopefully without feeling like a complete twat (ie no safari suits or silly hats).
But a little luxury would be good.
I’d like one of those five star tents. Specifically with an outside bathroom and huge bath so I can lie there and listen to the roar of distant lions and watch the stars.
Ordinarily I don’t mind slumming it a bit but you’d have to up it a bit for a honeymoon.
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Mine is Greece too. But it is following the journey of Odysseus in the Odessey – I think that kind of makes me a geek too! I would love to do a boat tour of this path and then end up in Turkey and do a bit there as well! I know it will happen saomeday soon, which is why I bust my butt everyday on my blogs!
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I would love to travel the original Silk Road Route (Venice/Vienna/Budapest to Shanghai) overland.
Another dream is circle the Mediterranean Sea (think Paul Theroux’s Pillars of Hercules).
Of course, I’m a writer so I would want to write a book about my journeys.
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hey all — thanks for your comments. seems like many of us are inspired by romanticism and mythology; which i suppose is where all travel begins: in the mind.
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When I was about 10 or 12 there an animated series (http://www.citesdor.com/) that made wanna go to the Andes since then, and made me very curious about the Incan civilization also.
But I guess I’ve always been in love with mountains.↵ -
New Zealand, New Zealand, New Zealand!
This dream came to me only in the last couple of years, when one of my dearest friends moved home to Auckland. I realized that the only way to deal with my missing her was to pay her a visit. My plans for a three-week vacation have now morphed into a year long adventure, and am even bringing another friend along for the ride.
The dream comes true in June 2008, and I am already counting down the weeks
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Spending 3-4 months in Eastern Europe in a relaxed and non-touristy way. Will definitely happen one day, but until then, exploring other parts of the world!
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As a kid i absolutely loved reading, i had books based on regional folk-tales, the rustic stories from the real world. Arabian Nights and other stories from the Middle east facinated me, the discription of the dye maker, the hammam that were so much a part of those stories, the deception etc. took me to a different world.
Earlier Egypt facinated me, but right now its MOROCCO all the way. Hope to make it there some day.↵ -
I still am a kid, but still dreaming.
I really want to travel to the Middle East, like Michelle. My aunt sent me emails from the West Bank when she visited in 2002. I was seven, right when I started to become aware of the world… and it has stuck with me.
More specifically, I desperately want to travel to Iran and Afghanistan, but mostly Iran.
One day… one day it will come true.
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Keep the dream alive! There’s no reason you won’t achieve it someday.
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