What Do You Like Best About Travelling?
This is an excellent question. When I have completed my response, you will understand why I travel continually. Of course, there are many reasons why people travel, but I am going to give you a few of mine.
First is seeing different things. I say *different* rather than *new*, as most often I am looking at something that has been in this spot for hundreds of years. Many times, when researching for a trip, I come across fantastic sites that I had not heard of before, and that gets my excitement going before I have even left my house!
I think of Petra in Jordan as an example. What a site! Walking around the main square in Istanbul, Turkey, and going into the Blue Mosque. The list is endless for me.
Second is seeing how “they do things differently.” I was amazed when I went to Kenya in 2019 and learned about M-Pesa. What is M-Pesa? Well, it is a system whereby people can pay bills and make payments from their phones. I still have not seen anything similar in the West.
My trips have allowed me to see how difficult life can be for local people. Places like Bolivia and Paraguay come to mind when I think of places where people struggle to survive. In the West, there is a safety net for people to minimize the possibility of losing their jobs and facing terrible immediate consequences. But in many other countries, no such safety nets exist.
The expression “you eat what you kill” strongly applies in many countries that I have visited. One example I often use is that of two young girls, probably around 18, in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. I would see these two every morning as I left my accommodation to go to Spanish school.
They would set up outside the barrier that stopped cars from going into the parking area at the city hospital. Cars had to be driven up, and the driver would give his details to the security guard. Once the guard was satisfied, the barrier would rise. This took long enough for these girls to make a living.
They came each day armed with a bag of oranges, cups, and a juicer. They made orange juice and sold it by the cup to the drivers going in. They could not find a job in the big city, so they made a job for themselves.
I was very impressed.