10 Reasons Why Most Of Us Aren’t Really “Travelling” Anymore

We always hear people tell us that travelling is a good thing, and that everyone should travel more in their life. Yet, pictures of glam ocean villas in the Maldives, cafe flat lays and #OOTD shots aren’t quite the same anymore.

Here is the Klook team’s honest and #nofrills take on what travel really means to us.

Some see travel as a backdrop to show off their extravagant lifestyles. For others, travel isn’t travel till they have captured that perfect dress against a perfect sunset complete with branded bag in tow.

Yet like most things; leather, silk and fabric age, disintegrate, and get consigned to the ash heap of every aspiring fashionista’s inventory. Memories on the other hand are exclusively yours, do not possess an expiry date, and never go out of fashion. Think about it, how many of us still remember those memorable trips from yesteryear? 🙂

Many of us are guilty of going on shopping sprees just before our trips to buy new threads in order to look nice in all the hypothetical #ootds we’re about to take. Fast forward a few days, these often end up as redundant purchases that will stay in our cupboards untouched for all the days to come.

Granted, travelling isn’t the most affordable past-time for everyone (JB trips arent really counted) and a long trip often eats into your savings and deprives you of the latest fashion trends. But hey it’s a small price to pay for an experience that will last forever If you find yourself in need of some cash, organize a flea market and sell off those bell-bottomed Fubu jeans from the 90s to fill up your wallet and make space in your cupboard.

Travelling throws you into unknown spaces and forces you into situations both good and bad. New situations mean more exploration, and how you respond to new stimuli in turn defines who you are. Whether it’s pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, unlocking the adrenaline junkie in you, or even discovering your hidden ability for cooking a killer lasagna, good travel always brings out an aspect of you which you never knew existed; a personality makeover if you will.

Material items tend to give that burst of dopamine when we need it – somehow being able to own an object of desire ‘gifts’ most of us instant satisfaction, but this is short-lived. It’s easier to blow $3k on a branded bag because it’s “good quality” but the same cannot be said when a nicer-looking, better-quality version is released. Waiting brings with it the joys of anticipation and excitement that reaches a climax when you finally go on that long-awaited holiday.

Studies have also shown that delayed gratification has its benefits. In his book on procrastination Wait, Frank Partnoy posits that the ability to wait is in fact, the path to happiness, and that decisions based off gut-feel often prove detrimental (damn son, this is legit).

To a large degree, travel enables us to take control of an experience that is exclusively ours. No two memories are identical, and no two experiences are the same. You can try to describe the beauty of para-hawking in Nepal in great detail, or show your friends gorgeous pictures of Hoi An during the Full Moon festival, but no amount of show and tell will make your memory theirs.

The most beautiful thing about travelling is that it’s for every different type of personality out there. Whether you’re an extrovert or introvert, adrenaline junkie or passive sightseer, there’s no right or wrong way to travel, and a ‘holiday’ is yours to define.

Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines “flow” as “flashes of intense living against the dull background of everyday life”. It’s like the moment when you first leaped off the cliff at Ariel’s Point in Boracay, or witnessing one of the most breath-taking sunsets of your life while cycling in Bangkok. It is the exact moment when you are fully absorbed in the activity at hand and the noise of the world around you fades into the background.

Such intangible moments produce a special kind of happiness from conditions we’ve created ourselves that certainly cannot be replicated by material goods.

People say that travelling fosters better relationships… and it’s true! You experience deeper relationships with people you’ve shared life experiences with, rather than bonding over the same dress you both own, which has the potential to escalate into a very awkward case of ‘who wore it better’.

Most people are conditioned to associate full-cost carriers and five star hotels with the hallmarks of a ‘good’ holiday, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ask around and you’ll find that the best experiences often happen in places like the back alleys or roadside stalls in Phuket, far from the opulence of the big concrete city jungles. Walking allows you to uncover hidden gems that chauffeured rides won’t allow you to, and hostels give you the rare privilege of crossing paths with people from all over the world in a genuine exchange of culture and friendship.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve planned weeks, months or even years in advance; there’s never a 100% guarantee that things will go to planned, and that’s a great thing! This means it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve visited a place – you’ll discover something new each time. Every trip is an adventure of new memories even in old places.

As they always say, there’s no time like the present. If you’re inspired to travel differently, check out our website here to kickstart your next adventure now!

Hashtag #YoursToExplore we’d love to hear from you.