Quench Your Thirst For Travel

As a child, I would run my fingers through the pages of my atlas, imagining I was halfway across the globe, exploring new fantastical lands each time. You see, I have had the desire to travel ever since I was 2 years old. My dad had left for the Gulf, as most people did back then, in search of better opportunities.

Being so young, I couldn’t understand why he left, I’m told I was heartbroken as I was very attached to him. Every time I asked for him, my mother or grandparents would point out to an aeroplane flying overhead and say, “He has gone in the aeroplane.”

So, every time a plane flew past our home, I would run out & scream, “Bye, dada.”  It brought me such joy because I thought he could see me. I desperately wanted to fly to go see where that plane took my dad.

Luckily for me, my yearning was met when I was 3. I took my first flight with my mother to visit my dad in Abu Dhabi. I can’t recall much about the journey, given how small I was, but I was told that it was the happiest day of my tiny life.

What followed was many a flight to go visit both my parents every 6 months as they both made a life in the Gulf while my sister and I were kept under the ever so loving and watchful eye of my grandmother… Bless her Soul.

Flying, sometimes unaccompanied, brought me in close proximity to the beautiful flight attendants of yore. Each better looking and more enchanting than the other. They were so gracious and polite, I wanted to be just like them. The fact that they travelled the world was the icing on the top! I would watch all the colourful aircrafts on the tarmac, wondering where each one went and I’d make up stories in my head about the travellers boarding those planes.

All those childhood daydreams eventually turned into reality when I became a flight attendant. I was fortunate enough to travel a bit but there is so much more to see. To me, travelling is food for the soul. It’s the perfect sustenance to make life rich. The magic of learning a new language, trying out new cuisines, understanding different religious beliefs, exploring the hinterlands, marvelling at the rich architecture of a place is what fuels the desire within me to travel.

I loved Geography and took a special interest in discovering what each country was famous for. I’d imagine travelling to all those destinations and exploring the Wonders of the World. But strangely, while most people wanted to travel to Paris, New York and London, I wanted to visit Tuscany, Okinawa, Cape Town and Wales.

I am not a touristy sort of traveller. I desire to seek the unknown, virgin countries where greed and commercialisation hasn’t destroyed the beautiful places. My desire to travel takes me to a place like New Zealand where I can pluck strawberries during the season or have an amazing bungee jumping experience. I desire to travel deep within the Malaysian village of Borneo and get a traditional tattoo that the indigenous people do with wood and needles. Sure the pain will be excruciating but it will be an experience to remember.

I desire to go to Bhutan, to get lost in Ladhak to visit the little towns of Sicily, Malta, Crete where the water looks heavenly & you don’t mind drowning in it. Then one day I realised I needn’t look far, my own country is so beautiful. We have mountains, beaches, desert, even islands. India is such a diverse country, each state so different from the other, not just in terms of topography and climate but culture. Every state has its own unique language that has so many dialects, it has different religious beliefs and different traditions. It’s a treat just to get a chance to dwell into it.

Today holidays are not just about going to destinations of famous landmarks but many travellers, just like me, yearn to get absorbed into the culture of a place. It is not just a week-long vacation anymore. They wish to learn a new skill pertaining to the place or learn to cook a delicacy that the country is famous for. The desire to feel one with a place that we visit is what many new age travellers seek. Trying different, new and exciting things like Ikebana or wine tasting, making your own personalised brand of French perfume, stomping grapes in vineyards or swimming with sharks is what entices one to travel.

Some desire to have a real Ayahuasca experience and save up to travel and live in the Brazilian Amazon, while others travel to Japan to see the beautiful cherry blossoms bloom. The need or craving to witness an out of the ordinary experience is what calls to new age travellers.

Travel is the best educator they say & I couldn’t agree more. It teaches you so much it exposes one to not only a new language, religion, culture, food, habits of people World over exotic scenery but also makes one more humble. You realize there is so much out there, a whole world so vast, so diverse, your bubble suddenly bursts. None of this can be learnt from textbooks or discovery channels. Travelling makes one more accepting, more tolerant & adaptable. 

So broaden your horizons and give in to your desire to travel. Remember it’s not about the destination, in the end, it is the journey that gives you the memories.

Written by Joanne Albuquerque

A lover of the universe and a die-hard optimist who believes that everything happens for a reason, even the unpleasant stuff. That doing random acts of kindness can heal the world one deed at a time. I believe that what’s meant for you will find its way, there’s no need to chase after anything. And there’s nothing more attractive than a grateful heart.

Week 18, May 2021