We had been taking vacations for years where we would visit interesting locations throughout the United States. We even traveled abroad and to Mexico, but as we look back now, we were tourists not travelers in those days. The trip that changed everything for us was when we went to Chennai, India. That was the trip where we really learned to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the culture and push ourselves outside of our normal comfort zone. That experience has changed the way that we travel, the way that we view the places that we visit, as well as the choices that we make on where in the world to go. We are now travelers, not tourists. We don’t just want to go to the most famous sites, we want to grow as global citizens and learn as much about the world and the people who inhabit it as much as possible. What was the moment that changed the way that you travel?
I have to say that our wanderlust was when we traveled to Setenil de Las Bodegas in Spain. That’s when we realized we needed to continue exploring the not so famous small towns wherever we go. There are so many hidden gems out there. India is one of the places we want to visit as well. These are great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you 🙂 We try to do the same thing, find those hidden gems :). They make some of the best memories.
I would have to say our visit to Egypt. There I realized how young our country is.
We felt the same way when we went to Egypt. We don’t think about how old some of the other cultures are.
Mine was when I was 12 years old standing at the Grand Canyon South Rim watching some hikers going to the bottom. Dad told me some
People even rafted the River down there. I told my mom I was going to go to the bottom someday and spend the night down there and raft on that river. She said oh no Lori that’s for outdoorsy people, you won’t want to do that. (Mom was a very non outdoorsy type). At that moment I decided that whenever I was grown up and going places I was going to experience the place I was at not just View it!! 40 years later I’ve hiked to the bottom twice, hiked to Havasu and River rafted the Colorado. (Spent a total of 10 nights sleeping at the bottom). Plus hiked in numerous other place in the USA and Greece and river rafted many rivers!! My wanderlust moment started young but didn’t happen till later!!!!
Very cool story. We have not been to the Grand Canyon yet, but it is definitely on our list and plan on hiking to the bottom as well 🙂
Its amazing and touching to know that it was your visit to Chennai that was a milestone in your travel experiences, in that it inspired you to make the transition from tourists to travelers.
Lovely pictures from Chennai and Mahabalipuram.
Thank you. It definitely changed how we travel.
I think the moment for me was visiting Sydney in 2013. It changed the idea that I’d take one holiday a year to actually needing to go out and travel as much as possible. I’ve since traveled multiple times a year.
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