A-12–Travel Philosophy – why are we doing this ?
There are two types of travel philosophy –
- The reason why
- And the how one goes about it
Here I will chat on the reason why, and then how one goes about it – for the actually planning process see A14-002
A long time ago I was given a book, with a map, photographs and words. I still have it, and although countries have changed names and new destinations discovered it did inspire me a very very long time ago to ‘go and explore’
Travel Philosophy – The reason why
Simplest answer – because we want to, is any other philosophies needed ? Many people do not want to, they have no travel ambition, or they may feel they have done it all. Or they have more important things to do or not lucky enough to have the opportunity.. That is all good,
We have restless feet – we are constantly looking at the future, what are we going to do next, what opportunities are there. Then we have to consider what trips need to get done before one is too old or what can only be done in summer or winter.
There are also a whole range of trip types, the holiday – where cooking and thinking is reduced right to the other extreme, most busy, and relax when we get home ! The most limiting factor is time, closely followed by money.
We choose to take the cheaper options, cheaper accommodation and cheaper food and cheaper transport so that we can stay for longer. This is our philosophy. So when you look at all these pages and see all the travel, bear in mind that we do it on the cheap !
Our Planning Philosophy !
Although I have a love of a good plan “boer maak ‘n plan” the level of planning depends in the trip – but I must admit that Type 1 – the complete wing’er is just not for me, nor does it fit into my lifestyle. I also need some security which I learnt on my first solo plane trip, that one should always know where one is going to spend the first night at a new place. Here are some examples of dreadful situations – dreadful to me, might be exciting and stimulating to others ….
- Arrive in a new place and have absolutely no idea where the cheap and safe accommodation is
- Arrive in a town thinking there will be plenty of places to stay and find out there is a festival on and nowhere to stay for a 100km
- Having a transport delay and arriving in a strange place after dark and relying on a taxi driver to take you to a suitable hotel
- After a long day’s driving find out where you planned to stop for the night is smaller than anticipated, a ‘one horse town’ that has a dot on the map bigger than the town !
Anyway – for me – travel occurs within a window between work so I need to maximize time usage, I don’t want to waste time looking for places to stay and things to do once I have arrived, I like a good plan !