Why do you travel? It’s expensive, it took so many time to prepare, and you might get harmed during the journey.

Why do you travel? Is it to get some Instagram-worthy pictures? To entertain all of your followers?

Why do you travel? Is it because you hate your job so badly that you want to escape as often as needed?

Well, to be fair, there is no wrong reasons of why we want to travel. I, too, am still not sure on what to answer if people ask me this. I could not mention one specific thing that makes traveling so addictive, because I guess it’s a compilation of every bits and pieces. Ever since I was a kid, I always look forward for a vacation time with my family. Not only that we got to spend time together, but I could get an adventure on my own. I could meet new people, taste new food, play at the new place, stay in new house, or be in a new season. Yes, it is so exciting! The feeling of unknown. Not knowing where to go, what to eat, what to speak, or what to wear.

And I guess every person travels for their own reasons. But there is this strong bond that connects all of us, who loves to travel. We are bonded by this desire to fly out, to save up crazy just to be broke in other country, or to line up for hours just to try this new dish that is very popular in certain region. We are bonded by this excitement of saying hello in a local language and see the locals’ genuine smile back, or of trying new thing that we have never done before, like fishing in a frozen lake or sleeping on ice cubes inside an igloo, or of seeing new things that we are not familiar with, like a magical beautiful Northern lights, or the sunset at Positano.

I guess we are all living to tick off as many bucket list points as we could. And when others are busy digging for money to survive, we are busy spending our last cent to book the hostel wherein we’ll sleep with five other strangers. When others are comfortably sleeping at their home, we are packing our suitcase and leaving with a heart full of bloom. There is no better feeling than waiting passionately in the airport for our flight call. When others are getting married and kids, we are going farther and farther away from our hometown, trying harder to reach the continent that we dream of, even though we know that we have absolutely no one in there. When others wake up and prepare for office, we are somewhere sleeping beneath the stars, or on bunk beds, or a hotel view that worth million of dollars.

I guess there is no simple explanation why we want to travel. And I guess there is no wrong way to do it. Some people quit their jobs altogether to explore the world. Some others have all the money and the resources to go around the world, probably twice. And some others keep their job and save their income to go to their destinations. Some goes with motorbikes, some goes with hot air balloon, and some goes with walking. Some carries only one backpack-for-life, some carries 25-kg suitcase, and others might only bring their body. Traveling is something that has no standard, no rules, no measures. And yes, it is the most liberating experience in life.

So why do you travel?

I travel for this craving feeling of going somewhere new. I travel for the sake of not staying in one place where you could go anywhere else. I travel because I want to see the world and everything’s good inside it. Because life is too short not to travel the world. And yes, I might not be rich enough to afford all of my dream destinations. I’m still paving up my way and there’s a long way to go.

But I’m sure that’s what I want to do.

Find me at Instagram @Falen_Naoenz or find me chirping at Twitter @Vanilla_Naoenz