In today’s day and age, more and more people are becoming restless with their local surroundings.
It is not a lack of patriotism for the person’s country, city or town, but rather a return to our explorer instincts…a deep tapping of a well that has never run dry.
Humans have always explored the world around them.
Whether it be the plants and animals in their area, walking hundreds of miles to new territory, or setting sail for uncharted lands across vast oceans…Human beings seem to have an innate desire to know the unknown.
Back in the golden days of global exploration, potential travelers faced many obstacles, including lack of funding, incomplete maps and broken navigation equipment, the threat of food shortages and malnutrition, and also, the danger of encountering new people that were hostile to the idea of being visited.
Today the idea of travel and exploring takes on the sepia-toned, dusty hue of an early Indiana Jones movie…all adventure and boot-stomping…but back in the early centuries, your first journey could also potentially be your last.
Thankfully, today’s younger generations have taken up the centuries-old tradition of testing out new waters…2014 Tourism Industry trends point to growing numbers of ‘Millenials’ (18-20 year olds) who will lead the way to more urban locations with plenty of opportunity to mingle with local people instead of fancy resorts and ‘tourist traps’.
Many realize that simply visiting a foreign country and staying within the perfectly-manicured walls of a foreign-centric hotel isn’t an authentic taste of reality…with the advent of such technology-driven resources as couchsurfing.org, and eatwith.com, there are plenty of new ways to visit, live like, and learn from local cultures all over the world.
The younger generation is also more globally focused, and want their vacations to have a social impact…’Voluntourism’ is the hottest travel trend of the day, and involves getting locally involved by planting trees, ‘WWOOF-ing’, building homes, volunteering tutoring skills, and many other opportunities that enrich the lives of locals in the chosen location.
Getting to and from your chosen location has definitely improved by leaps and bounds as well…rickety wooden ships and month-long horse rides have given way to lightning-fast bullet trains, airplanes packed with amenities, and cruise ships that could be classified as floating cities.
The world’s largest cruise ship, ‘MS Oasis of the Seas’ has the world’s first living park at sea, and features over 12,000 plants and 56 trees! It also boasts a zipline, five swimming pools, and two rock climbing walls…talk about luxury travel!
The world’s fastest train is currently the ‘Shanghai Maglev’ in Shanghai, China, and has an average speed of 431 Km/h, and can travel the full 30Km track distance in 7 minutes, thirty seconds.
Long-gone are the days of tight, boxy airplane seating, food that tastes like plastic, and boring in-flight entertainment…
Samoa Airlines offers ‘couch’ seats for passengers, that boast an extra 14 inches of legroom, and are the size of two regular seats, minus the armrest.
Singapore Airlines takes it even further and offers cabin suites that feature a stand-alone bed, sliding privacy doors, personal LCD TVs, Givenchy tableware, and gourmet meals with over 60 different options….they certainly know how to make long flights a breeze!
Whatever your reason, method, or choice of travel is, the age-old tradition of crossing new lands to explore the world still stands to this day as one of the most interesting things you can do with your limited time here on earth.
If you’re sad about the idea that there is no more new territory on earth left to explore, keep in mind that anywhere you haven’t already been is new territory….go create your own map, visit new cultures, taste new foods, and lose yourself in the richness of new experience…you will never regret that you did!
White Chocolate Hills Resort 