The Adventure?
The Food?
New cultures?
Relaxing on the beach?
Learning about other cultures-food, traditions, history-are my favourite things about travel. We have had the fortune of experiencing many different places in the world and have felt truly blessed to see and experience all the things each country has had to offer. The world is big and there are still so many more places to go!
Hi @traveler_1085992 - Thanks for joining in.
Any particular examples you’d like to share that really stand out?
Michel
We loved how many cultures view coffee as a ritual. We fancy ourselves as coffee afficionados and appreciated the many ways of preparing it and sharing it. We also love communal dining where you order for the table and everyone shares and has a bit of everything. We have eaten like that in North American restaurants since our kids were small (we have four and they are adventurous eaters) and we have often been looked at as odd. It was nice to be in Crete and Greece and Italy and to see that style of eating as a normal part of dining out. It’s such a great way of trying a bunch of different things at one meal.
@traveler_1085992 - have you ever had egg coffee? it’s a speciality originating from Hanoi. I’m not a coffee drinker, but that one is unbelievable.
I really like the idea of communal dining - great shout. It’s such an enjoyment.
@TravelNotes - regarding my favorite thing about travel. It’s hard to say, but in recent years, I’ve found myself combining concerts and sporting events (football/soccer & basketball) with travel. So building an itinerary around a specific event just makes it super exciting for me.
Last year, I had the fortune to attend some brilliant events like the Eurobasket games in Poland, two Premier League games in England, and see some of my all-time favorite bands for the first time (which is always special). Plus, I’m becoming a bit of a train nerd so being able to chug around Europe between events is just fantastic.
@TravelNotes - as a globetrotter. whats your favorite thing about travel?
@DomiTravelini - I used to do a lot of sport travel as well, before ticket prices became so expensive.
Ski Championships in Europe, Summer Olympics in Seoul.
World Cup in Spain 82, Italia 90, and USA 94 (even though England didn’t qualify).
I also visited all the stadiums and host cities for Germany 2006; a couple of months before the tournament.
I won a sports photography competition with this capture of Sylvia Eder (Austria) in the Downhill at Crans Montana, Switzerland. The photo was used on the cover of The Good Ski Guide.
As for what I like most about travel: probably discovering the unexpected.
When driving in Europe, I tend to get a good map and follow the scenic routes. There’s always plenty of awesome places to chance upon, that don’t make it into the guidebooks.
@TravelNotes - that is quite an extensive list of events, wow. Which one has been your favorite? And what a photo!
Yes, ticket prices are often quite steep, but I think of it as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” and it helps justify the prices (sometimes
).
“discovering the unexpected” - I second that. I love exploring random areas, taking slower trains and stopping along the way, or just going for a long walk across the city. There is something about being fully present that just makes random adventures pretty special
Probably the Olympics in Seoul, for a completely different culture.
Although I did enjoy travelling the US by Greyhound for World Cup US94.
Everything?!?
But I think what I love the most is being somewhere and seeing something I have never experienced before. There’s no feeling like it, it all just feels like an adventure, and is aparently very good for your brain! One thing I love doing when I go to a new city (if I know it’s safe), is going out without knowing where Im going, without looking at a map, and just wandering and see where I end up, following my nose so to speak.
I also love how much you learn about life, about cultures, about history, travel is learning really and it never ceases to amaze me the things I learn without even realising it!
My favourite reason to travel is for wildlife and nature, one of my favourite spots for this was Indonesia, for Manta Rays, Komodo’s, and Orangutans (in Sumatra).
Galapagos and Southern or Western Africa are high on my bucket list for this reason!
I like the adventure part of things. Stepping out of my comfort zone and experiencing something new. I love getting that feeling when you just dont know what you will expect, from the country, the people and the culture.
I like exploring each place by going on a run and get into the middle of things. Experience and learning things from locals. Their daily lifestyles and their history. Not just the main toursit spots but actually just wander and get lost in side streets, local restaurants and trying to connect with the locals as much as possible.
Being able to experience things I’ve never experienced before and genuinely learning from cultures completely different from my own. What fascinates me most is actually discovering how much we have in common across cultures that are literally on opposite sides of the world. Like the Philippines being in Southeast Asia but sharing these weirdly specific social behaviors with Latin America and parts of Western Asia — that kind of thing makes me wonder how different are we really apart from language and physical features?
And as someone who’s done photography as a hobby since high school, there’s something about being able to freeze a moment, almost like “stop time” in a way, and then look back at a photo and just feel it all over again. Not just remembering a memory, but actually feeling how you felt in that exact moment. That means a lot to me, whether it’s something I pass down to future generations or just share online so others can see what the world has to offer.
@DomiTravelini I love the idea of building itineraries around specific events, it makes the idea of travelling to that certain destination feel so much more worth it. I’ve been really into the premier league or serie a for a while now, and I noticed you mentioned football/soccer. Any tips on how to get football tickets because for most clubs I’ve heard it’s an entire process with having to buy a membership just to get a chance and all?