‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer’

Travel is one of those activities that has never been short of an inspirational quote or two and the title of this week’s blog is probably one of the better ones and certainly one of my favourites. Like a lot of people who work in the travel industry, I have been blessed over the course of the past 44 years to have traveled to a lot of exotic destinations around the world — some of them multiple times — and yet I still haven’t lost my appetite for experiencing new destinations and cultures.

travel-makes-you-richer-travel-bug

Despite having visited about 70 counties so far, there are still quite a few blanks on the map which I am determined to get to see over the course of the next 10 years. In no particular order, my top remaining destinations are:

  • Japan
  • Brazil
  • Madagascar
  • Sri Lanka
  • Colombia
  • The Maldives
  • Ecuador/Galapagos
  • Russia
  • Antarctica
  • Cambodia

Looking at the above list in isolation, you could easily assume that I have been nowhere — that’s how big and diverse the world actually is and why everyone should, to a greater or lesser degree, compile a list of those destinations that they must see before it’s too late. If you look at the above list, you’ll see that with the exception of Russia, they are all long-haul destinations and that’s one of the reasons why I need to tick them off the list within the next 10 years or so as long flights are not kind to old legs. I’m saving all the short haul stuff for my twilight years as I figure it’ll be easier to manage those itineraries into my 70’s and 80’s

Despite the fact that I travel, on average, 10 to 12 times a year and have been doing so for much of my 40+ years in travel, the last time I was in Chicago was in 1976, Bicentennial year, so I am long overdue a return visit! Even though it’s only a stones’ throw away, it’s probably been at least 20 years since I last visited Paris, so that’s got to go back on the list, and I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve yet to visit Prague so even us travel people haven’t been everywhere. And notwithstanding the fact that I haven’t been back to Chicago since 1976, I’ve probably visited the States at least 40 times since then and will be back again this September when I visit Washington, DC and Annapolis for the first time (my first and only visit to Philadelphia was as recently as last November.)

The moral of the story (if, indeed, there is one), is that there are literally so many places to visit around the world that it is all too easy for many people to say to themselves ‘Why bother?’ as they feel that they’ll only be scratching the surface and whilst the latter statement is eminently true, the fact of the matter is that every city, country or region you visit enhances your life in immeasurable ways that you simply cannot put a price on so, whatever your budget or interests, stop procrastinating and, as Nike famously encourages us — ‘Just do it!’

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