How To Travel

I was driving on a scenic route in central Japan after hiking a 3,000-meter mountain and spending two nights in a beautiful onsen hotel. Life could not be better.

On this road, the most unexpected feeling arose - I felt slightly bored.

How could that be? Was I simply ungrateful? Or could traveling be more than visiting great spots and ticking off checklists?

With this vague notion, I started asking what I'd like to gain from traveling and, more importantly, what kind of traveler I wanted to become.

After a few months of contemplation, I decided to be a better traveler in 3 key aspects - to explore, simplify, and fully experience.

To Explore

"The traveller sees what he sees. The tourists see what he has come to see," wrote Gilbert Keith Chesterton in the 1920s.

Have you joined a trip with a traditional tour company - where you get on the huge bus when you are asked to, be bombarded by a tour guide with Wiki information, get off the bus to see a monument, take a picture, and repeat?

Most will agree that it is immensely boring to join such a tour. Thinking is absolutely unrequired. It removes all uncertainty and randomness, making things as predictable as possible in the tiniest details, for the sake of comfort, convenience, and efficiency.

While I seldom join such tours anymore, I am still, most of the time, a man of schedules. I plan my trips in great detail. For each trip, there are places I want to go and events I want to do. I assume that a good trip must include these things.

Thinking more about it, this is so foolish. I have not been to the place; how could I plan beforehand according to my imagination? Why would I rate my enjoyment based on ungrounded expectations instead of the real experience?

Indeed, my best memories of traveling have been of unexpected events. In contrast, I can't recall a "must-see" site that is actually quite unmissable.

I want to see, to really see, with my own eyes, but not through the lens of my schedule and expectations.

To Simplify

"Most of the time, you will only regret bringing too many things on a trip," said my wife in the 2020s.

Once, I carried my electronic toothbrush to a camping site in Canada. My wife could not stop teasing me about that, rightfully.

Indeed, I always bring too much when traveling - an extra set of pajamas, some extra cream, a protein shake, and all sorts of useless stuff.

By nature, traveling involves leaving things behind. No matter how hard you try, you cannot pick every comfort at your home on your road. (And I did try.)

It is liberating to learn how little you need. (I heard, as I have not really tried this.)

I want to leave stuff, my routines, and prejudices behind, and learn about what, and how little, I really need. Next time, I will start with my electronic toothbrush behind.

To Fully Immerse

Worries are the heaviest luggage to carry around.

Unfortunately, I quite often carry them on trips. Last year, I walked part of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes. As the name suggests, it should be a journey of faith and search for meaning.

Ironically, something was really bothering me during the whole walk. (It's as trivial as you can imagine and I will not bother the readers about it here.)

While I knew that worrying was a waste of energy, I could not help. Sadly and regrettably, I was not able to enjoy the beautiful route wholeheartedly.

Being able to enter into the flow of any enjoyable activity is a gift, and some people are naturally better at it.

But, it is also a mind-muscle that can be trained. Train that and gain benefits far beyond those of any other muscle groups.

Life Is Traveling

In the middle of writing the above piece, I realize I'm not just talking about my traveling but also my life.

May we all aspire to be a better traveler, on trips and in life.

P.S. For people interested in the topic of traveling, I'd highly recommend 逍遙行稿: 逆風翱翔 by Pazu 薯伯伯 and Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. Both discuss the above topics profoundly.