9
Dec
For the first time in over a year, this vacation has truly excited me. Before leaving, I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. Now that I’m here, I’m like a kid in a candy shop: wide-eyed taking it all in, wanting everything, truly amazed by what there is too offer.
By reading other trip reports, I sometimes feel like traveling has turned into a game. How many passport stamps can you collect? What about miles flown? Elite status gained? I doubt this is the true underlying reason for traveling, but the tone often does not capture the true reasons for traveling.
For me, this trip has been about being overwhelmed…and loving every minute of it. My senses are delighted with the city of Marrakech and I simply cannot get enough. Today I’m leaving to head into the mountains and I’m split between wonder of what that will bring and wanting to stay to soak more in before I depart. Bittersweet.
When is the last time you were truly excited about a destination? Where was it? Or where will it be?
AZ said,
Hi New Girl, Glad to hear you’re enjoying your trip! I’ve also become very blase about travelling in the past few years, and am making a point of it to space out my trips so it feels more exciting. On another note, I hope to be travelling to Marrakesh this spring, and can’t find a good miles reward redemption to get me there. Did you redeem miles for your trip, and if so, which ones? Thanks so much and happy travels!
Kay said,
It does! I tend not to get excited until I’m on the plane, but despite the delayed reaction time, I still get excited. I’ve been traveling for 12 years now, I’ve seen a lot, and I sometimes get down on myself for not being sufficiently amazed. I spent two weeks in the middle east this fall. Most of the vacation was lovely, fun, and I saw interesting things, but I wasn’t amazed, and I felt bad about that. Then I went to Jerusalem. The place was magic, I loved it, I wandered the streets of the old city for days in wonder.
I’ve accumulated a great stash of airline miles thanks to travel hacking bloggers and flyer talk over the last year and a half. Thanks to miles, there are few limits on where I can go. Africa? Easy. South Pacific? Sure. Caribbean for the weekend? I’ve two trips booked to escape the winter blues. It’s amazing to feel let go of the financial limits on your travel.
But I’ve also started looking for travel blogs to follow and I’ve unsubscribed from a few travel hacking blogs. I need for ideas on how to spend those miles, and trip reports on mileage runs to Europe don’t inspire this leisure traveler. (Nothing wrong with a weekend in Europe, I’ve gone on that trip a few times, it’s just not what I’m looking for right now).
I’ve been looking forward to your trip report for this vacation for a while. Your trip reports inspired two short vacations I’ve booked for 2013 (Colorado and Florida), and I hope to draw more inspiration from this trip.
Enjoy your vacation!
The Deal Mommy said,
Great post. Two thoughts on this:
1. It doesn’t have to be far away to excite, it just has to be sufficiently different from your routine: I last got excited by the Macy’s parade in New York City. If your routine becomes mileage runs to Europe, then even Europe will fail to excite!
2. Whenever you get bored, grab a kid and travel with them. Nothing like seeing everything new again to re-invigorate!
Kay said,
Just wanted to add to DealMommy’s comment about bringing a kid. I don’t have kids (or any nieces or newphews, yet), but I’ve found that most guests to my city will get me excited about it. I frequently get into the same, work, laundry, groceries, clean the house, watch tv rut we’re all in. I hosted a cousin a two years ago, and the experience made me notice how great my hometown is. I’ve been doing a good job of getting excited about exploring my own back yard since.
Joe C. said,
I’ve found that I’ve got the opposite problem: if I DON’T travel, then I start to feel less excited. I’ve found that if I stay in my home base too long, I get stagnant and bored with my home city. So in a way, travel reminds me of the reasons why I moved in the first place – and makes me want to see more of the world so I can bring each of those parts and pieces back here.
Joe said,
What is the deal with white folks and Marrakech? The New York Tmes can’t get off this city’s jock; please don’t follow these footsteps. The entire city is a tourist trap! THE ENTIRE CITY. The same 4 stores selling the same junk. Better furniture in Meknes or Fez.
I’m glad you are going into the mountains. It’s really beautiful up there.
Rebecca D. said,
I love travel! I’m doing my first CX F flight in 3 weeks JFK-HKG and I’m already so excited I can’t sleep! And then spending 3 days in HKG followed by 2 weeks in Thailand! Heck yes, travel still excites me! Enjoy Morocco! Was there a few years ago. Fantastic country!
New Girl in the Air said,
@AZ, Spacing out trips can definitely help, though I always like to have something to anticipate, even if it’s a full year away. Check out how I redeemed miles for my trip at http://boardingarea.com/blogs/newgirlintheair/2012/12/20/awardflightstomorocco/
@Kay, never get down on yourself for not being amazed! Next trip, don’t worry about where you’re going and instead make sure you have some activities planned that truly excite you. For example, I like to cook even at home so a cooking class in a different region might inspire me even if the city itself does not. Hope you get some more ideas!
@The Deal Mommy, what an excellent point! There are so many places different from home that are still in our own country (or even region of the country). Boston is so easy for me to get to but it’s city-feel makes it feel a world away, my hikes on the Appalachian Trail give me a new energy (and that’s less than a 2-hour drive from home), and going to the beach can really break up a weekend. Awesome point – though I can’t admit to knowing what it’s like to travel with children. Happy travels!
@Joe C, that’s one of the reason I think traveling is great for everyone!
@Joe, we spent almost no time shopping and found that just a mile or two away from the medina felt like a very different city. However, I’ll admit to enjoying other parts of Morocco more than Marrakech.
@Rebecca, that sounds like an amazing trip and a great reason to get excited. Enjoy!
NewNomads said,
My husband and I have been essentially nomadic for the last 6 years (250-300 days of travel a year). This past year our travel was more into big chunks – a few months here, a few there. I did enjoy the ability to really get to know a place but I’ve found that my limit in one place (even somewhere that I really like) is about 2 1/2 months. After that I’m chomping at the bit to see somewhere new.
It never gets old for us. Some places we enjoy more than others but we always love to go.
Add A Comment