I Travel Because…

We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again — to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more. ~ Pico Iyer

As much as Pico Iyer’s words have inspired me on my own journeys, I spent the last week soaking in the wisdom of 667 of my readers – reading through the entries to my last contest.

On popular demand, here are the most creative and inspiring answers (along with photos of the great minds behind them):

I travel because…

“Bank balances, car brands, and salary hikes are a poor measure of life’s worth. I measure it by the songs I sang facing the Nilgiris, the unhurried conversations with strangers by the sea, the stories I heard, the people I loved and the many homes I discovered in strange places.”

~ Ullas Marar; @ullasmarar

why we travel

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“I want to breathe other air, taste other food, speak other languages so that everywhere becomes home.”

~ Ameya; @ameyann

why we travel

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“I just do. For no earth-shattering reason but for a deep, personal love that I am yet to fall out of. To curb my restlessness, to shatter my peace. To ruffle my feathers, to breathe a new air. To feed my soul and to wander aimlessly. I just do.”

~ Priyanka Kher

why we travel

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“The more I learn about the universe outside me, the more I immerse myself in the universe inside.”

~ Zainab Kakkal; @zainabkakal

why we travel

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“The best lessons in life don’t come from books, but from muddy boots, a full camera memory, quaint tea stalls and from watching the sun disappear into the horizon of a land whose language is unknown, but soul forever intimate.”

~ Bedatri; @bedatri

why we travel

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“Because getting in touch with the rest of the world is the best way to get in touch with your soul!”

~ Ramya; @girlindelhi

why we travel

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“It gives me a chance. There are two kinds of travellers – those who are running away from something and those who are looking for something. Its bit of both for me. A chance to break the bonds I was born with. A chance to make new ones of my choosing.”

~ Shubrank Mukhiya

Somewhere in Spiti Valley_2

***

“I want to remember that in this wonderful and magnanimous scheme, I am just a tiny bit. And it is okay even if I fail in life, the sea will still rush out to hug my feet, the mountains will beckon to stand tall just as they do and the winds will sing to me as always. Because they are just as happy to see me as I am to see them.”

~ Sonal Ajwani

why we travel

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“It makes me forget the world, by being my world.”

~ Onkar Patwardhan; @onkarpat23

why we travel

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“Life is too precious to be spent indoors and I would not want to die knowing that I missed dipping my feet in the gurgling brooks, feeling the wind on my face, mussing up my hair in the mountain tops and the thrill of being on the road.”

~ Sangeeta; @sangeetash

why travel

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“I am searching. Searching for so many answers. And I know sitting at my table wouldn’t answer my question. Its like a scientist who is filling papers with theories but her theories will be validated only when she experiments. So I am looking for my laboratory out there. I am experimenting.”

~ Kiran Karol; @karolkiran

Why we travel

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“Sometimes I need to close my eyes and breathe the air of distant lands to understand the world close to me better. Because sometimes I need to live among strangers, and taste things strange and unknown to know that people everywhere are not so different after all.”

~ Widad

why we travel

The winners of the contest are announced here. A big thank you to everyone for participating and inspiring us with your words!

Your turn, why do you travel?

Join me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share more travel adventures!

Girl with the map photo by Blek.

[The Shooting Star takes no responsibility for the originality of thinking / writing of the above answers. These are taken verbatim from the submissions to my contest.]

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31 Comments

  1. Good collection of ideas ! Traveliing is truly cathartic. I think it caters to the child inside each one of us, who wants to explore, discover, experience and ultimately become wiser by the accumulation of memories and aggregation of friends.

    1. I agree, an apt description of the school of life and the child who never wants to stop learning!

  2. These are all so very beautiful! Thank you for sharing these responses, your readers are soulful and inspiring.

    1. Aren’t they? I felt overwhelmed. Reading their words, I found myself thinking they should be the bloggers, not me!

  3. Clearly, choosing a few from six hundred… and sixty seven quotes (cuz that sounds bigger than ‘667’) must have been one enjoyably painful job! 😛

    Creative are words used to express the reasons. I guess I merely used the right words.

    Honestly, I feel dwarfed and humbled by the wisdom shared by some people here.

    “Because they are just as happy to see me as I am to see them”
    “I am looking for my laboratory out there. I am experimenting.”
    “I just do. For no earth-shattering reason.”

    Won’t you agree? And as for the rest, I found myself nodding my head every time with a i-know-what-you’r-sayin-bro kind of grin plastered on my face! 🙂

    Thanks for sharing Shivya! And for the calender as well.

    1. It sure was painful, especially that I could pick only ONE creative winner. Phew. (Next time I’m going to have someone else be the judge so all I have to do is soak in the wisdom ;-))

      I agree, with feeling dwarfed and humbled, and with the nodding.

      “A chance to break the bonds I was born with.” Your words fell in the first category for me.

    2. ramyadelhi says:

      Thanks Shivya.
      Thanks a lot for getting such beautiful thoughts across to us and for featuring us here!
      @karolkiran Love it!

  4. suvasiniiyer says:

    Can I have your version please? :d

  5. For me, riding on a bike in Goa (during monsoon) to the farthest, till the road ends – is a Bliss 🙂
    Love your blog, keep posting and happy travelling.

    Thanks shooting star!

    1. Thanks Avi, glad you like my blog! I tie many of my reasons to travel to particular places as well, and Goa is of course one of them 🙂

  6. Your Website looks awesome and have a great traveling idea.How did you manage your expense for travel. I really like these places. I also like travel so that i am here.

  7. Such a daunting task. Thanks for sharing some of the quotes with us. I had a smile on my facing while reading and hoping to take a trip soon for no particular earth-shattering reason 🙂

  8. Great to read your post

  9. Sameer Jain says:

    We travel to unravel – “the life”, to experience and to live our life and the lives of as many people as we can, to create stories which we can share with people we meet.

    Everyone has a different point of view and everyone experiences the same exact moment differently (which is why even after reading about some places we crave to visit the place to experience it ourselves).

    What you seem to be doing is experiencing people’s beautiful experiences. Good going! And expressions from your readers are inspirational and thanks for sharing these.

  10. Beautiful quotes. They make me want to get back on the road again!

  11. Gaurang Kashela says:

    Shivya,
    It’s been a year since I am following you on Facebook. You are truly an inspiration to people who want to live their dreams, who don’t want to be bound with boundaries. I too want to travel as many places I can.

    Thanks for being a motivational factor, I admire you a alot.

  12. Such beautiful, soulful and emotive responses. Love, love, love! Clearly your question struck a chord with many. Choosing from among so many amazing answers must have been daunting! congratulations to the winners! 🙂

  13. The accompanying photos are so beautiful.

    I travel because wanderlust & a desire for learning are embedded in my being – heart, mind, soul and DNA. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also want my nephews to see their aunt explore the world so that when they get older, they’ll want to do so too. <3

    Currently traveling in Puerto Rico. Until next time.

  14. Such an inspiring woman.You indeed ignited the traveller in me.Love your blog.

  15. shrutipanchal76 says:

    I would love to travel once at least with u.
    I salute the way u have overcome all the social , gender and the stereotypical issues an indian girl faces by choosing travelling .

  16. shaluchaudhari says:

    I love your passion to travel and dare to choose a different way rather than choosing a normal life!!
    Requires a lot of daydreaming and guts to leave behind what you have achieved so far…

  17. Each image and the line says so much more than that written. Beautiful.

  18. ultimate post and image shoot.This is sharable post.I am going to share this post to my closed friends.

  19. Just love to keep moving. To not get bored from staying in one place. And may be some answers to look for..

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