I loved being asked for directions from people speaking the native language. (A Greek-speaking lady asking me in Greek where so and so is and me responding in English that I don't know where that is. I find it refreshing that a Greek or someone who speaks Greek would ask an Asian looking person where something is in Greek.)
I loved the kindness of an UberX driver in Thailand who bought a snack from vendors walking in between cars stuck in traffic to give to me and a lady in Meteora, Greece who gave me her piece of cake for me to eat as I was walking by just because.
In retrospect, I even think it was fun when I was trying to figure out how to return a rental car when the rental car store is taking a 2.5 hour lunch break and I was counting on them to take me to the train station and there is no Uber in the small French city and no taxis in sight on the streets (quite unbelievably), I was so desperate I was about to start just flagging down random cars and offering them money to take me to the train station.
Or the time I chartered the entire boat for myself to make it to 1 of the Koh Yao islands in Thailand because the last public boat had already left for the day and I had a nonrefundable hotel reservation.
Now I hate it.
Well, hate is a strong word but after my trip to Italy over the Christmas holidays in 2017, I thought if I never travel again I'd be perfectly happy. Perhaps I can talk about why the Italy trip soured me on traveling so much later.
But the point is my outlook on traveling has changed drastically.
Also, I used to value going to new countries as a way to add another tickmark to my tally of how many countries I had been to. Not only that, but for the newness factor of a new place. But now as I wonder where to go at Christmas this year, I find myself wishing I was in Japan now, even though I've been to Japan several times and frankly the last time I was in Tokyo, I was getting bored. Outside Tokyo I still found it interesting, even cities I had been to before like Kyoto, Miyajima were still interesting but Tokyo I found so dull.
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| Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima |
Sorry, I digress, I now find myself drawn to places I've been to where I feel comfortable and at home. To me, those places include: Japan, France, Norway, Taiwan.
Places where I'd be happy to never return to: Germany, Ireland, Greece. I supposed Italy should be on there as well.
Sorry, I digressed again, the point is I no longer value going to new places that much anymore. I think that is part of growing older.
My wife is not happy now that I suddenly despise traveling because while we were dating, she saw how much I traveled and she was hoping to do that together. To be fair, we have been on overseas trips (from the US) at least 5 times in the 2 years or so we've been together so she has seen more than her share so far.
And despite declaring to my wife that I hope to never travel again after the Italy trip, we went to Paris only 4 months later, mostly for her, not for me. But still we went on another trip only 4 months later.
However it's been 5 months since the aforementioned Paris trip, and now I think I'm getting itchy to travel again. I tell people it's been so long since my last trip and when they found it's been 5 months they make fun of me. 😏
This time I actually get to choose where we go and my thought is Japan and Korea and she wants to add on Hong Kong, so I think that'll be our trip, but I think putting 3 countries in 2 weeks means I will not be relaxed and might turn out like the Italy trip again and sour me on travel again. For another 4 months probably...
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