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Are you bored with the same old travel destinations? Has that “been there, done that, bought the tee-shirt,” attitude taken a firm grip on you? Do you find Paris a bit tedious now, Rome crowded, smoggy, and too noisy, and London just a big urban sprawl with perennially soggy weather?
Admittedly, feeling this way, suffering from travel ennui or boredom as it were, is hard for many people to imagine, especially those that haven’t traveled much yet, or do, but still enjoy it thoroughly each time. How could someone not like London, for instance? After all, as Dr. Samuel Johnson once said, “He who is tired of London is tired of life.”
Dr. Samuel Johnson, Public Domain Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Yet, some travelers, me included, do find sometimes that we have done most or all of the big “touristy things,” that London has to offer. To a very real extent, this is also true for me of Paris, Rome, Monaco, and several other major European cities. I mean, once you’ve toured the Tower of London (three times for me), gone to Buckingham Palace, watched the changing of the guard there, been to the Parliament buildings, Harrods, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, museums, walked the parks, done Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar square, etc., it does get a little hard to find something new and fresh to see.
Of course, it took more than one trip for me to get to this sad state of affairs. I’ve repeatedly visited London, recently on an annual basis, and enjoyed it every time. Still, after a while, one does run out of things to do. And mind you, I still like London, but now I feel perhaps too comfortable there, almost too much at ease. Translation: I don’t feel the excitement I used to feel when going there. The same holds true for me with regard to those other places I’ve mentioned. Although still fun and enjoyable, I don’t feel a lot of the exhilaration I did when I first went to those cities; saw them for the very first time.
So what is the seasoned or even world-weary traveler to do to regain this sense of marvel at the new and the strange? How do we rekindle our once-innocent enthusiasm for simply stepping foot into a foreign land, when we’ve already been there so many times before?
Well, the answer is that there are two obvious alternatives, two possible solutions to the bored traveler’s problems. The first one is to try to find new things of interest in those same cities you’ve already visited. And don’t fool yourself into thinking this can’t be done. I don’t care how much, or how often you’ve seen Paris, London, or Rome, for example, there is still a wealth of hidden travel treasures to be found in each of those metropolises.
Temple Church, London, Author John Salmon Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
For instance, on my last trip to London, having recently viewed the movie, and then read Dan Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code, I decided to do a sort of Knights Templar tour of London, visit those places there that were in the movie and book. I made some marvelous discoveries in the process. And my sense of wonder and newness came back to me. So interesting was this whole idea to me that I even traveled on to Glastonbury Abbey, and then to Roslyn Chapel in Scotland. You see, there was something new and wonderful to experience, and I hadn’t even realized it, because my personal perspective acted as blinders for me, shut out possibilities that were right there for the taking had I but opened my eyes and bothered to look.
Knights Templar Effigies, Temple Church, London Public Domain, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
So perhaps a traveler’s boredom may be nothing more than taking the wrong approach to things. Maybe, all the world-weary globetrotters need do is to change their personal perspective on things and a new world of wonders will open for them. I remember the movie, 84 Charing Cross Road, where Anne Bancroft said that whatever it is one seeks in London, they will find it there, whether it is the “literary London,” or whatever. This is true, I’ve found. And it holds true for all those other places as well. So the first solution for the tired traveler, the one bored with the “same old, same old,” is simply to reorient themselves, personally, to the possibilities of discovering new things in familiar places. They are there. Trust me!
The second solution is simply to strike out and discover something entirely new, to go to some place or land that is completely different. Explore a different part of the globe, not just one with which you’ve come to feel “comfortable” and safe. Exotic places still abound, are still there waiting for the bored globetrotter.
Yurt, Mongolia, Author, Bouette, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
By exotic, I don’t mean extreme, although there are places for travelers who like that sort of thing, too. If you want something of this nature, there are plenty of such destinations, such as the steppes of Mongolia, the old Silk Road through Asia, the jungles of Borneo, a trip to the northernmost reaches of Canada or Alaska.
Frankly, such journeys are a bit too much, a little too rough and unpredictable for me. Although I don’t want to feel too comfortable in my travels abroad, neither do I want to feel too uncomfortable, either! I don’t wish to bribe border officials to gain entry when I have a perfectly good visa for the purpose, ride on the back of a camel for days, or sleep in a freezing yurt in the middle of a bitterly cold and barren plain. So I guess I’m a sort of “middle-of-the-road” kind of guy. For me, extreme travel is not to my tastes, although “exotic” is.
Paul Gaugin, Title “Cruel Tales” (Exotic Saying)Tahiti, Public Domain Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
By “exotic,” I mean places of real interest, out-of-the-ways ones, perhaps, and those that may be a little more difficult to get to, off the beaten path. For many Americans, even Cuba is an exotic place, because few of us get to travel there. But there are so many other possible destinations, as well. Here’s a brief, partial list of possible exotic destinations:
Argentina, Armenia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Guam, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Jordan, Latvia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Lithuania, Paraguay, Peru, Ukraine, Uruguay, Nepal, American Samoa, Siberia (Russia), Sicily, Sri Lanka, Tahiti, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Viet Nam, and Zanzibar.
See what I mean? There are many less-traveled places. Of course, always check with the US State Department (see Currate.com’s post related to Travel Warnings) as to how safe your particular destination may be. And remember, these are just a fraction of the available exotic places to which one can travel. There are so many more. Why don’t you go to Western Australia, rather than the eastern side for a change? Why shouldn’t you take a trip to Tasmania? There are all sorts of such possibilities worldwide. Did you know there is even a cruise to Antarctica available at times? So if you are tired of the well-worn tourist route, any of these places may make exciting alternatives to see something new and fresh.
Another thing to remember if traveling to new places, you must be careful to understand and know the currencies there to avoid unpleasant surprises. For instance, although you may be very familiar with the British Pound Sterling and its current exchange rate, what is the exchange rate for a country like Peru, Brazil, or Mali? What is their local currency? What does it look like?
Brazillian Currency, Author Felipe Micaroni Lalli, Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
To find this out, just go to Currate.com. There, you will find over 4,000 currency images of the world’s currencies, an easy-to-use currency conversion calculator, regularly updated exchange rates, and even a Google Map of World Currencies. So, no matter how exotic the place you may be traveling to, you can go with the “comfortable” knowledge you know their currency by sight, and their exchange rate values. For those with a mobile phone that has Internet browser features, http://currate.com/m.php is the place to go. If your mobile phone has enhanced features, then use http://currate.com/e.php. Both give you instant access to Currate.com, and one shouldn’t travel without ready access to it, because although we may all want exciting trips, when it comes to exchanging money, surprises aren’t necessarily a good thing!
In addition, there is a caveat here for travelers who are bored and want something new and/or exotic to see. If you, as the traveler, cannot find it in yourself to marvel at the various places and things of this Earth, and are not filled with wonder by its wonders any longer, then you will be disappointed no matter where you go. You see, the wonder of traveling ultimately comes from within us, not from without. You, as the traveler, must have the right attitude, the right frame of mind in order really to “see” the marvels of this planet.
But then, for those of us who love to travel, we already do have that ability! But sometimes, just sometimes, we need that little extra stimulation, that additional touch of the exotic, to fire up our traveling imaginations once more. So, whether it’s the Knights Templar London you are looking for, or “literary London,” if you are willing to seek it, “then you shall find it.” Because when it comes to traveling, never were truer words spoken.
Rob Shelsky, Currate.com Contributing Editor
Robert Rademacher, Currate.com Editor-in-Chief
References:
Exotic Vacation Destinations
http://www.destination360.com/travel/exotic-vacation-destinations
Hidden Travel Gems
How To Get There, Where To Stay, What To Do
http://www.hidden-travel-gems.com/
Exotic Travel Destinations
http://www.infocustravel.com/
Tahiti Getaway.com
http://www.tahitigetaway.com/tahiti-islands.asp
Exotic Travel Destinations
http://www.popdex.com/exotic-vacations/exotic-travel-destinations
Antarctica Cruises
http://cruises.about.com/od/antarcticacruises/a/antarctica.htm
