You are How You Travel: Best Travel Stories of the Week

May 6, 2008

Have you ever wondered about what kind of traveler you are? I certainly know which one I am: The Avid Shopper. No matter how low my budget is, I am a typical lady traveler that’s most likely to bring another extra suitcase when I get home. Let’s face it; I’d rather stay in a miserable backpackers den than staying in a plush 5-star accommodation and having less money to spend on knick-knacks and souvenirs.

But not all of us are like me, and in fact; I know some people who would prefer to go on a royal holiday instead—as in, getting pampered in a real-life heavenly retreat. You know—private golf courses, ski gondolas, summer palaces… the sort of trips that fits a king. If you want to know more about these luxurious getaways, read Terry Ward’s review on Forbes Travel about how the royal communities spend their vacations in the Royal Holidays.

Some travelers, on the other hand, prefer to do their journey another way: the local approach. They’d do what the locals do; they’d eat what the locals eat; and hopefully by the end of the trip they’d think like the locals think. Sounds like something you’d like to explore? Then read up on Lara Dunston’s piece from Antalya, Turkey: Living Like Locals.

And if those methods of traveling don’t appeal you much, you might be up to an adrenaline-driven trip. Well, since you’re taking some time off from those dull days at work anyway, you might as well reward yourself with the challenge of your life. It might be your one and only (consented) life-threatening chance you’ll ever get. Picture yourself on the world’s largest roller coaster in Japan’s Nagashima Spaland’s Steel Dragon; swinging and twirling upside down back and forth on Singapore’s G-Max Reverse Bungy; or perhaps taking a sky-diving lesson … Well, if you’re still skeptical about jumping off some cliff for your next holiday, read Lee Abbamonte’s experience when he defied himself on Bloukrans Bungy, South Africa.

If adrenaline rides are not your thing, maybe you’d choose a more soul-quenching, self-rejuvenating and mind-easing journey. When you’re leading a hectic life with a jam-packed schedule, chances are you might owe yourself a time off to retune your inner self. Find out more how meditation retreats may help you do it, as written by Sarah Gold in 10 Top Meditation Retreats for Travel+Leisure Magazine.

And yet, some people can’t really choose the type of traveling they do—because they are lucky enough to get frequent chances to travel due to their jobs. Reporters are some of them. Mind you, they might be very lucky to go places on their companies’ tab, but sometimes they also get the adrenaline rush from all the stories they have to chase! Some of their reporting stories are actually interesting reads, as is Adam Karlin’s A Writer’s Port of Call, written for the World Hum.

Nonetheless, sometimes life isn’t all about choices. Whichever type of traveling you prefer, I personally think it’s the experience that counts.