Slow travel

In an increasingly fast-paced world, it´s perhaps not surprising that this is also reflected in the way people travel. I regularly see travel schedules that would totally stress me out! Now it could be that I´m a bit slow myself ;-) - although few people who know me would say that, hahaha! But it probably has more to do with my belief in the opposite. For I am convinced that we would all benefit from slowing down a little more in our lives. Not only in terms of travel actually. Therefore in this blog a plea for ´slow(er) travel´!

The big pitfall

When you are at the beginning of your travel career you often want to see and do 'everything'. It is and remains a pitfall to want to cram too much into too little time. I definitely recognize that hunger myself. For me, the big turning point came during a trip to Japan, in 2014. At one point I was so exhausted that I just couldn't move anymore .... my whole body hurt from all the exertion and the many, many kilometers I had walked. You know, like when you go back home and think: ´OMG, I really need a vacation!!´ :-(
That was it: the moment we decided that from now on we were going to do things differently. Slow down. With a shorter wish list. And I must say: we actually have, to this very day! The credo has become: ´We´ll just come back one day .... (or not)´. For me, it works very well that way.

FOMO

A high, sometimes downright crazy pace of travel doesn´t necessarily have much to do with travel hunger, by the way. Or with the rush of our modern existence. It´s also often a consequence of the fear of missing out (FOMO). Or what about the (ego) trend that seems to exist these days where it´s all about visiting as many countries as possible - with that same ego keeping score? As if traveling is a matter of prestige!

Into the depths

Seeing more does not mean that you actually SEE more. After all, moving (too) fast is not only more fleeting, but also more superficial in nature. I sometimes compare it to a stone skittering across the water: it keeps touching the surface on its path, but no more than that. On the other hand, if you stay longer in one place, you create a more in-depth experience for yourself .... one that will likely linger more! And those memories are what matter in the end, right?

Advantages of slow travel

Other benefits of slow(er) travel are:

• You really get to rest and achieve deep relaxation. As a result, you´ll be able to enjoy yourself more! Plus: by slowing down, you make it easier for your system to adequately process all those special impressions and experiences. In other words: too much too soon causes unrest and a build-up
• In order to really get to know a place you need to spend more time there. That also makes it easier to get in touch with the locals, which adds an extra dimension to your trip. And how about all those nice, extra opportunities to soak up the local atmosphere? Food/drinks, anyone? :-)
• There is more room to go ´off the beaten path´ and be surprised by a unique, authentic destination (that is often a lot quieter, too!). Most people do (only) the highlights, especially if they have limited time
• By aiming to do less you reduce the pressure, and as such you´ll feel considerably freer once you are on location. Furthermore, it poses no problem if something unexpected happens, if the weather turns out to be bad, or whatever. Then you just do it the day after! :-) And remember: a busy schedule has all sorts of interdependencies. Not only does that create stress in the background, but it can also cause a whole series of problems (read: a domino effect) once something breaks down or goes wrong
• By traveling slower you often save quite a bit of money, because you move around less and so you don't have to keep buying bus or plane tickets, for example. The same goes for entrance fees to sights. Moreover, you can often get a good deal if you stay somewhere longer, so you end up paying (much) less for your accommodation!

A few more tips

If you would like to give slow(er) travel a try, then ask yourself these questions first: What do I want to get out of my trip? And what is most important to me? --> What are the real musts, the places you simply HAVE to see? What do you definitely want to experience? Everything else is a nice bonus!
It´s always a good idea to take less luggage with you than you had planned .... The same applies to your wishlist/itinerary: delete some of what you initially thought you were going to do. Less is more. You really don't need to do all  those hikes, museums, waterfalls and temples in 1 trip. Instead, just come back another time :-)
And if that FOMO does get a hold of you, remind yourself of the following: If you go to India but end up not seeing the Taj Mahal, does that mean your trip was a ´failure´? No, exactly. So enjoy what IS there as much as you possibly can. You do have a lot more time and space for that now!

Published on: July 27th, 2023 - © Luminessenz