Why a world trip?
Written by am
Ready to live a life less ordinary.
Some time ago, Christian and I bought a big world map that we placed on the wall next to our kitchen table. Each country in a different color, it showcases how diverse the world is. Like a reminder it hangs there, questioning - "You didn’t forget me, did you?" And it is as if I heard myself whispering "No, we didn’t. Be patient."
The world is indeed patient, but we do not wait any longer. The world is not going to be more beautiful, more exciting or safer; we will not become more courageous or wiser, if we wait. When is the right moment for a trip around the world? Does it need a perfect timing at all? The right point in time is when you set it.
We are neither in a state of upheaval, or running away, we are not burnt out or do not like our jobs. We did not inherit a fortune or did win a lottery. We are not tired of our life in Vienna, do not hear any clock ticking or are trying to find ourselves. None of that.
Later is not now
But why then such a big trip around the world? Especially: "Now, in the middle of your working life? Why don’t you do that later?" - we have often heard from others. But: why later? Why not right now?
I remember well that evening in February 2015 when I was asked if I still feel the desire of making a world trip. This question from Christian’s mouth almost sounded like a marriage proposal.
The dream of such a journey has accompanied both of us for many years. Even before there was a "we", we independently had the desire to see the world. Nothing extraordinary - a world trip is probably on the to-do- list of many people. The number of those who realize such an adventure is much lower.
My answer was "Yes." That evening we had decided to do it. Only the idea of how to travel around the world had changed over the years. We agreed to swap the backpack for a vehicle (Here you can read more about finding our adventuremobile).
It's not all about the money
In the course of the preparations, family, friends and acquaintances had learned about our project. Unfortunatly, often the first question was "How can you afford it?" Those without any imagination always ask about money first instead of visualizing the places, people and cultures we will encounter on such a travel. Hence, we do not like this question, though it is easy to answer: we put money aside. For several years. This was possible because we were both working hard, didn't want to build a house like many others at our age and we did not spend money on expensive hobbies (children!) or cost-intensive purchases (children!).
Why not?
The question of the why of a such a trip is best answered with a counter-question: Why not? We pursue a desire that has matured in us for a long time and that has not disappeared. We stick to its implementation. It is irrelevant how long it ultimately takes - even if the way is cumbersome and laborious, the most important is to not lose sight of our aim. But to prevent that this happens, we have the colorful world map hanging in our kitchen. Everytime we look at it, we are reminded to finally head off to meet the people in "pink" Iran and to see the magnificent buildings in "blue" Uzbekistan or the endless deserts in "yellow" Australia with our own eyes.
