1. Use the local language even if you don’t feel confident at it. There are a bunch of free translation apps (including the free and offline Google Translate, which will translate not only text but also speech and photos) to help you nail that street vendor who tries to sell you a fake Armani T-shirt for ten times more than the, um, official price…

2. Pack light. Nothing will improve your travel experience more than getting rid of that human-size suitcase that weighs more than you and insists on being pulled over bumpy sidewalks and dragged up endless staircases. Living this sort of minimalist existence is not everybody’s cup of tea, but you can at least give it a try.

3. Wake up early (because most tourists don’t). This is a major game-changer. When you find yourself in a huge tourist city overflowing with cruise day-trippers (and, let’s be honest, just other normal visitors like you), you have two options. One, you take your time, have breakfast and coffee and when you get out of your hotel, you are swept away in an unknown direction by the crowds. Or two, you wake up early and tour the streets, taking photos of the main attractions with no people in front of them (i.e., you can actually see the attractions). Then, when the night owls wake up and stream down the streets, you can comfortably go back to bed and catch up on sleep.

4. Stop planning your next trip while you are still on your current one. Instead, practice some mindfulness – that means savoring and being present in the here and now instead of always dwelling in the past or in the future.

5. Add meaning to your trip by helping somebody. There are a few things that every study into happiness seems to reiterate, one of them being that helping others adds meaning to your life and actually makes you happier. There are endless volunteer opportunities wherever you travel, but even if you don’t have time for volunteering, you can do a good deed – work on an organic farm, stay at a family-owned guest house or join another local initiative that represents something close to your heart.

The post Infographic: 5 mini habits that will forever change the way you travel appeared first on 203Challenges.

There’s a lot of talk about the ubiquitous comfort zone and everyone’s efforts to escape from it, as if it’s Hell on Earth. But what does it really mean, and how can you turn that vague goal into specific actions?

First of all, getting out of your comfort zone has two distinct characteristics:

1. If you don’t want to do it, it is definitely out of your comfort zone and you should do it.
2. Often, the things that get you out of your comfort zone aren’t blissful and pleasurable at all while you are doing them. Some of them really suck. When time passes and your brain ‘polishes’ the memories, some of them may start to look like adventures, while others will always remain cringe-infusing images in your mind. In both cases, you will have cool stories to tell around the fire.

So, why is it so hard to get out of your comfort zone?

Making yourself do something that you don’t want to do is always hard. But it’s not impossible. You can make it a bit easier when you remind yourself that pushing your boundaries will ultimately bring you great happiness. According to an article in Psychology Today, happiness is maximized when you confront a crisis with grace.

Additionally, studies prove that it’s easier to step beyond your normal self when you have your more adventurous friends around. Their readiness to take risks can be contagious.

5 simple ways to get out of your comfort zone while you are traveling:

1. Eat something you wouldn’t normally eat. Don’t just stick to things that look delicious; at least once per trip, you should eat something that provokes thoughts in your head like “oh my, I would never ever put this into my mouth”. You may not like it, but you should at least try it.
2. Go somewhere you wouldn’t normally go. You hate museums? Visit at least one and make a genuine effort to find something enjoyable about the experience. Galleries? Make them interesting by getting this free app, which will tell you the story of every painting and naked ancient Greek sculpture. Don’t like baking on the beach? Go with a friend and ask them to help you make it fun (by trying water sports, boating, SUP…).
3. Haggle. Haggling at exotic markets can always go in a totally unexpected direction. No matter what happens, the experience will keep you alert and thinking of ways to win the battle of wills.
4. Swap your playlist for local music. You can listen to the latest Taylor Swift hit whenever you wish, but when you are abroad, mute Look what you made me do and try a local radio station to get a sense of what people listen to where you are. Ask around to find a local band/artist to add to your favorites. If you start every day of your trip with the same song, you will actually create longer-lasting memories.
5. Meet locals. If you are not particularly sociable, try to talk more with the receptionist at your hotel or ask a few personal questions to your tourist guide (like do they have a family? In what part of the city do they live? Is it a considered a good or a bad area? What do they do in their free time?). The deeper you delve into the lives of others, the greater the possibility that you’ll receive an unexpected offer that will take you somewhere unknown – and that’s an adventure in itself!

Pin it or save it for later, because you never know when you will want to break out of your comfort zone:

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The secret to a happy vacation

It turns out that the best way to feel happy on a vacation is to… schedule a lot of activities!

Wait, don’t run away screaming!

As stressful as the word ‘schedule’ can be when thinking about vacations, a recent study at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan (published in the Journal of Happiness Studies) has proven that there is a positive relationship between time management and happiness when it comes to your free time.

You already know why you should keep your hands off that laptop and ignore your work emails when you are on the beach; your vacation should be all about the fun. If you haven’t planned fun activities for your free time, you are basically wasting it (two weeks catching up on sleep is not useful and you don’t sleep 24/7).

How to actually make the most of your vacation

Pack your vacation with activities like day-trips, kayaking, water parks, self-organized ice-cream tasting and melon-cocktail preparation (it’s easy: remove the top of a melon, take out the seeds and pour a bottle of white wine inside. Let is rest in a fridge and in three hours it’s ready!). The actual activity doesn’t matter as long as you perceive it as fun and you have a few things scheduled every day.

Read more:

Dolce Far Niente: the meaning of the Italian concept explained by Italians

10 interesting facts about travel, backed by science

10 simple ways to boost your happiness on the road

Pin it for later:

The post It’s proven: this is the surprising secret to a happy vacation appeared first on 203Challenges.

We’ve selected 8 creative and inspiring travel challenges that will turn your trips into personal adventures. Our source of inspiration is a book – “203 Travel Challenges. Travel the world. Explore Your Inner Self”.

Traveling is something personal, so take the ingredients of the following challenges, stir them, move them and change them to create your own challenges to spice up your trips.

1. Jump into a warm, open-air mineral pool while it’s snowing

There are plenty of warm, mineral pools in the open air around the world. However pleasant they may be in the summer, there is nothing like getting into one in the winter, when snowflakes are falling from the sky and you are soaking in warm, mineral water, not caring about tiny details like weather forecasts or an air temperature more suited to polar bears…

How to do it: Don’t forget to take a towel to dry yourself off as quickly as possible as you climb out of the pool. Also take your favorite warm drink in a thermos for pure bliss (coffee, cappuccino, tea and rum, etc.).

2. Night Challenge

There are many attractions which stay open even when it’s dark outside. There are also events created to make your night more interesting. It’s a different world when you trade the light of the sun for the light of the moon and the stars.

A couple of ideas for night events: European Night of Museums (every year on a Saturday, around 18th May – the International Day of Museums), European Literature Night (in May – celebrities read excerpts from European works of art), European Theatre Night (in November). European Researchers’ Night – research centers and museums open doors to show their achievements (every year in late September). Open-air cinema to enjoy a movie under the stars.

A couple of ideas for attractions open during the night: Every summer from May until October the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, is open until midnight on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (reservation necessary). In New York the Brooklyn Museum has free admission until 11 p.m. the first Saturday of each month (except September); the Top of the Rock observation deck at Rockefeller Center offers 70th floor views of Manhattan until midnight (last elevator up is at 11 p.m.), and the Empire State Building’s observation deck is open until 2 a.m. In Bangkok, Thailand, every district has its own night market where you can find all kinds of food, goods and fun activities, at the same time immersing yourself the best way possible into local life. Try the biggest market, Rot Fai, or the bohemian JJ Green Night Market.

For seasoned travelers: Take a night walk through the mountains. Under the only light of the moon or a headlamp – with an experienced guide or along trails you know like the back of your hand. Night walks are an experience that is hard to forget.

3. Go out of range for 24 hours

Go out of range, see the sunrise, read a book, talk to people. 

You are constantly online. You follow the events on the social networks and sometimes it’s as if the real world has disappeared. We challenge you to go for at least 24 hours to a place where electronic devices are out of range. We challenge you to feel that you are here and you are here now, instead of drifting through virtual space.

For seasoned travelers: Deliberately turn off all your devices for a day. Get out of range for a week.

4. See a shooting star and make a wish come true

Seeing a shooting star to make a wish may seem to you like pure chance. The truth is, you can help chance come your way by being in the right place at the right time. Every year, around 12 August, the sky night fills with hundreds of shooting stars (or meteorites to be exact). The reason is the annual meteor stream called Perseids.

Fun fact… The meteors are called Perseids because when we look at the sky it seems like they come from the constellation Perseus. In fact, the shooting stars we see in the sky are part of the comet Swift-Tuttle.

How to do it: The Perseids peak around 12 August (look up the date for the year) when hundreds of meteorites can be seen every hour.

A couple more ideas: There are other meteor streams throughout the year (Geminids in mid-December, Lyrids in mid-April, Quadrantids in late December – early January) when you can see a shooting star.

5. Bathe in a waterfall

Enjoy a free shower from nature. If you try to find pictures of the waterfalls listed below, without a shadow of a doubt you will want to shower there next time.

A couple of ideas:

Skogafoss (Iceland), Havasu (Grand Canyon, USA + more ideas for waterfalls you can bathe in the USA), Ouzoud (Morocco), Skradinski buk (Croatia), Kempty (India). Or just visit the nearest waterfall to you.

6. Celebrate the International Picnic Day

On International Picnic Day (every year on 18 June), enjoy one of the best ways to be close to nature. The importance of picnics dates back to the Victorian Age when young men and women could spend time together in the open. Back in the day, they would bring fancy meals, sandwiches, sweets and crackers. Nowadays picnics require far less effort, but they can be a good reason finally to go somewhere you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t had the chance.

How to make it more interesting: You can give the picnic a theme – everyone to wear red, to bring only Italian cuisine, tea and board games, a candlelit picnic, etc. To make it more fun, you can throw in a kite, slackline, hacky sack, badminton or a frisbee.

Fun fact… According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the biggest picnic in the world was organized in Lisbon, Portugal, on 20 June 2009 with more than 20 000 participants.

7. See a shipwreck – without going underwater

It’s human nature – we are drawn to tragedy and decay. We roam around abandoned villages, enter buildings carrying legends of ghosts and dive to reach sunken ships. If diving is not your passion, we challenge you to visit one of the most famous shipwrecks in the world… without having to dive.

A couple of ideas:

Zakynthos, Greece – At Navagio Beach, you will see the remains of a vessel washed ashore. You can take a peek from the high rocks or reach it by boat.

Muynak, Uzbekistan – Outside the town of Muynak (or Moynaq) in Uzbekistan, in the direction of the Aral Sea, you will witness a sinister view along the road – the skeletons of ships and fishing boats abandoned long ago in the desert. Up until about 30 years ago Muynak was a sea harbor, but today it is in the middle of the desert, 50 km (30 miles) from the coast, after the rivers were diverted for irrigation purposes, and so the road leading to the Aral Sea turned into a ship graveyard.

Sydney, Australia – Homebush Bay in Sydney has become the final resting place of no longer operating ships. Some of them were swallowed by mangroves, growing over the rusty decks.

8. You want a raise? Take a holiday!

It is a proven fact that employees who use more of their vacation days achieve better results at work and have a higher chance of being promoted. Many people don’t use all of their vacation days as they fear that their long absence might show their bosses that the work can be managed without them. A study, however, shows that employees, who take all of their vacation days, show better results at work. Statistics in the USA and Canada reveal that for every 10 days off from work, the employee’s results improve by an average of 8%.

*

If you have used boat that you want to sell, you can use platforms like Grays.

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This is a challenge for the most addicted globetrotters out there. I can rarely resist the urge to book my next flight, so I know how hard it can be to settle down. But there are certain moments in life when you need to stay in one place and focus on yourself.

The time you’ll take off from traveling will let you concentrate on where you want to be in your life. Strive for greatness, build a career or take your relationship to the next level. You might be finally ready to buy a car or invest in a house, but you won’t be able to pull that off if you spend a week abroad every month.

Even though I’m passionate about traveling, I’ve realized that it’s not the secret ingredient to happiness, despite what your friends’ pictures on social media may have you believe. You might be surprised to hear that from a travel writer, so let me explain.

There always comes a moment when you feel emotionally empty

You’ve been traveling for months, you’ve seen many wonders of the world and you’ve visited your top 10 dream destinations. You’ve been to festivals, concerts, events; you’ve met incredible people along the way. Then one day you end up staying in. You feel emotionally empty.

You don’t want to do a single thing, and yet spending the day at home feels like such a waste of time. What if you miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?!

The truth is traveling won’t necessarily make you happier. It is a strong drug with lots of side effects. Long-term travelers often find themselves tired, angry or sad, just like everyone else.

So, what do you do if you end up in their shoes? 

Like everything in life, travel calls for balance. The secret lies in deprivation and appreciation. Don’t rush out to your next destination; take a moment to contemplate your life. We are lucky to live in an age when travel is affordable and quite accessible. We’ve become used to it and even begun to take it for granted.

Learn from the Stoics

Make your favorite activity a treat! How? Back in time, the Stoics (members of the philosophical school of Stoicism) understood just how miserable runaway desire can make you feel. For example, Epictetus once wrote that “a wise man is the one who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has”.

What’s something you used to cherish that you now take for granted? Well, you have the absolute and unconditional right to move freely around the globe, but you might have stopped taking pleasure in it.

The verdict is you have reached the deprivation point. What should you do? Cut back on travel for a while. You could stop traveling for three months or three years – it all depends on you. This is not a “give it up for good” call; it’s an invitation to “leave it for later”. If you abstain from travel for a short period of time, when you come back to it, you’ll love it even more.

This philosophy is not about restricting your enjoyment of life, but about enhancing it. The Stoics believed that living in the present moment allows us to get more out of our lives.

Here’s what inspired me: an article by Eric Barker on how Stoic ideas can make you happy. Eric is one of my favorite bloggers; he uses science-based answers and expert insights to creates guides on being awesome at life.

How to savor your journeys

Be present, wherever you are. Once you’ve embarked on your journey, slow down your pace. Pick one or two destinations instead of a list of must-sees. Take time to indulge in your meals, talk to people, wander aimlessly or just marvel at the beautiful sights around you. 

Maybe you suffer from dromomania

Did you know there’s a disease called dromomania? You might have heard of it by its other name: wanderlust. It is defined as an uncontrollable urge to wander, spontaneously depart, leave your routine and travel long distances. So, if you accept our challenge to deprive yourself of travel for a while but still can’t control your urges, you might be a dromomaniac.

Here are some of the symptoms of dromomania:

•         Your suitcase is never fully unpacked; you use it as a makeshift wardrobe.
•         You carry at least three different currencies in your wallet… just in case.
•         The thought of staying home for the weekend makes you panic.
•         All your stories start with “When I was in…”

Read the full list of dromomania symptoms here.

The post Could you stop traveling for a year? (Think twice and say yes!) appeared first on 203Challenges.

Trips come and go, memories fade with time and at some point, years after you return, you end up remembering only pieces of what was once the adventure of a lifetime.

Keeping a travel blog or a travel diary is a great way to preserve memories from your trips. But if you don’t have the time or energy to write your experiences down every day, we have an alternative suggestion to help you remember the awesome places you’ve been. Namely…

…the travel song!

If you think about it, there are songs from your youth that, when you hear them nowadays, still trigger vivid memories of certain people or events. Scientists haven’t yet discovered how or why this happens, but most agree that the phenomenon is real. We want you to take advantage of it when you travel.

Two ways to change your trips with a travel song

First option: start every trip with the same song. Find your travel anthem, a song that is really special to you. It could be the song you used to listen to when you traveled with your family as a child, or the tune you and your friends played on repeat during your first trip as teenagers. Teach yourself to associate the song with travel by listening to it when – and only when – you start a trip.

Second option: compile a themed travel playlist for every destination you visit. Make a list of your favorite songs of the moment, then combine them with some local music you discover on the way. These can be the songs you hear blaring on the radio as you travel, or some old school local classics – whatever you associate most with the place. Save your playlists on YouTube or Spotify, naming them after your destination. Then, every time you want to cast your mind back to Florence, for example, all you need to do is crank out your “Florence epic trip 2017” playlist and let the memories come flooding back.

Why does it work?

“The songs we love become woven into a neural tapestry entwined with the people, seasons, and locations throughout our lifespan,” an article in Psychology Today explains. It seems that a song triggers the areas of the brain connected to motor skills, emotions, and creativity. Some scientists believe music has therapeutic and medical uses, such as helping Alzheimer patients restore memories.

“What seems to happen is that a piece of familiar music serves as a soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head. It calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person’s face in your mind’s eye,” Petr Janata, associate professor of psychology at UC Davis’ Center for Mind and Brain, said.

So what’s your travel song? Do you take care of your mental health? Do you use the service of a psychologist or the music is enough? 

The post The one music habit that will change the way you travel appeared first on 203Challenges.

The forest can heal you. You’ve just got to get in touch with it, as the Japanese do.

Shinrin… what?

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese practice that promotes walking in the forest as a way to improve your overall health. The term translates literally as ‘forest bathing’. It originated in the 1980s and is now becoming more and more famous all around the world.

What do the scientists say?

In recent years a lot of studies have been undertaken to analyze the physical and psychological effects of shinrin-yoku. Here are a few of the proven physical benefits:

• Lowers heart rate and blood pressure
• Boosts the immune system
• Reduces sleeplessness

… and the psychological ones:

• Reduces stress and depression 
• Increases liveliness
• Increases concentration

What is actually behind the superpower of the forests?

There are two popular explanations as to why taking a walk in the forest has such a positive effect on our health. The first one attaches importance to phytoncides – antimicrobial volatile organic compounds that plants give off in order to prevent themselves from rotting or being eaten by insects or animals. By breathing in those compounds, according to the theory, we can reduce stress and achieve relaxation. The second explanation emphasizes the sense of awe people get from admiring the beauty of nature as a means of stress relief.

How to practice shinrin-yoku

It’s important to understand that shinrin-yoku is not a hike, nor a fitness exercise. The miles you walk and the time you spend don’t really matter. The key is to leave your cellphone and your problems at home and just wander through the woods. You have to engage four out of your five senses – sight, smell, hearing and touch – because it’s the combination of mindfulness and natural environment that gives shinrin-yoku its restorative powers.

The best alternative, of course, is to practice shinrin-yoku in an actual forest, but if you don’t have one nearby, you can always opt for a stroll in the park. Break up your walk every now and again by taking some time to simply stand and observe the nature around you. If you go with someone else, don’t chat all the way, but rather make an agreement to remain silent for as much time as possible.

Nowadays, a lot of shinrin-yoku experts organize guided forest walks offering you insights into the finer details of the practice. You can search for the one closest to your town, or maybe even plan your next trip around a shinrin-yoku destination.

Do it now!

• Turn off your phone right after reading this article.
• Put on your most comfortable shoes.
• Get to the nearest park or forest.
• Wander aimlessly.
• Take a break – just stand and observe.
• Now turn it into routine – when you’re finished put your next three ‘forest bathing’ sessions into your planner. (Do it now! You know you’ll forget if you leave it for later.)

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It’s not always easy to travel with your partner, but you can always source some wisdom from those who have discovered the little secrets of romantic travel.

We’ve asked friends and strangers who often travel with their better halves. Here are their survival tips:

#1 You should both take part in the preparation of the trip – Alexander Nenov

Unless the trip is a surprise, you should both make decisions about the destination, schedule, hotel and airline, etc. It’s a good strategy to share these tasks, so you both feel satisfied and important. It’s a common mistake to let your loved one do all the planning, while you are forced to ‘be happy’ with whatever comes your way. There’s nothing worse than setting foot in Uganda when you actually dreamed of checking for yourself whether Thailand is as crazy as you’d heard.

#2 Don’t forget to go on a date together – Lou Liebau

I’ve been traveling with my guy for nearly two years now – he is English and I am American. It’s been a ride. I think one of the most helpful things you can do is to still go on dates. When you travel you are most likely going out to eat a lot and move around a lot, to the extent that it becomes a habit. So sometimes you don’t think about taking your partner out to a nice dinner that you plan out just for them. It’s important to go out of your way for the other person and still show them you care, rather than getting caught up in the moving around and the hustle of traveling.

#3 Don’t travel with someone whom one of you dislikes – Marta Leonard

Regardless of whether they are friends, relatives or colleagues, if one of you doesn’t like them, don’t travel together with them! It’s even worse if during the whole trip you conform with those people and ignore your better half’s feelings. But the worst of all is if you insist on spending 100% of the time with those people without saving some special time for you two. If you follow this anti-guide, you will for sure end up with no boyfriend/girlfriend or even worse: with one who doesn’t want to travel with you ever again.

#4 Plan activities during your vacation – Mark Wencey

It’s been proven that if you go on a vacation with nothing planned but beach and three meals a day, and you spend all of your time together, that’s a very, very bad idea. You will most probably have your first fight on the second day of your trip. Or at best, on the third. Spending 24 hours per day together with nothing interesting to do is the best recipe for an annoying and catastrophic romantic vacation.

#5 Stick to your own hobbies – Donna Jackson

My number one tip for couples when travelling together as digital nomads or on holidays is that they should explore their own areas of interest or hobbies, and not try to do everything together.

#6 Don’t be glued to each other – Amanda James

Allow yourselves some time alone. If one of you is shopping for souvenirs, let the other walk around and take photos or sit down for a snack. Arrange a meeting place and time. These small refreshing breaks will supply you with new stories to share with each other.

#7 Take turns deciding what to do the next day – Marina Garbeva

If you love each other but you are incompatible as travelers, make a deal to take turns in making plans for the next day. Thus, both of you will have a truly versatile vacation and an opportunity to surprise the other with an activity they would not normally choose.

#8 Meet other people. New people. Friends abroad. Just people – Marie Bench

I don’t mean to say that you’ll be bored by your partner, but every time my boyfriend and I (traveling together for three years now) meet other people, our trips reach a whole new level. Not only do you broaden your horizons, but you also make new friends, change the plan to meet them again on the road, go to their country to visit them… or at least that’s what we do. You should try it sometimes. It’s fun.

#9 Leave the expectations at home – Slavomir Ignatov

Travel with no expectations; think of yourself as just two people taken out of their mundane life and placed in new, unknown surroundings, hand in hand. The French have a beautiful word for this: FLÂNER, to perceive life with all your senses alongside your loved one.

Pin it for later:

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When was the last time you took time off work and went away without a plan or a fixed schedule? 

You’re flying towards your next destination, rushing from the airport to the hotel room in your desire to get away from the dull everyday life haunting you back home. While you check your email, facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and the weather forecast (hoping for sun) every 5 minutes, you better ask yourself what on earth you are doing.

Do you truly want to travel, or you just want to arrive? I bet you prefer to get there as soon as possible. Throw down your bags, put that swimsuit on and chill for a week along the pool. There’s nothing wrong. But that’s not traveling, it’s vacationing.

Inspired by Dan Kieran’s “The Idle Traveller – The Art of Slow Travel” I started asking myself where the good old traveling went? Dan is an interesting English travel writer and humorist. Afraid of flying, Dan is looking for alternative ways to travel. Always taking the long way, he tries to show us his philosophy of slow traveling developed over the past 20 years.

Dan compares his way of traveling to the art of taking a toddler for a walk.

There are no errands to run, no to-do list to check. Eventually, you realize you’re helpless in front of that little girl. Trying to rush her or guide her the right way is pointless. You let her wander around the park. Once you shake off the anger of slowing down, your mind will empty and new fresh ideas will float to the surface. The idle traveler is like that girl – walking around the world, following her curiosity, in search of meaning and direction. Her road is curvy, unpaved, and full of sidetracks…

What’s your primary reason to travel? Mine is to get to know myself better.

Pascal once said that all human evil comes from a single cause, man’s inability to sit still in a room. The trouble starts the minute you walk out the front door.

Actually, the word travel comes from the French word for work, or to work – travail. Travail originates from the Latin word – tripalis or tripalium – three spares (stakes) used for torture. This made me think. Travel is not supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be a torture. It’s not meant to be convenient, you shouldn’t feel comfortable, cozy, or at home. You shouldn’t bring all your necessities. Next time try to travel light. Pack like a minimalist. Do you need all 10 dresses and 6 pairs of shoes? I dоn’t think so.

Be mindful about every step along the way. On the train, don’t play with your phone or tablet. Look around! Marvel at the sights or have a conversation with a complete stranger. Travel takes place as much in your mind, as outside of it. Try to acknowledge the little things.

Run away from must-sees and must-dos. Drop the conventional travel guides and try to be your own guide. Open your heart, lose your head. Do what you desire and don’t worry about being in control of everything. Try not to plan ahead and think about tomorrow. Focus on the right now! Seize the day and the world around you!

Reach out of your comfort zone, go offline, put yourself to the challenge and dare! Dare to explore, dare to dream, dare to live, but really live. Go out, get lost and find yourself!

The post How to travel mindfully (or why traveling is not supposed to be comfortable) appeared first on 203Challenges.

After years spent traveling, I reached a deep understanding of my own reasons for traveling – what is my personal motivation to travel tens of thousands miles around the globe every year. Now I have travel rituals I wish I’d had years ago.

Here are three of the most important.

1. Tourist attractions are not all worth it

Peter Hershey

When I was younger, I made my travel plans according to a list of attractions. Visit museum A, visit gallery B, eat, visit castle C… At the end of the day all you have is a crazy mixture of centuries, kings and painters in your head, with no way to remember who was who and when they built that church. And no real feeling for the place.

What I do today: I no longer go to a place only because everybody else does. Climb the Eiffel Tower? Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to spend time at its bottom, lying on the grass and gazing at the ant-sized people lining at its top. You have a better bird’s-eye view of Paris from the Montparnasse Tower than from the Eiffel Tower. I read about the attractions and I choose only those that are relevant to my interests. One castle for the day is enough. 2 hours or more in a gallery? Yes. But only in the one I really like. The rest of my time is meant for local markets which I really love.

2. You can’t really feel the place on your own

Get a map, randomly roam the streets, eat the local food… but still something is missing. Or someone. The last piece of the puzzle is a local who will spend a few hours with you, explaining what to see and why it is like that. Plus you make new friends all over the world.

What I do today: Get in touch with locals every single time. In order to be sure that you will have a local to talk to and to walk with, use websites such as Global Greeters, Couchsurfing, join a free tour, ask friends who have aquaintances in the city you are visiting.

3. It’s not scary/lonely/dangerous to travel alone

For many years traveling alone was seen as a vice – an occupation which only people with no friends found fun. Actually, solo traveling is for those who crave and appreciate time by themselves.

What I do today: At least once a year I embark on a trip designed to fulfill my and only my expectations, pace and mood. Sometimes it’s a week abroad, sometimes just a weekend with my bike and tent, no destination, just letting myself experience life. I decide when and where to sleep, eat or star-gaze on the spur of the moment. It’s fantastic!

Do you have your own travel rituals? What are they?

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