Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Learn a Foreign Language

Are you planning to travel around Europe? Why not learn Italian or French before you go to maximize your experience.

Book Your Travel Here!!

Last month, I ran a contest asking readers to submit an essay on what travel means to them. I got a number of responses. Sadly, there can be only one winner and that was reader Ben Johnson from England. While Ben’s essay was not the best written, I felt that it answered the question the best and he summarized all that travel offers- the need to experience, the thrill of new cultures, and the idea that you may not know where you are going but you know where you need to be. Ben wins a free Lonely Planet as well as a copy of the movie A Map for Saturday.

The runner up was Erica from Travel Blissful who gets a free one day pass to an airport lounge of her choice.

Without further ado, here is Ben’s winning essay:

To me, travel is simultaneously the ultimate escape and the greatest personal homecoming. It allows you to get away, frees you from regrettable obligations and bombards you with the unfamiliar, all whilst teaching you more about yourself, your abilities and your limits than any other activity. Extended travel leads to the realisation that the world is not insurmountable, and it is totally and completely addictive.

It can be a wonderful mixture of the expected and the unexpected; the anticipation and the perennially fulfilling reality. There is no greater shock to the senses than that initial blast of culture on arrival in a new place, and nothing more exciting than getting to know it and its people. Travel can give a profound insight into the cultures in different parts of our vibrant world, and can help piece together a picture of how people live.

Travel is incredibly personal thing. To some, travel means ticking boxes in a list with a title ending “…before you die”, and viewing world-renowned sights through the back of their digital camera before moving on. To me, travel is far deeper. Travel means learning. Learning about the past, present and future of the places and people I’m experiencing. Learning about a country some of my friends have never heard of. Learning by seeing, doing, hearing, feeling, tasting and talking. Learning by being there. Travel does not mean a picture-postcard first impression of something with a million results on Google. Travel means experience. Travel means soaking up the spirit of each destination.

Travel means not living an ignorant and narrow-minded existence, vicariously digesting other peoples’ experiences instead of having them yourself. It means an overwhelming sense of adventure. It means getting lost on purpose. It means stories beginning with “When I was in…” and a colourful array of new passport stamps. It means meeting fellow travelers and local residents, and that buzz in the run up to the next trip. That moment where you don’t know where you are and you don’t know where you’re going, but you know you’re exactly where you want to be. That is what travel means to me.

Erica’s essay will be posted soon. I hope you enjoyed this entry and more contests will occur in the future!

5 Responses to “And the winner is……”

1. Cuckoo on August 21st, 2008 8:40 pm

   Congratulations to the winners !

   Oh Ben has echoed almost what I have written in my profile. Glad to know of people who have same views.

2. Erica Johansson on August 21st, 2008 10:42 pm

   Congrats Ben!! That’s a great entry. I especially like this part: “Travel means learning…Learning by seeing, doing, hearing, feeling, tasting and talking. Learning by being there.”

   And also this:
   “That moment where you don’t know where you are and you don’t know where you’re going, but you know you’re exactly where you want to be. That is what travel means to me.” Perfect ending!

3. Ben on August 22nd, 2008 11:53 pm

   Thanks everyone, and thanks to Matt for the contest and running a consistently great site!

4. domina on August 27th, 2008 11:04 pm

   That was a great story!! it says is all!!!
   Matt, can you have a “best Travel Photo”contest????? just a suggestion.

5. Travel Means Experiencing  | Travel Blissful on October 14th, 2008 5:01 pm

   [...] In July, Matt from Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site asked his readers to submit essays on the meaning of travel. You can read the winning entry by Ben Johnson from England at And the winner is…… [...]

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