I am big fan of youtube channel 'School of Life' and i knew Alain De Botton as one of the key people associated with the channel. I wish i went to a school which taught stuff like 'School of Life' instead of logarithms and organic chemistry. I also knew about this book, and that it is written by a person associated with School of Life. I had thought about the book a few times, especially when i was exhausted and homesick on my travels and wondered why do i even put some much effort and money into travelling to far away places. That was more tiredness and exhaustion speaking than me, but it still has made me think -
a) why we travel?
b) how to travel better?
I had grappled with these questions more acutely when i was travelling alone in Europe, on a very low student budget, while on student exchange. I could not eat well, exhausted myself walking long distances in cities to avoid the bus/metro fare, and was perpetually cold in the European winter as i did not have adequate warm clothing suitable for the climate there. On top of this, though i was very curious, i did not have enough context to understand what i was seeing, the places i was visiting, and not enough money to go out and have a good time. I was meant to be in Copenhagen and study, not backpack across Europe. A combination of these things often made me wonder about the above two questions. This is not to say that i did not enjoy my travels in Europe - i loved the liberty of travelling alone, and saw so many beautiful, memorable sights. But these questions were and have been at the back of my mind, and though i did not figure an answer to them on my travels, i knew that these were important questions to answer. So it was with this in mind that i asked for this book in one of my usual Blossoms visits. Also, this was my first lockdown read.
I am glad i purchased this book and bought it home with me for the lockdown. I was absorbed by the book as soon as i started reading it. It talked about exactly what i hoped it would, which were the two questions in my mind, but then expanded on them in much more detail. The writer talks about the different kinds fo travel, various motivations to travel and in doing so very discreetly but effectively touches upon how we could perhaps travel better. The writer does not treat this as a theoretical exercise or philosophical discourse, which would have made the book very dry and a difficult read, at least for me. But he talks about his own travel experiences, either to a small town in the writers country or to the Sinai dessert, while illustrating each of his points. This helps us relate to the book better. Each chapter is a different travel story to illustrate a new aspect of travel.
Additionally, in each chapter the writer talks about a historical personality and their view, to drive forth the point he is trying to make. Often, these personalities are artists and like any good artist, they expand the ways of looking at things, a new way to discovery beauty. These profound insights juxtaposed with the mundane travel stories from the author provides a well balanced lens of contemplating about travel.
Personally, some of the things that resonated the most with me could be summarised in these words:
Apart from the actual travel, there is a before (anticipation) and after (getting back to the usual life) for any travel story, and these could be as beautiful or more than the actual travel. The anticipation of visiting a place, the day dreams you build around it, have a beauty in itself which should be relished. And sometimes, this anticipation and exploration of the distant place from the comfort of your hometown could be more rewarding than actually visiting the place.
I have always loved quant railway stations. The author talks about that and more, of how certain places like a lounge section of an airport terminal, an isolated cafe located just outside the limits of the city, a lonely petrol station contain in themselves a quality of beauty. They are capable of enabling us to give way to feelings which we might not be able to acknowledge in out living rooms. They are often on the way stops in our travels, but i have experienced them to sometimes end up being more memorable than the destinations.
Taking an evening train back to Izmir (Turkey) with fellow commuters, with the setting sunlight reflecting on the face of a particularly pretty girl, is a memory that has lingered stronger than i expected. This could easily have been part of my daily commute, but i was in a travel frame of mind, and more receptive to noticing small things of beauty than i otherwise would have. Switching this travel lens ON while being in your usual surrounding is difficult but could help you look at your own house, street, city in a new light.
Writing about or sketching what you see when you travel would make you a better traveller. It's a simple trick, but the more i think about it, the more it seems effective to me. To do either, or represent what you see in any artistic form, will make you think more, look better, and pursue more deeply.
Travel is not only about travelling to a new place to discover it. Sometimes, it is just about changing your surroundings, following a different routine, and reflecting on things from a different vantage point. Sometimes, it could mean taking a different route from office to home, renting out a room by yourself just outside the city, or even looking at your room from a corner where you usually do not go.
a) why we travel?
b) how to travel better?
I had grappled with these questions more acutely when i was travelling alone in Europe, on a very low student budget, while on student exchange. I could not eat well, exhausted myself walking long distances in cities to avoid the bus/metro fare, and was perpetually cold in the European winter as i did not have adequate warm clothing suitable for the climate there. On top of this, though i was very curious, i did not have enough context to understand what i was seeing, the places i was visiting, and not enough money to go out and have a good time. I was meant to be in Copenhagen and study, not backpack across Europe. A combination of these things often made me wonder about the above two questions. This is not to say that i did not enjoy my travels in Europe - i loved the liberty of travelling alone, and saw so many beautiful, memorable sights. But these questions were and have been at the back of my mind, and though i did not figure an answer to them on my travels, i knew that these were important questions to answer. So it was with this in mind that i asked for this book in one of my usual Blossoms visits. Also, this was my first lockdown read.
I am glad i purchased this book and bought it home with me for the lockdown. I was absorbed by the book as soon as i started reading it. It talked about exactly what i hoped it would, which were the two questions in my mind, but then expanded on them in much more detail. The writer talks about the different kinds fo travel, various motivations to travel and in doing so very discreetly but effectively touches upon how we could perhaps travel better. The writer does not treat this as a theoretical exercise or philosophical discourse, which would have made the book very dry and a difficult read, at least for me. But he talks about his own travel experiences, either to a small town in the writers country or to the Sinai dessert, while illustrating each of his points. This helps us relate to the book better. Each chapter is a different travel story to illustrate a new aspect of travel.
Additionally, in each chapter the writer talks about a historical personality and their view, to drive forth the point he is trying to make. Often, these personalities are artists and like any good artist, they expand the ways of looking at things, a new way to discovery beauty. These profound insights juxtaposed with the mundane travel stories from the author provides a well balanced lens of contemplating about travel.
Personally, some of the things that resonated the most with me could be summarised in these words:
Apart from the actual travel, there is a before (anticipation) and after (getting back to the usual life) for any travel story, and these could be as beautiful or more than the actual travel. The anticipation of visiting a place, the day dreams you build around it, have a beauty in itself which should be relished. And sometimes, this anticipation and exploration of the distant place from the comfort of your hometown could be more rewarding than actually visiting the place.
I have always loved quant railway stations. The author talks about that and more, of how certain places like a lounge section of an airport terminal, an isolated cafe located just outside the limits of the city, a lonely petrol station contain in themselves a quality of beauty. They are capable of enabling us to give way to feelings which we might not be able to acknowledge in out living rooms. They are often on the way stops in our travels, but i have experienced them to sometimes end up being more memorable than the destinations.
Taking an evening train back to Izmir (Turkey) with fellow commuters, with the setting sunlight reflecting on the face of a particularly pretty girl, is a memory that has lingered stronger than i expected. This could easily have been part of my daily commute, but i was in a travel frame of mind, and more receptive to noticing small things of beauty than i otherwise would have. Switching this travel lens ON while being in your usual surrounding is difficult but could help you look at your own house, street, city in a new light.
Writing about or sketching what you see when you travel would make you a better traveller. It's a simple trick, but the more i think about it, the more it seems effective to me. To do either, or represent what you see in any artistic form, will make you think more, look better, and pursue more deeply.
Travel is not only about travelling to a new place to discover it. Sometimes, it is just about changing your surroundings, following a different routine, and reflecting on things from a different vantage point. Sometimes, it could mean taking a different route from office to home, renting out a room by yourself just outside the city, or even looking at your room from a corner where you usually do not go.
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