The true cost of traveling

1. Traveling costs money

Yes, traveling is not free and it costs money. It is pretty obvious that traveling will cost you money as everything, in life, costs money (or almost). If you want toĀ drinkĀ a Coke at a cafĆ©, to goĀ to the swimming pool or to takeĀ the bus, you will have to pay for it. Subsequently, you will have to pay for it also when you are traveling.Ā Of course, there are many ways to travel on a budget but if you want to wander in Italy or in Thaila
nd you will have to prepare yourĀ budget plan and you will realize that it is not possible to do every thing!Ā Nobody will pretend the opposite…

Ā In AĀ Faraway LandĀ Ā©

2. Traveling is not so friendly

Traveling means that you will be away from home for several days, several weeks or maybe several months.Ā While you will be on the road, discovering beautiful destinations, you will not be able to spend good momentsĀ with your friends who are back home.Ā It will subsequently create some distance between you and them.Ā Of course, technologies can keep us connected wherever we are.Ā Ā But even Skype, Facebook orĀ Whatsapp areĀ not powerful enough to keep your friendships alive.
If you decide to travel for a long time you might miss your friend’sĀ birthday, graduationĀ or evenĀ wedding. It is far from being easy to live far away and to miss some of our friends life events.
But in any case, yourĀ best friends will still be there and you donā€™t need to have 1.000 friends if you just have THE best friend on earth šŸ˜‰

In AĀ Faraway LandĀ Ā©

3. Traveling is dangerous for your relationship(s)

More and moreĀ travellers make their journey solo. It can happen because yourĀ partner do notĀ enjoyĀ traveling as you do or because you are single. It’s fine, either way. However, traveling won’t help you to build a strong relationship or to create a new one.
Yes, you couldĀ meet someone abroad, while youā€™re traveling or you could try a distance-relationship, but it won’t be easy.Ā I would say, it won’t be easyĀ at all. Indeed, aĀ couple needs to spend good moments together, a coupleĀ needs to grow together and if you are traveling without him/her, you need a lot of faith in your partnerā€¦
But donā€™t worry, there are a lot of incredible love stories out there that were born abroad andĀ there are couples who resist to the distance. After all, “love is stronger than everything”, isn’t it?

In AĀ Faraway LandĀ Ā©

4. Traveling asks time and energy

There is one point that most people ignore: traveling will askĀ you a lot of time and a lot of energy. It looks like when you travel you are having fun, you spend your day wandering around. But don’t trust the appearance. Firstly, if you decide to travel you will need time, which means you will need to get free of your obligations orĀ you will need to find time between your full-time job, your family and your appointments. Secondly, you should have a lot of energy. Energy is required because you probably wonā€™t start a trip without any preparation at all. At least, you will have to pack and book a flight. You also need energy to discover new places every day and to meet people…
Traveling doesnā€™t mean being on holiday, it actually means a lot of work, so you’d better get ready for it!
But do not panic: a lot ofĀ people can do it, so why not youĀ ?

In AĀ Faraway LandĀ Ā©

5. But traveling is the only thing that you buy that makes you richer

Traveling is not free and it will cost you a lot of money-friendships-relationships-time and energy. But, did you know that ā€œTraveling is the only thing that you buy that makes you richerā€?
So, Ok, you have to buyĀ your tickets, your accommodation andĀ your food.
Ok, you need time to do it and to prepare your trip.
Ok, you will leaveĀ your good friends and your family for a while.
Ok, you might fight to keep your relationship alive.
However, you cannot buy memories, you cannot buy the adventure and the best moment of your life.
You cannot buy the fact thatĀ traveling will make you grow and will make you a better person… So, if there’s one thing you SHOULD buy isĀ TRAVEL.

Credit pictures to the amazing photographer from ‘In AĀ Faraway Land’ Ā©

What about you?
What’s the price you have payed for traveling?Ā 

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  1. says: Rehana from Mumbai

    Your blog is amazing! What’s the price I’ve paid to travel? I have to routinely lie to my very conservative Indian parents to let me travel, and especially if I’m travelling alone. I hate lying to them, and I’d also love to take them to the amazing places in the world. But they don’t realise the importance of travel. I wish they do, someday.