Uncharted Traveller

Tag - Travel doesnt change anything

Travel doesn’t change anything

krakow

They say that Travel changes you but really, it doesn’t change anything;

I moved to a new Krakow hostel a few nights ago and he was the only person staying in my dorm when we exchanged the usual silent stare of “who the f$%k is this axe murderer?”. Although I guess this was a slightly better greeting than the smart phone gang downstairs.

It sounds pretty stupid now but there was a time on my travels when I would assume to have had nothing in common with a person from some place in a strange part of the world. In fact, in previous years I may never have taken the time to find out anything at all about his lonely trip through Europe or his sudden relief to be now speaking with another person.

We laughed until 3am and I’m not sure what we talked about exactly but the next morning he wondered why I referred to myself as “the Songbird of my generation”.

My time in Krakow is coming to an end and while it has been a Month of focusing on earning income online rather than travel itself, it’s now clear how this experience as always, was a reflection of the random strangers I encounter.

Does travel change anything?

I hear quite often that meeting new people is a “great experience” but unfortunately in my own experience and either for reasons of anxiety or social awkwardness, this has not always been the case which means it’s a pretty big deal to be noticing these changes in my own attitude now.

Hisbullah is from Singapore and meeting him in Krakow was a reminder that time is way too short to be afraid of saying hello to the person next to you.

They say that Travel changes you but really, it doesn’t change anything and mostly you just decide to change everything yourself.