I Have This Strong Desire To Travel

My recently gifted diary had this title: " I have this strong desire to travel".  It's something that many people ju...

Travel diary


My recently gifted diary had this title: " I have this strong desire to travel".  It's something that many people just dream about.
What is this urge all about? I tried to break my desire down to the following.

Discovering new places

I love to traveling to new places. Not only traveling, but also finding those hidden gems. I feel exhilarated when I walk down hidden alleys and probably get lost to and from my hotel.

Seoul Travel Nico Vermeulen

That feeling that you get when you discover a beautiful old bookstore, covered in books from wall to wall.

Paris old bookstore

Korean Book Street Busan

Then there are the moments when you really get lost and have to ask for directions. This evolves into a conversation and quite possibly dinner and drinks with the locals. 


Vietnam Locals

Expanding my senses

A lot of places will literally take your breath away and not in the good sense. The air is filled with pollution or some awful lingering smell of something that should not be allowed in public. You breath the air that the locals are breathing and for a moment you can imagine life as a local in some other part of the world.

Seoul Pollution

The same can be said about food.  I'm an adventurous eater (or at least, I like to think so). I like to try new things, like tasting seaweed or kimchi for the first time. Tastes that I've never tasted before and didn't enjoy right away, but it grew on me. So much so, that I still crave it sometimes even after a year of not eating it.

Korean BBQ

Kimchi Stew

I remember the first time I ate freshly chopped raw octopus, which was not as bad as you might think, but there are things that are probably better left unseen, un-smelled and un-tasted. For the most part though, those are the best experiences. Those are the ones that you remember and tell long after you get home. The sights, sounds, tastes and smells that left you breathless.

Street Food in Seoul

Admiring the past, Appreciating the present and Glimpsing the Future

Curiosity is something that drives me. I'm curious to see how people had lived, how they live now and how they will live in the future.
I can just imagine a world where the ancient Romans, Egyptians and the Inca's had lived in ( All places I still have to visit ). The technology they had to build all those amazing places were incredible for their time. It's hard to imagine anything primitive.

Seoul Gyeongbokgung

When I had visited Amsterdam, I found some houses that were built in the 1600's. The fact that some houses have been standing longer than when South Africa were discovered and colonised, just blew my mind. I still can't imagine how it was even possible for people to have done the things they did back then. It truly fascinates me.

Houses in Amsterdam

Then to see how they are living now and how the world has changed or stayed the same. To see how cultures and traditions have been passed down in spite of all the outside influences.
Then every now and then you visit a place that makes you feel like you're living in the future. The futuristic buildings, public transport and the other infrastructure that just work perfectly. You get a glimpse of a world that is leagues ahead of it's time.

View from Victoria Peak

 Your turn - what drives your desire to travel?


Tell me what drives your desire to travel? What makes your heart jump whenever you see a photo or read a travel article? Here are a few thoughts to get you going. 
  • Scenery
  • Food
  • Cultures
  • people
  • history
  • city
Thanks so much for the love and support that I've been getting from you recently. I appreciate it immensely! 

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