Travel…Why Travel???

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” ~Anonymous

My vision in life is to push people’s limits to do what they are not used to do; hence TRAVEL and see the world.

I do believe that we -Egyptians- come from a very strict background, that does not allow traveling or moving from our comfort zone, we -me excluded- always have those restrictions and fears from facing the unknown, and when we decide to travel we go to the famous cities and fancy places where there won’t be any challenges or surprises, we seek luxury instead of enjoying a primitive simple life, we do what other fellow travelers tell us to do, we organize every single detail in order to avoid any unexpected events, we go to ordinary places instead of seeking adventure, we use taxis instead of public transportations, we eat in luxurious restaurants instead of trying street food, we look for places to have Egyptian food instead of savoring the local cuisine.

WEIRD, isn’t it? The funny thing is that when we travel; we do our best to show how much our Egyptian identity is dominant instead of being introduced to a new culture, while when we are in Egypt our identity is TOTALLY LOST, GONE with the wind…Why lost? Why gone? Well, most of Egypt’s restaurants serve International Cuisine, we’d rather buy an international product than a national one, the way we dress does not reflect our Egyptian identity at all, we could barely express ourselves in writing in good Arabic, we could barely handle a conversation in Arabic as we use foreign languages -mainly English- while speaking to each other although we are 100% Egyptians. Funny, isn’t it???

We travel…hmmm, maybe yes. But that’s not what traveling is about. We always miss having the sense of place, we don’t have the guts to experience new things, to taste ethnic food, to emerge with different cultures, to experience what a primitive life is like, or to do unordinary out of the box things.

And what are you missing? A LOOOOOOT…Yes, a lot!!!

Don’t call yourself a traveler if you do anything of the aforementioned mistakes. A TRUE traveler would choose unknown places to go to, would enjoy unfamous places rather than crowded touristic spots, would go for low budget trips, would  choose cheap accommodation to save every penny and spend it on interesting activities,  would stay at hostels to mingle with fellow travelers, would eat nothing but local food even if it gives stomachaches, would do whatever it takes to feel part of the journey taken to a foreign country.

EGYPTIANS; It is time to change this sort of SICK mentality. COME ON, MOVE your butts, LEAVE your comfort zone, you have NO idea how much you are missing. WAKE UP, have the GUTS to experience TRAVEL & having life-changing journeys.