I was asked this today by someone who is hoping to. I pretty quickly and emphatically answered no. I love travelling, and some of my most memorable experiences have been while travelling. But travelling has also made me appreciate its opposite: routine.
While you are travelling, there is nothing the same about each day. Everything from where you sleep, what you eat and who you hang out with changes. Some days are jam packed and others are more chill. While travelling there is zero routine.
While I think this lack of routine is part of what makes travel exciting and memorable, it is also tiring. Constantly having to decide where to eat is tiring. Sharing a room with an entire French bachelor party is tiring (this has happened to me twice already!!!), and results in little sleep. Changing locations every few days is tiring.
These things have made me appreciate routine. If you know me you know me, you know I can be a little intense about these things.. I like having the same morning routine, and eating the same things everyday. I like going to bed at the same time, and doing little things to optimize my sleep. I like exercising and meditating everyday. These things make me feel good and give me the energy to focus on other things. But it is also important to have a break from these routines.
This is where travelling comes in. Travelling is like a cheat meal, you throw all the rules out the window. It is a complete change up from normal routine. To be able to follow routine, you have to break it every once in a while. I think routine and travelling balance each other out. I would not travel forever, but I would also not live the same routine forever. You need both.
While this post may not give that impression, I have been having a great time on my travels and am not envying routine. I have been making my way south through Portugal, passing though Sinatra and stopping in Lisbon. I am now in Lagos, which is known for its picturesque cliffs along the sea.
If I had to summarize my trip thus far I would say that I have met a lot of people and been sunburned a lot. I fly to Morocco in a few days which I am very much looking forward to!
– Mitch