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- They are full of interesting stories.
“Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller”. I was never a fan of gossip and other superficial stories. If your definition of good time is going blackout drunk and that’s all you can talk about, i won’t exactly die to talk to you. I’d rather hear about your travel adventures, places you saw and that time you accidentally almost lost your flight / got robbed / died (this took kind of a morbid turn didn’t it).
2. You can learn from them.
While traveling, i met many people from all around the world. Most of them were also travelers. I loved talking with them and i always finished conversation with a new knowledge - about their culture, new places i had had no idea they even existed, or just a great tips for traveling. Sometimes they have amazing life stories that amuse you or great attitude and way of looking at things that inspire you. Also you can practice your English or other foreign language you know - there’s literally no downside.
3. They (usually) have a great personality.
As a traveler, you have to deal with a lot of things you weren’t exactly hoping for - delays, losing stuff, potential life threatening situations etc. At some point you learn to deal with them (without losing your mind). After getting to know other cultures and societies, you become more open-minded and tolerant. If you travel, you’re probably curious, comfortable with the unknown and adventurous. All of this doesn’t mean you’re a good person, but interesting? For sure.
4. “What’s there?”
When i was a kid, i wanted to play as far from the house as i can and to look what’s around every corner because i was curios to see “what’s there”. Now when i’m older, i travel because i want to see “what’s there”. I think everyone else who travels has that little and simple “what’s there” and is able to feel that rush of happiness when they wander around amazing new place or see a breath-taking view because we got our answer and it’s so much better than we expected. I want to be around people who are able to appreciate the moment and the beauty of it.
5. At the end, if you’re not a traveler, here’s why you should be (if you have the chance): “I beg young people to travel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown. Eat interesting food. Dig some interesting people. Have an adventure. Be careful. Come back and you’re going to see your country differently, you’re going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You’re going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It’s not what Tom Friedman writes about; I’m sorry. You’re going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can’t get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people—Americans and Europeans—come back and go, ohhhhh. And the light bulb goes on.” –Henry Rollins