It is common knowledge that travelling broadens the mind. Visiting new countries, meeting new people, getting acquainted with their customs, traditions, cultural heritage makes one develop his or her outlook, gives him or her chance to make friends and has a revitalizing and enerzing effect on his or her body and spirit.
To begin with, travelling enlarges our knowledge of the world. No photo, audio or video can fully transmit all colours, sounds and events of a remote place. No description can substitute one’s own impressions from the place. In order to feel the magnificence of the pyramids in Giza, one should walk around them. In order to be inspired with the beauty of a coral reef, one needs to go diving. In order to be stunned with the radiance of the Himalayas, one must go hiking there.
What is more, travelling enables us to meet the representatives of other cultures. To go to the opposite corner of the world means to meet people of different races, nationalities, religious and linguistic groups. To live there for a significant amount of time means to become more tolerant.
Last but not least, travelling presents a great opportunity to escape from the hustle and bustle of the life in the concrete jungle. What could be better than lying on the sandy beach, under the canopy of palm-trees, lulled by the murmur of the sky-blue sea and the songs of the birds of paradise.
To conclude, travelling is the perfect way of broadening one’s horizons, building connections and simply relaxing. Any travel comes, however, to an end, but this does not reduce the charm of it. On the contrary, as Lin Yutang said, ‘No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow’.
