3 Journeys that Turn travel into your hobby
It seems ridiculous that someone might consider traveling part of their hobbies. Most of us can’t spend our lives jet-setting around the world, cooking up new adventures to the same tune that you might play pickleball.
That said, I like a hobby that pushes my mind and creates an impression on my character. Travel can be as regular or passionate, accessible or expensive as you want, just like any hobby. So yes, you could consider travel a hobby, but it is important to have the right frame of mind. Maybe ‘hobby travel’ is more of a solo journey.
Like all hobbies, people can be intimidated to start and traveling alone is no different. Stereotypes about different cultures or self-consciousness get in the way but trust me it’s not that scary. Solo travelers explore where they want, on their own timeline. They are more adaptable able to pick who makes their experience and purpose, allowing for greater introspection. Going solo might be the best way to make your travels a hobby.
Here are some hobby trips you must take in your lifetime.
A Day Trip Close to Home: The Train to NYC.
A day trip close to home: The train to NYC.
If you live on the east coast, just know that you’re blessed to have the Amtrak connecting you between all the major cities. It’s much more enjoyable to relax on a 1.5-hour train ride from Philly to NYC than sit on the 405 Freeway for 1.5 hours from Los Angeles to Los Angeles. HA
Local adventures offer a perfect start to travel as a hobby. If you want to test the waters before you plan a longer journey, or just want to keep it simple try spending a weekend somewhere close by, but unfamiliar. 24-48 hours is usually enough time by yourself to realize whether or not hobby travel is for you. Use this as a staging ground to test your extroversion and curiosity.
I recently took a 3-day trip to NYC, and this might be one of the best places to do it! I checked into a hotel with no plans to meet anyone I knew or do anything that felt routine. During this trip I mapped out my areas of interest but did not hesitate to deviate if something better came along.
The #1 thing you need to do on a hobby trip is check your mood! Be in good spirits, because everyone around you will mirror your attitude. In NYC there are countless opportunities to meet new people, so don’t let one bad interaction get you down. My Saturday night started at the Moxy rooftop bar in the East Village. Knowing my plan was to head to the New York Comedy Club, I was in a bubbly spirit. Leaving the club, I was practically foaming out the mouth and chatted my way until I caught a 4:30 AM uber back to Times Square. Letting the comedy club set the tone for a night out might be the best idea. In the city that never sleeps, bars don’t close, the bouncers just let you know when its past your bedtime.
By the end of your first hobby trip, check your outcomes. Question yourself. What mood did this leave me in? Did I meet anyone? What's their story? What is this place? Check your mood, check your feelings. If they are positive hobby travel just might be for you.
A vacation by yourself: One week in Athens
If you can survive a day trip, you got a hobby vacation on lock. You’re going to need more commitment and it’s going to challenging, but so are all hobbies at first!
A vacation by yourself is a great test of character. This is where it all begins because the stigma that comes with being alone during a time most people carve out for their friends and family is real. But after all, it is better to go alone than to not go at all!
For a solo-hobby vacation it's better to go to a city with tourists and locals alike. There are some pretty obvious ways to fail a solo trip from the get go.. taking a cruise that is set up for families is probably not the best idea. Not putting yourself out there is another. One of my favorite solo vacation trips I made was to the great city of Athens, Greece. At no point during my 5-day stay did I feel alone. There were a few ways that I made sure of this.
1. I did not stop.
Many people want to relax on vacation and that is so understandable. Balancing work and life is difficult, and we need a few days to just unwind and not have a care in the world. However, my trip to Athens proved to me that taking 20k steps a day was the minimum needed to find what I was looking for. Every day I jammed my schedule with another excited corner of the city. Whether I was trying out the best Souvlaki or just strolling along the winding narrow corridors in the Anafiotika. I usually stopped around the middle of the day to grab a charge, but for the most part it was go, go, go.
I think if it was not go, go, go, I would have missed out on some great connections with locals and other travelers. On my first day in Athens, l ate at a roof top restaurant in Plaka while the sun set. Afterwards, fighting the urge to go back to my neighborhood and rest before going out for the night, I decided to take a look at the Prison of Socrates which is located in the park near the Acropolis.
This unplanned evening stroll turned into my best experience in Athens. As I climbed further up the hill to watch the sunset with a better view of the Parthenon, I stumbled upon a local performance of traditional Greek Polyphonic music, where a group of singers simultaneously recite their independent melodies, but in a way that harmonizes beautifully and with unique grace.
Struck by this experience, I connected to the music and the crowd by politely asking questions about what exactly I was witnessing. After the concert, a local group who had all the information invited me out to drinks in a nearby neighborhood where I had the opportunity to connect with more locals, from cooks to actors. We talked food and drink, Athens night life and even recounted a hilarious story of a twelve-hour boat ride to a remote Greek island that turned into an unexpected encounter with actor Tom Hanks and his wife.
When you are on a solo travel, forget about the stops. Too often we miss the opportunity to adventure because our mind does not view the journey as the adventure, but instead fixates on the destination. As cliche as this sounds taking this away this framework can greatly improve your experience and allow you to let down your guard with he people around you!
2. I was not embarrassed.
It's easy to care about what others are thinking about us, but if you really want to make the most of your solo adventure, please strip yourself of all expectations and do not hold back. It's easy to be embarrassed of going it alone, and you might think that others around you are judging, but most people are just happy to be there and want to experience the same thing as you.
You should feel proud of yourself that you are comfortable alone and embrace the unknown. it's true that many travel tours or attractions are done in groups, and you may seem like the odd one out, however this is not true and actually leaves you to think freely and connect with the guides. Because I was alone, I connected with a group of young people who worked the local cafe on my corner near Monsteraki Square. Although I am generally open to talking to anyone, our one-on-one interactions made it easier and more conformable to share more about ourselves. Every day I would have my morning coffee/pastry with them and talk travel, music or Greek culture. They recommended many places, including the Queens Amalia’s Botanical Gardens, which I would’ve otherwise not seen. Next time you are in Athens please check out Cafe Creme Royale which makes the best pizza-like pastries you’ve ever tasted. Bonus points if you get the cheese pie.
Here are two of the best travel activities that are surprisingly better done solo.
Museums: exhibitions are all about perspective and characterization. A group tour with a guide is an awesome idea and will give you the chance to meet others. However, going it alone and asking questions of strangers is not a bad idea either. During 2nd day in Athens, I explored the National History Museum. Tours routinely stop by this amazing gallery of ancient Greek and pre-Greek artifacts, like the Mycenaeans. Every corner you turn, another spiel (usually in English) of interesting perspectives and tales about what you are viewing. Guides love when you engage and lend them your ears.
Bar Crawl/Dining Out: This is the easily the most fun to do solo. Not only are people more open to casual hangouts and conversation during night life, but bar hopping serves as a bridge to connect tourist with locals. During my first night in Athens, I arrived at my hotel a quarter till midnight on Saturday. Since my flight was delayed, I was eager to hit the town the same night, I did not want to waste any time. In the taxi from the airport, I picked the mind of my driver, George and we joked about how I needed to stay out all night. From our conversation and drive he was able to give me a basic layout of the nightlife in the city center near Psyrri, which is a hip neighborhood with old roots that younger locals love at night. He recommended some bars right away, based on my interest of music and meeting locals.
The first place I stopped would be a great bar for live music called Faust Bar. Here I actually met a few locals that told me about other shows happening later that week. I ultimately did not attend, but I later hit them up on Whatsapp to show my appreciation. After a band finished, I made my way to The Clumsies, a local club open late. Here, I had no problem striking up conversation and humor with the young Athenians, who are very keen in English and pop culture. We talked about everything from music to history and even politics. Everyone was pleased to chat the American and we stayed out past 4AM.
Monsteraki Square at night.
A transformational Journey: a year in romania
My last recommendation is that you take a trip that transforms. A trip that is longer and defined by purpose and adaptation in order to grow. These adventures are not for the faint of heart and take a lot of courage. Roaming without a defined end is exciting and can radically transform your life! you will be surprised who you become. Take into consideration these points before you set off.
1. Purpose
Having a defined purpose of your journey is very important even if you do not know what the outcome will be. in 2018 I left for Romania with the intention to help care for my friend's dying father. Along the way my purpose became aligned with several others.
While living in Bucharest I applied to join Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer and intern. This opportunity helped me better understand housing and public utility deficits impoverished Romanian faced. During this time, I worked closely with the team on the construction of a community center in the outskirts of Bucharest. The community center was going to be used as an afterschool facility for children whose parents could not supervise them during this time. According to Habitat for Humanity, at the time, Children in Romania faced several challenges that stemmed from lack of basic utilities, like plumbing. Another issue children face is the cultural phenomena of forced begging. Stronger communities with better infrastructure to support children was the obvious solution and the priority for Habitat for Humanity in this particular project.
Later, I asked Habitat for Humanity to sponsor my visa to stay longer in Romania. By this time, I had developed a network of communities I was working with in various ways. Primarily, I did what was necessary to help my friend's father who was dying. When I found out Habitat for Humanity could not sponsor my visa, I quickly turned to an orphanage that was organized by Caritas International, a Catholic charity. They quickly stepped up to sponsor my visa after several months of volunteering as tutor and mentor to the kids.
My travels in Romania came to an end when my friend's father eventually passed away. The purpose of my journey had come to an end. Having never delt with the trauma of losing a loved one, this journey became a transformational experience. Not only did I step up to fulfill a meaning purpose of my travels, but it also taught me invaluable lessons on adaptation.
2. Adapt
As a student of Anthropology, I learned that understanding the process of integration and adaptation is crucial to gaining a transformational experience. Time is what allows us to adapt. Language and customs wash over us and stick with each day that passes. The simplest of actions and impressions can have a lasting effect on you.
To change yourself, you must change your surroundings. However, in the modern age of technology, we can walk through life in a bubble, no matter where we are. With your eyes glued to the screen you won't transform anything about yourself. A prolonged journey that will truly transform you needs new people. By the end of your journey, your inner circle should be completely different.
Let who influences your day-to-day life pick you. It won't be so obvious at first, but time will tell. As my friend's father's condition worsened, I became closer and closer to his wife, who I eventually looked up to as my Romanian mother. She taught me everything about her life. How to farm and find the best mountain spring water, how cook, how to buy insurance and eventually how to commemorate the passing of loved one. We attended weddings, Easter dinner parties, soccer matches. We went ice skating, got pulled over by the police and even enjoyed a little dancing to 80s music. This family took me in as their own and showed me their way of life. There is a reason they call it a mother tongue. With each passing day came a new event, ceremony, chore or ritual. With time the language was as plainly though off by myself as my daily routine.
Change is survival. No human would have made it this far without a healthy dose of it. It is survival of the fittest, and adaptation breeds transformation. Stripping the ego, the past, and your comforts to embrace a new sense of self is what a transformational journey is. If you can do it once you can do it again and again.
Thanks for reading, and best of Luck!
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