The Roots of My Travels

Yay for Thursday! Two reasons why I’m excited today: because it’s almost the weekend, and I get to blog about my throwback travels.

Today I’m writing about where my love for travels might have most likely started from.

One of the things I remember vividly from my childhood is the big world map that my dad hung up the wall. Everyday my brother and I would, as part of our games, go up to that map and read through the colorful countries. I remember wondering about countries and how far away the Philippines was from them, surrounded by seas.

Could we take a boat and row all the way to Indonesia? It seems pretty close.

Why are these countries called Turkey, Greenland, Finland, Oman and Laos (Laos, when translated to Filipino, is ‘used to be a star, but not anymore’)?

Mongolia is smaller compared to China, how were they able to conquer it? As well as Rome – it is so small yet it was able to establish an empire.

If we go to the easternmost tip of Russia how long would it take us to drive all the way to Portugal.

How do countries situated next to each other know if they already crossed the border? Is there a long fence or wall? Why are there lots of countries in one big chunk of land? Can’t they just be one country so it’s easier to remember?

Why is there snow in other countries and not where I am?

Of course no one answered those questions for me and my brother, as our mom and dad were at work and by the time they got home we would have already moved on from these thoughts.

I believe subconsciously that curiosity lingered on. That was why as I got older, and the world progressed from the conventional way of booking tickets (going to an actual airline ticketing office and getting the plane tickets tucked in envelopes) to the more efficient online flight bookings, I’ve raced away as much as I could, visiting one country to another. I’m glad D is game to fly with me, and he’s also into getting lost and exploring our way around.

Like the big map I grew up with, the world is bigger – with many beautiful places, people, cultures, nature to find and appreciate. I’m thankful to my Dad because he was the catalyst to my curiosity, and eventually motivation, to travel.