Ten reasons why travel is like magic

Travel is the closest thing to magic I have ever experienced (except for when I left rose petals in jam-jar lids for the fairies at the bottom of my garden and the next day, they had eaten them all up). Here are my ten reasons why travel is like magic:

1. Time seems to stop still back home. It’s as though you are stepping into the magic wardrobe in Narnia and, when you get back home, nothing has changed for them and everything has changed for you. There is no way of returning to what used to be. Your mindset is completely different and, even if you wanted to go back to life before, it will never be the same.

2. It allows you to feel the same sense of wonder as when you were a child. Everything is new and you are absorbing it like a sponge. You might even sound child-like rattling on to your friends about where you’ve just been. Words spill from your mouth as though they will never run out!

3. It fills you to the brim with happiness. When travelling around the world and meeting other back packers in hostels, castles, tuk-tuks or wherever the friendship starts, people are filled with smiles. Even when you talk to people back at home, their faces light up at the very mention of the word ‘travel’.

4. You can move through time. Yes, you are literally flying through time zones. You can fly back in time if you want to (if only for a few hours), or forward into the future!

5. You get to travel in a flying machine. In a matter of hours, you could land across the other side of the world in a completely different culture and climate. In the olden days, the thought that this would be a regular mode of transport would have been ludicrous. Now, most of us take it for granted.

6. Not everyone is lucky enough to experience it. For whatever reason (whether it be due to family commitments, lack of finances, or simply no desire to do so) not everyone gets to experience the magic of exploring the world.

7. You need to believe it if you want it to happen. If you don’t think it will happen, chances are it never will. You need to believe that you can do it. Take the risk! You won’t be disappointed.

8. Everything seems to sparkle when you travel. The world has a magical glow and every new place/person/experience seems AMAZING! My first European journals are filled with far too many words like ‘beautiful,’ ‘incredible,’ ‘fantastic,’ ‘unbelievable,’ ‘magnificent’ etc. It may be a bit cringe-worthy to read back on, but it’s true. Travelling sparkles like magic.

9. You get to be who ever you want to be! Nobody knows you, so you can freely reinvent yourself, or just be someone else for a day. I once met a lady who decided to put on a different character every time she went travelling – doctor, teacher, chef, mother of three! She loved it! Even more importantly, you can be your true, uninhibited self.

10. You see things you thought only existed in your imagination. You know those endless white sandy beaches, turquoise water, palm trees and coconut cocktails? Those soft-powdered slopes of snow? Those tree houses in the depths of the lush jungle? Yep! They actually exist! And yes, you can go there if only you believe…

Can you think of any more reasons why travel is like magic?