The Value of a Plane Ticket

I will quickly offer a brief explanation --  and if I may be so presumptuous (and I have my doubts), an apology – for not writing in many months. I have been busy soaking up new experiences, but a more accurate excuse lies in the lack of deadlines, external or internal. If only the muse move, my writing doth not improve.

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In slightly less than a month, I will be headed off to India. I will be meeting my friend (Clive) in New Delhi and we will subsequently be traveling with the vaguest of plans for an entire month. The goal at this point is to see as much as possible in that time,  journeying far and wide, in all directions, instead of plumbing all the tourist secrets in a small region.

More content will be posted during the trip and after the trip, but what I wish to discuss now is the justification of such a pricey venture. This trip is expensive. The plane ticket is the largest cost, even with a bit knocked off via credit card points. But this cost is rivaled by the lost opportunity of making tens upon tens of dollars over 30 days of unpaid vacation. Follow this up with a few hundred for an Indian visa, travel insurance, doctor’s appointments and prescription malaria pills, hostels, food, domestic transportation, and a few gifts. 

What could possibly justify these expenses? I submit it’s not the direct tangible costs of plane fuel, constricted leg room, and less-than-gourmet food options. Nor do I suspect the value lies in the high-probability of food poisoning, theft, or insect bites. What then?

Well, memories are certainly key. Stories are invaluable, especially if they involve coincidentally meeting someone you know in another country, or if the experience was especially brutal. (“So there was this one time I suffered greatly in China… Not that that's historically unique...") A good story can illustrate a point, divert from small talk, and lure people into viewing your photos (just to insure you weren't lying).

Ah yes. No trip would be the same without said photo album. I admit it would be devastating to lose trip photos, such expressive, detailed reminders and visual communicators. I would pay a good deal to recover my images, each one carrying part of a story slowly fading from my mind.

At my age, other travel benefits include living on bare minimums, in countries with favorable exchange rates. Hostel life, street food, experiencing striking independence, and self-direction in another nation. In later years, I may resort to resorting, maybe, but only if I pursue 'educationally productive' trips now.

Better Photographed Than Eaten

And don't forget to count the calories. In a country with exotic food, every meal is an adventure. When there's a translator present, it's nice to know what it being consumed. But other times, it's better photographed and skipped altogether. One may also return home with new culinary abilities, such as pompously deeming foreign food inauthentic and commenting loudly that it was much better while traveling. Highly valuable.

I am also interested in establishing other countries as ‘real’. It’s quite a different thing to look at a map, watch a documentary, or hear stories, than to experience touching moments. Talking to and connecting with locals enunciates the difference in world views and reveals cultural viewpoints. For example, seeing firsthand how close the Lebanese-Israeli border is -- where rockets were launched in 2006 -- sheds light on the reality of Israeli survival. International politics become real.

I find that stepping away from home also lends the mind to new thoughts, plans, and goals. Retreating and pondering what is truly important and worth living for. Leaving the roat and routine, taking walks under the stars, across the world from those important players in my life. Rethinking theology and philosophy with an attempt to fit the novel into my established mental framework; sometimes, the framework needs to be altered. It’s a moving aspect I now pursue once a year.

And then there is the return. Gratitude to God for returning to loved ones and for the good life we live in America. Back to a home that feels slightly foreign at first. Memories and stories pour out to others over the following months, dwindling little by little with passing weeks. The influence of the trip fades away, leaving only a potent lesson or two, always fresh in mind.

Recalling past trips, I now publicly admit addiction to this yearly venture. There is so much of the world to see, so many places to enrich life and befriend beyonderful fellow humans.

In the end, the plain costs are much less than the invaluable nature of travel.

Be Good,

Enjoy Life,

Yaffe

Beyonderful: Beyond wonderful.