Oh, how this list of things about travel that make me so happy could fill a book!
But I decided to list just a few since so many friends and family are sharing their gratitude lists with me each year in November. I write a gratitude list daily, but for this post, I thought it would be nice to focus on things that make me happy when it comes to travel. I have been smiling all day as the memories filled me with joy.
I know I will probably be updating this list often because I have hundreds, thousands of beautiful memories and experiences with friends around the world that I will never forget!
A few years ago, I wrote an article called, “The Most Amazing, Happiest Experiences I’ve Had While Traveling,” but I just could not fit everything into one post, so here are a few more reasons I have fallen madly in love with travel, and some of my beautiful experiences.
The excitement of flying on a plane, especially going someplace you’ve never been before
Finding the secret Jankara “Juju” Market in Nigeria, where voodoo priestesses sell spells and incantations, and hundreds of severed monkey heads
Going to Kelaat M’Guna, Morocco, where there is an annual Rose Festival for locals, where you can buy exquisite, rose-scented soaps, shampoos, and facial creams
Trying new dishes you’ve never even heard of
Dancing barefoot and sinking into the desert sand under a thousand stars
Kissing a stranger
Soaking in Firewater, the healing sulfur baths in Jamaica
Making a new friend when you both speak a completely different language
Staying at a luxurious hotel
Swimming under a secret waterfall, not the one in guidebooks, but the one that locals camp next to, and wake up to bathe nude and swim in, far from the tourist trail
Attending a wedding in a foreign country
Praying with people who have a different religion
Making love to a new partner you meet abroad while he stares into your eyes and caresses your face
Waking at sunrise without an alarm
Rose flavored water
Sleeping late, your lover’s arms and legs entwined with yours
Having an enormous breakfast with 5 different types of pancakes, bread, jams, and sweet syrup
Having a huge platter of freshly sliced tropical fruits
Having all your meals garnished with fresh flowers
Living out of a small carry-on bag and not having to decide what to wear
Sleeping a few feet from the ocean, falling asleep to the rolling waves
Using perfumed shower gel, shampoos, and conditioners in exquisite, exotic bottles
Tasting rose-flavored ice cream for the very first time
Being complimented by a stranger on “how big and beautiful” you are, and knowing he is serious
Not shaving your legs, and having a female friend who is proud of her beard because her Rastafarian boyfriend loves her being “natural” and hairy
Eating fried crickets and other bugs in Thailand even though they are boring and bland but you are proud of your courage and willingness to try new things
Eating Maharajah Macs at McDonald’s in Mumbai (where cows are sacred) even though you have no idea what you are actually eating
Having a new man giddily informs you he is going to take you to a “Very special, very romantic place for the best chicken dinner you have ever had!” only to arrive at KFC
Finding new kittens the size of your palm purring softly, sunbathing on an antique velvet chair at a shop in the medina
Playing with an antique deck of cards from France as you listen to Berber musicians playing drums in the desert in Morocco
Being terrified to go parasailing, only to exhale and fall madly in love instantly with the sensation of flying over the ocean in The Bahamas
Living in a cave on a mountain
Hearing Budda Bar music for the first time, sitting around a campfire at the edge of the Red Sea in Dahab, Egypt
Pushing myself to walk more, eat healthier, and get “lost”, keeping myself open to new experiences, expanding my perspective
Riding on the back of a motorcycle on a first date that was wildly romantic and sweet, pressing my chest close against his back, having no choice but to wrap my arms around him, my inner thighs firmly against him, leaning close to smell his cologne, absolutely freezing but never ever wanting the night to end
Sitting close together, slowly sipping coffee at a rooftop cafe overlooking the bustling medina, frustrated at the inability to spend the night together in a country where fornication is illegal, but simultaneously savoring the innocence and beauty of love growing without soiling it with too soon pre-marital sex
Lying alone at a desert camp under 20 blankets, looking up at the expanse of stars in the vast universe
Going scuba diving for the first time, gasping at the intense, overwhelming emotions as fish and sea creatures of bold, vibrant colors and shapes silently pass
Sipping tropical, fruity mocktails with gaudy umbrellas in Koh Samui under a bamboo hut restaurant overlooking the ocean as the rain pours down on my birthday
The strange sensation of listening to a concert with local musicians in a foreign country halfway around the world, and unexpectedly hearing your name being yelled from a friend back home you had no idea would be there
Riding through narrow alleys and side streets on the back of motorcycles as both you and your traveling companion are wearing elegant, magnificent, fancy caftans, on your way to a new local friend’s wedding
Attending “Kal Ho Na Ho, starring Shah Rukh Khan, your first Bollywood film in a Mumbai theater where seats are assigned, and everyone in the audience gets up to sing and dance together every time a song comes on
Buying the perfect travel bag in Taiwan at the night market for $2 that you then bring to over 30 countries
Driving through fairytale villages in Vienna with cobblestone streets and stone cottages
Drinking at a Lord of the Rings themed pub where employees dress in Gandolf and Smeagle costumes in Killarney, Ireland
Being washed, scrubbed, and massaged at a Moroccan hammam
Sitting on the roof on a mountain, overlooking the ocean below where the sun is setting in front of you giving a spectacular sunset, the full moon is glowing on the left of you, the rain is falling behind you, and a double rainbow framing it all make you believe you must be dreaming
Sitting in the famous Leopold’s Cafe in Mumbai with the group of 6 women from around the world who you are all sharing one double bed within a budget hotel, after getting kicked out of your hostel, laughing and joking and praying you will never forget this exact moment
Eating slowly smoked, jerk chicken from a huge black oil drum, cooked by a rasta on the side of the beach road in Negril at 3 am
For more reasons to fall in love with travel, click here.
Things about travel that make me happy.. If I am writing this piece the reason is travel… The reason I turned into a poet is a visit to a place that I am going to write about here… …….. I was an absolute realist in my younger years. I believed in the present rather than be fascinated to dream and be drawn into fantasies. Till I took a flight to the beautiful Lakshadweep islands over Arabian Sea. It was a tour that took me to an archepelago, a goup of Islands tucked deep at the edge of Indian Ocean. It… Read more »
Oh, how lovely! Your writing is so beautiful and poetic. If you ever want to write for Love Lust or Bust, we would love to publish your stories and poetry. Please send any travel story or experience (or poem!) to travelriter (AT) gmail.com. Thank you again for such a lovely story!