Every spring break international students travel all around the world. To California, Florida, Cancun, Puerto Rico, Japan, China, France, UK, on and on.
For the city of Cancun, what does it mean to be occupied with luxury hotels, fancy international food, water entertainment activities, and, tourists? For modern travelers, what does it mean to crave for natural, cultural and/or spiritual adventures on one hand and demand for physical comfort and enjoyment on the other hand?
Back at home, people travel across China over holidays. To the Great Wall, Zhouzhuang, Sanya, Fenghuang, Lijiang, Lhasa, on and on.
In the ancient water town of Zhouzhuang, we can’t even see the river along the road we stand on. We come to an ancient (or modern) land, surrounded by ancient (or modern) architectures, but how does that ancientness (or modernity) relate to us if we don’t ever belong there, even for a second? After having traveled to many different places, what have they left for us, in addition to photos, happiness and a slight pride? What are our happiness and pride of traveling based on? And we, what have we left for the places we have traveled to?
Why do we travel? What value are we seeking from traveling?
“Transformation.”
“Happiness.”
“Broadening horizon.”
“Learning.”
“Accompaniment with fellow travelers…”
Wait a second…
Where do we actually get these experiences from? Has traveling across physical spaces succeeded in bringing these experiences to our life?
It seems as if we are often connecting traveling across physical space with traveling across mind(s). I am actually a big fan of pursuing this connection. But how, and in what sense, can we solidify this connection?