One can say that each and every year brings around some change in our life. Some changes are minor, and some are a turning point. For me, the last decade was life changing in terms of my new found love for travelling. 

I got married in 2010, just at the beginning of the decade, and from then on, me and my husband went on various trips. And I’ve got to say that, as cheesy as it may sound, it has opened a new world for me. Visiting different cities, different countries, meeting different people and experiencing different ways of lives, is honestly a life-changing factor. 

I cannot pinpoint a place that has changed me completely as a person. However I noticed that I feel more comfortable going around cities and being around different people. With time, you learn how to choose your destination for your trips according to your current needs – when you want to feel energised, you go to a city and wander around. When you want to refocus, you go somewhere away from the people, rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere or take a beach trip. When, on the other hand, you feel like you’ve come to a dead end and you are craving for something more, you look for a place that will put you on edge, a completely different culture or environment. 

This world has so much to offer, and sometimes we end up so much focused on our life, our routine, our environment – that we forget to look beyond our bubble, towards things that will refresh our perspective.

This decade has also made me realise that going round the world is not a challenge. It’s not like I’m in a race where I need to visit every country before my time runs out. The older I grow, the more I see travel as a tool that helps me deal with life. If I feel like going to a city for the fifth time because that’s what I need, I would choose that over a new place which might be overwhelming during that particular time. 

Having said that, I still follow one rule which helps me grow – as the Dalai Lama rightly put it: 

“Once a year go someplace you’ve never been before”

Why do you travel? Was there a place that you visited during the last decade, that has changed the way you look at life?