The first time we travel it is exhilirating. The second, exciting. The third, less exciting. And so it goes. I don’t know how it works for everyone else, but for me, the thrill of travel has been extinguished. I no longer find it exciting and no longer bother to plan for it. I do, however, still find it “interesting”. What I mean by this is that there now must be another purpose aside from just flitting around and seeing a bunch of stuff. There now has to be a purpose which must be linked to my interests or sense of curiosity. My recent trip to Myanmar (Burma) is a case in point. I wanted to go there to get the inside scoop on the polictical situation and how the people were living under these circumstances. A totally worthwhile excursion.
So many people have asked me if I “loved” Burma or if I had a great time. So when I answer “no”, people are shocked. Just because it wasn’t fun fun fun all the time, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile. I’m just not going to get all giddy like a schoolgirl over travel any more.
In some ways, this is a little sad. I wish I still got excited by travel. Now, travel simply serves a purpose and I’m OK with that. What about you? Have you become a little numb to travel excitement?