When I am asked about my next departure, and if it is to a destination I have been to before, I often find I am met with disdain. It shocks and annoys me every time. The questions or
comments that follow include: ‘Why not go somewhere else?’ or ‘There’s a whole world out there’. I usually respond with an exasperated *sigh*, maybe a side eye or an eye roll to follow, before trying to explain my sentiments and being met with even more resistance. But it has happened one too many times now, so perhaps if I put pen to paper, going forward I can refer people to this post!
In addition, I will provide an insight as to why I believe revisiting destinations is a must and hopefully change what I feel can be a narrow perspective:
1. As the old adage says, it’s the journey not the destination that matters! – I do not like to see travel destinations as a mere tick-box exercise and I do not like to cram everything into one trip with limited time, purely to say it has been done. Rather I like to take my time and fully immerse myself in the experience and in the culture of my host country, picking up the language where possible. So if that means I do not have the time to do everything I want to do on one trip, then I will save the rest for another trip at a later date. Simple 🙂
2. To quote one of my favourite Lion King songs, the Circle of Life, ‘there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do, than can ever be done’ – It is only fitting that I use Tanzania as a reference point in this example. I have been to the Republic of Tanzania four times (and counting). The first saw me spend three months volunteering in Mgongo village near Singida, somewhere I would have never been had it not been for volunteering with Raleigh ICS. The second time I spent 10 days on Unjuga, the big island who with Pemba make up the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. My next trip (where I had the luxury of more time) took me to Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater (quite possibly my favourite place on earth!), The Serengeti, Makuyuni (a Maasai village), Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Mafia Island! And I’m still not done with Tanzania, there is so much more I have to explore. Each experience has been incredible and taught me so much. Perhaps if I had decided that once was enough, I would not have had some of the greatest memories and met some of the greatest people. Furthermore, there is always more to see, especially if you get off the beaten track and so limiting yourself to only going once may mean you miss out on so much.
3. Things change – In short, when I visited the Ngorongoro Crater (did I mention this was quite possibly my favourite place on earth?) it was in September, during the dry season and everywhere was a beautiful golden yellow colour. I have since stumbled across pictures on Instagram of the same place during the wet season and I could not believe my eyes. It was so lusciously green, it looked like a completely different place! I want to see this for myself, hence I shall be returning – a change in season will therefore bringing about a completely different experience. So imagine what a few years can do!
4. You do not limit yourself – I do not like the thought of closing the door to a destination. The thought of leaving a place with a view that I will never come back saddens me. I just find it so limiting and so final. I also usually make local friends when I travel, and it saddens me to think I would never see them again. Revisiting changes that, and I feel opens your mind.
5. If you love somewhere, you leave your heart there – Revisiting a place enables the chance to revisits old memories and create new ones. There are many places that I have travelled to that I would love to go to again both solo and with loved ones.
The more I solo travel, the more I see and travel differently. What are your thoughts on revisiting destinations? Please comment below.
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