What Constitutes Being "Well Traveled"?

[mso489]

I'm no world traveler. I've known a few. One woman botanist has wintered over in Siberia, traveled all over China and Inner Mongolia with no translator, just a phrase book, met her third husband in the Amazon on a trek, and is always up for some other arduous journey.

I've been fortunate, in a way, having traveled some, and I like to mention it to new members here if I have touched base in their part of the world. I've seen spots in Europe -- England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands, France including Paris and the Provinces, and a lot of points in the U.S., though rather randomly. Some major sights I haven't seen. I've been to Toronto twice, and Montreal.

I was in Asia with the Navy during the Vietnam War -- coastal Vietnam, Hong Kong, Philippines, and Taiwan, and briefly on islands heading back to the U.S., like Guam and Kwajalein. I spent eight months on Midway Island, a U.S. territory in the Hawaiian chain but far from Honolulu. As an insightful friend of mine said, a college mentor, some people can travel the world and don't seem to have anything to say about any of it, and some people can live mostly in one small town and have a rich abundance of tales to tell.

What have your travels been? Do you like to travel? Do you have an places you'd especially like to go?

 

[sablebrush52]

Hardly well traveled myself. Been through most of the US and parts of Canada. Backpacked around England and Western Europe.

On the other hand, one of my oldest and closest friends has been to over 130 countries, many repeatedly

 

[Kobold]

I’m definitely not well travelled. I’ve been around most of the US and I went to England twice and Belgium once. I honestly don’t like traveling much these days. I like it once I’m at my destination but the traveling takes a lot out of me. Especially plane travel.

 

[warren]

I saw a lot of the world, breifly though and mostly only the parts near the various bases, as a loadmaster in the Air Force. I've worked in the Russian Far East, visited Ireland a few times and England. Been across Canada often enough. I've been up and down America. Across it more than once. Very few travels in the southern hemisphere. But, I've always come home to Alaska ... can't live without mountains at my back.

 

[Flatfish]

Been to the Czech Republic by bus twice as a student.
France twice by car.
Finally caught my first and only plane to Mallorca in 2019 aged 41 at the time.
That isn't much for 44 years. Don't think I'm likely to go anywhere soon.

 

[jpberg]

As a young man, I traveled a lot - Mid eighties to mid nineties. Slowed down after that, and post 9/11 it’s been for business only, unless by car.
It might be that youth gave excitement and overcame hurdles (sleeping at airports waiting for flights to be rescheduled was once an adventure, now it’s a minor catastrophe with demands for comps and a hotel room), but travel seems to have had all the joy sucked out of it.
Like I said, maybe it’s just middle age.

 

[bullet08]

Few countries plus most of eastern US and most of S. Korea. My friends don't travel out of the US at all.

 

[kcghost]

Not well traveled at all. I spent 23 months in Germany at Uncle Sugar's request. I have been to Toronto a few times for a few days each time. During my Youth my dad still had about twelve years to go, and he thought nothing of yanking us from school and whatever and away we went. I didn't attend kindergarten when I was a kid and still attended 19 schools in getting through grade 1-12. Once I got shed of him, I lived in the same area for the last 50+ years.

 

[pipingfool]

I've been through a good portion of the US, but not much of the Northeast except New York.

Countries I've visited have been Mexico, Barbados, Bahamas, St Marten, British Virgin Islands, France, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, The Netherlands, Ireland and Australia.

Don't know if that makes me "well-travelled", but my wife and I like to travel and hope to take our sons multiple places now that they are older.

 

[georged]

You just need to hook up with the right cats.

If they like you enough they'll take you for interstellar rides to their home star system, let you explore by flying around on a vxxzzzqttr, introduce you to mmmmvlrrpz, and do things like sample the local cuisine.

 

[filmguerilla]

I've been all over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Most of my traveling abroad was courtesy of Uncle Sam--four years stationed in Germany meant that I had a lot of time to explore pretty much every country in Europe at some point, and then of course, were the deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, and later to Iraq/Kuwait as a contractor. Once my daughter has grown up a bit more I plan to turn my sights to Africa and South America for some true exploring.

 

[dcicero]

I've worked throughout much of the US, been to Chile, Peru, and Mexico. I guess I'm not well traveled, but Ive seen enough to appreciate my blessings.

 

[trouttimes]

I be seen most of the world except the polar extremes. Some pleasure, some by accident, most on business. What a wonderful world it is.

 

[mingc]

I've lived in 3 countries and have visited 9 others, all in Asia or the Americas. I don't really consider myself well traveled. I've not been to Europe, Africa, Australia or Antarctica but hope to do so before I leave this mortal plane.

Of course, being someplace else doesn't automatically mean knowing the people there. The latter takes time, lots of time, and often knowledge of a different language. It can be a lot of fun though.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Though I've been to a few different countries, traveling doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Servant King]

Nope, you are all wrong. Only @georged has provided the correct answer.

This thread can be closed now!

 

[alaskanpiper]

So far:

Canada
Mexico
Costa Rica
Panama
Colombia
Aruba
St. Marten
St. Thomas
Australia
New Zealand
Vietnam
England
France
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany
Switzerland
Italy
Spain
South Africa

 

[Zack Miller]

Been to about forty states, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Malta, New Zealand, Mexico, India. The trip to India was a hoot. We got the red carpet treatment in India. The guy second from the left is my surrogate son. When we lived in Maine, we served as his host family While he was in college. The man on the far right is his father. The man with the turban is his grandfather who was an officer in the Burma Campaign and rose to become a four star general in the Indian Army. They took us to Agra and Jaipur. The picture was taken at his cousin’s wedding.

Lunch at the Rambagh Palace

 

[romaso]

That isn't much for 44 years.

But you've been to Wales! I've always wanted to tour all those huge castles of Edward I there that I can't even pronounce, like Aberwyswyth and Caernarfon.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

I'm not sure that being "well travelled" is much of a benefit. Perhaps the exposure to different culture and ways of living is useful to remind us that the world is made up of a lot of very different people; but the way that many people experience this kind of travel is -in my opinion- fleeting and probably not so true to reality, despite the experience and feelings around it that seem very real and true at the time.

I have a house on three different continents that I rotate through (no, I am not fabulously rich, it is a necessity). Within those bounds, my family travels quite often to various places in the Northern and Southern hemisphere. It is almost always work related, but we do take a lot of time as well to experience where we are by adding some weeks or months to places.

To be very honest, I see it as a detriment in many ways. I know people who travel to the places where I live for brief times and they seem to speak with an authority about local customs or whatever, while I -after having spent many years in such places- am still very much unsure of things. Culture and people and the natural environment are very, very complicated things. A couple of weeks or even months is nowhere near enough time to begin sorting it out. Maybe in a lifetime... if that.

I admire people who get to know a single place very well. That can be a rich and interesting experience that I am quite jealous of. Much more interesting than hearing about peoples' trips to various islands or beach resorts where they speak of the local people in a way that suggests they know what they're talking about... It's usually a lot of nonsense. Or carefully curated tourist information designed to put on a good show.

If I had it my way, I'd be the kind of guy to live at Walden Pond and study the ant colonies for awhile. Then maybe have a look at what the fish are doing. I'd have a lot more interesting things to say...