“Travel is the change in location of people on a trip through the means of transport from one location to another. Travel is most commonly done for recreation (as part of tourism or to visit friends and family), for business or for commuting but may be for numerous other reasons, such as migration, fleeing war, etc. Travel may occur by walking or human powered mode, or through mechanical vehicles, either as private or public transport”

This is the closest definition I could find on the web, when I nurtured my curious mind to figure out what travel exactly means. I always thought traveling came to me naturally through my mom, who had visited the whole of India with her gang way back in the 70’s. But she could never really make a golden comeback to this world and satiate her wanderlust, giving in to the day to day chores of family life. I traveled out of my state for the first time only when I was 18 and thought I could relive the stories heard from mom, by actually visiting places.
My travel started on this note and soon I was reaching places and announcing my footsteps by calling mom. But was it the only thing that was triggering me? Not really. The realization of an innate lust to go mobile and keep moving was making me break the shackles and run away whenever possible. Finding an answer to my question “why do we travel” was alluring enough for me and I started drawing conclusions from my observations.
I have met a few travelers all this while and from my observations I have broadly classified traveling into two types:

1. Travel by force

2. Travel by choice

Travel by force does not necessarily mean a business travel, or traveling to catch up an event. This can be traveling just for the sake of advertising to fellow colleagues and friends, more aptly “I had been there, done that”, “I am going to “X” location for my honeymoon”; even if they would have only slept in the cozy comforts of their hotels and didn’t even get out once to explore the place! For them, I feel, it’s better to spend a vacation in the plush five start suites of their own city than shell out some extra airfare and visit a distant, so called “famous” place. But alas! Our tourism industry thrives on these travelers. They fill the pockets of numerous travel agents by their routine travel plans every year. “oh no the hotelier charged us more; Ohh GOD, the flight got delayed; how come the color of sky is not crimson now, that photo showed it that way; you know what?? John and Mira are visiting Bahamas, they will say to everyone and broadcast their pics on blogger, flicker, orkut and facebook, What would I show??” – These cribs crisply define the modern day forced traveler! Let their spirits remain high.

Travel by choice belongs to a unique category of human beings bitten by the ever poking bug called “wanderlust”. They would travel thousands of miles only to capture that one view, one frame, and one moment forever in their eyes, senses and lenses. They would travel all the way from Andes to Patagonia, from Amazon to Lithuania, only to explore all that is unexplored, only to discover the wonders of their planet. The mere idea of packing their backpack sends a chill through their spine, the sight of people running everywhere in busy stations and airports excites them. The passing sceneries from the framed train windows mesmerize them. The smile in a stranger’s face in an unknown land looks mysterious to them. They gulp anything new thrown at them by the ambiance. The sight of the rising sun behind the tall mountains feeds their hunger. The wilderness of the forests is melody to their ears. They move and move by virtue of the innate centrifugal force which drives them. They are the explorers .They are the real travelers. They are people who forgo their cushy jobs or fancy savings in the bank, to go trotting around the globe only to rediscover Siberian reindeer farms and hidden treasures at Egyptian pyramids. These people are so addicted to find out anything new to their eyes, that they go to the extent of challenging their static self every now and then. Some travelers are interested in exploring nature, like diverse floras and faunas and varied landscapes, for some others it’s the people, rituals, art and culture, than anything else. No wonder all explorers have been great travelers.

The travel industry has seen a major surge in its customers, in this decade. But what really bothers me is the motive behind this. What is the fuss about “Honeymoon Trips”? It’s more a part of the marriage ritual now than exploring and appreciating the beauty and uniqueness of the place to be visited. It has become another way to squander wealth in the most inappropriate manner. For all others, who feel they need to go around the world, but have some or the other constraints stopping you. Explore the world around you! There is so much to see!

If all of us travel to discover anything new to our eyes, we will soon have more stories published than read and more photos taken than seen. Traveling to see the unseen and know the unknown and then sharing the experiences with everyone else can be the best answer to the question “Why do we travel?” At least it is that way for me!