Travel now not tomorrow

  Is it nosiness or addiction? Some of us love to travel. Our favourite websites are devoted to escaping, and we dream of the next trip whether it is to an airport, train station or port. For others, however, the idea of packing clothes into a bag and setting out into the unknown is right down there with a rain-soaked hike through a swamp. I do understand why people may be turned off travel. Paul Theroux, the travel writer who has journeyed through most of the earth’s great continents, described journeys as great inconvenience interrupted by the occasional epiphany. And we’ve all experienced the break downs of flights and buses, the reservations that don’t exist and the surly locals who wish we had stayed at home. It can all be far from ideal. But it doesn’t deter those of us devoted to that next trip. In fact, the inconveniences often make us want to go further and for longer. After all, we have proven ourselves in adversity and can have pride in our perseverance. This inner gri...