Back in university, I remember attending a course on travel and culture, and we were discussing if traveling is subconsciously enjoyable because it offers people a break from the routines of their daily mundane lives.
Oh, c’mon! You don’t have to attend a university course to know that, do you?
Perhaps I might have known about it all along, but just wasn’t bright enough to ponder about it seriously.
Think about it: isn’t traveling a form of escapism? Remember the elation on the first day, when you break free from the routines of the office, or from the tyranny of the in-laws?
That was exciting, wasn’t it? Best feeling in the world.
Then, you begin to settle into an itinerary, or checklist, or something. There are planes to catch, places to visit, people to meet. You don’t just go somewhere without having some sort of plan to do something (even the nightly pub crawl counts!).
So, since we are traveling within the constraints of an itinerary, aren’t we actually moving from one routine (that of our daily lives) to that of a tourist (or a traveler – some swear there is a difference between the two)?
I don’t know. I don’t even know if it matters!
