A Letter to Those Stuck in the Travel Rat Race: Here's How You Can Slow Down and Savour Your Trips

Dear traveller,

When was the last time you travelled somewhere and you did not do so for Instagram? Think, pause, reflect— I’m sure your mind races back to those days when social media didn’t quite exist. The days when we travelled for the sake of travelling, and not for seeking flowery validation from the world.

When we see those flashy grids of travellers posing in almost every corner of the world, FOMO hits us real. The social media rat race might have led us to travel half-heartedly, where even thinking about travelling makes our minds ponder over those ‘insta-worthy places’, well-dressed, colourful shots of ours on far-flung mountains and beaches, elaborate captions to go along with our pictures, sugar coating our experiences, and of course, #wanderlust. I’m guilty.

If you’re someone like me, caught in the rat race of chasing places after places over weekends, ticking destinations and experiences off your bucket list, have this constant itch to update your Instagram bio with the number of countries you’ve covered every time you travel abroad, then hear me out.

It does not necessarily have to be ‘perfect’ all the time

We know how it works. Looking for the perfect backdrop for the picture, perfect lighting, perfect outfit to go along with, perfect hairstyle and the perfect preset- while we keep looking out for the perfect post for Instagram, we lose out on all those moments we could have embraced if we were really focusing on perfecting travel instead.

Before you happen to click a picture with your phone, make sure you’ve captured a vivid memory with your eyes

Remember the time when only a few of us would have these roll film cameras that we would only use to collect precious memories from our trips? Remember how all of us have these ‘dedicated’ physical photo albums that you can still take out from your old cabinet even today, caress those familiar pages with your fingers, and think- “Wow… that used to be me!”

Today, if a picture isn’t at par with the social media benchmark, we make sure we keep clicking, clicking and clicking until we really manage to click the one that we feel will fetch us the most number of likes. For most of us, more than collecting memories and experiences, travelling is about getting the right validations and followers on the go. And I feel you! 🥺

“The faster you travel, the faster you get to satisfy your wanderlust” - said no real traveller ever

I mean, the number of times I've looked at my list of holidays and have rolled my eyes🙄- let’s not get there! And coming across posts of almost every other person getting to spend weeks and months in some exotic land only makes us feel more pathetic about our lives. *sigh*

But trust me, you are not missing out on a lot if you don't get to travel all days of the year.

Let’s not forget WHY we started travelling in the first place- to learn about a new culture, to expand our perception about life in general and to come back with moments that we will cherish throughout our lives.

While we’ve signed up for the marathon of clicking the most number of pictures in most number of places, we often ignore how while doing so, we end up squeezing a lot into a little bit of time.

Thus, it’s important to travel slow. There’s beauty in taking time to appreciate what is around us, relax our batteries, connect with the locals and indulge in more authentic experiences.

Let’s bid goodbye to surface-level trips

The social media generation has led more and more crowds to pour into places that were once considered pious and untouched. While a significant boost to the local economy is certainly good, there are also several negative impacts of mass tourism that can cause more harm to the destination than doing any good.

In the era of Instagram influencers, let’s use our influence to create awareness around meaningful and responsible travel rather than engaging in surface-level trips.

Remember,

Don’t just cover miles for those unending series of posts, travel because your heart wants to!

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