Travelling vs a holiday
What's the difference?
Do you want a holiday or do you want to travel? One will give you a break from life; the other will change the way you live it. That’s what has happened to me.
Here’s my take on it.
A holiday tends to be for a short specific time period, usually about 2 weeks or less. Travelling is open ended.
A holiday is usually fun, relaxing and enjoyable yet travelling will push you to the limit. Travelling is the best personal growth ever along with being in a relationship. If I’d believed in myself more I would have gone travelling more instead of spending $1,000s on coaching!
On holiday you tend to cram in as much as possible to make the most of your time. For me a day spent relaxing feels like a waste because I could be doing that at home!
On 21st June 2024 I arrived in Australia on the start of a 3 month journey. It was no holiday. I could have had a 2 or 3 week holiday seeing all the sights I saw and it would have cost me a lot more. It also wouldn’t have changed my life the way travelling did.
When I arrived I was in the ‘holiday’ mindset. I landed in Darwin where I stayed 3 nights before taking the bus down to Alice Springs. My intention was to do a trip to Uluru but I didn’t realise how far away it was. (It’s about 350km from Alice Springs and a 5 hour drive). All the accommodation at Yulara, the resort, was booked up because it was school holidays. This is something I would now check beforehand! It wouldn’t have been an issue if I was on holiday though because generally trips would have been pre-arranged as part of the package. I’d already booked a flight to the East Coast so I only saw the rock in the distance from the resort while I was waiting for my flight. At this point I’d been in Australia for 6 days. Phew!
4 days later I crashed. I had a fever and couldn’t get out of bed for a day and a half. Lesson learned.
I’ve taken solo holidays before but travelling alone can be very confronting. There are times I felt very vulnerable and afraid. For example, I was staying in a motel in Oakwood, just outside San Francisco. It wasn’t in the most salubrious area. As I lay in bed it occurred to me no one knew where I was. What if I disappeared? I felt very alone.
I now know that if I had I could be traced through my booking but in that moment I felt as if I was facing my worse fears. But in doing that, and not avoiding them, is when growth happens.
Travelling isn’t just about seeing new places. It’s about seeing yourself in a new light. When I left home I thought I was going on an adventure. I did but I also found confidence, resilience and a whole new perspective on life.