Travelling is expensive. There’s no two ways around it. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of comments telling me about all these amazing hipster travellers who saw Europe on $100 or something, and that’s great. I, however, and probably many others, aren’t super comfortable with the “crash on the couches of strangers” method of travel and I saw the movie Hostel, so there’s that. I prefer the “stay in a lovely hotel or B and B for a week and poke around” method. Again, I’m probably provoking plenty of comments about how that’s just tourist nonsense and I’ll never get a sense of the culture that way, and we’ll just have to disagree politely. Especially because that’s not the point of this article, and what I’m about to say is going to infuriate die hard cultural immersion travellers. If you can’t afford to travel and are feeling a little wanderlust, plop down in your computer chair with a few exotic snacks and watch some travel videos online.
I’m serious! National Geographic traveller videos are amazing! National Geographic trips go all over the world, to places you’ve never even heard of and, in some cases, could never hope to visit in your wildest dreams. Some of the best travel movies go deep into the heart of the Amazon, high up in the Tibetan mountains, or even through some of the world’s best loved cities. In the hour it takes you to watch two travel videos online, you can learn and see more than you might be able to fit into a whole week. Plus, they’ve conveniently broken down the language barrier for you with lovely subtitles.
Last year, we decided to start saving for a future possible little one, so our plans to visit Greece were put on hiatus. Don’t talk to me about it. As an alternative, we threw a Travel National Geographic Style party with some friends. We found a couple amazing travel videos online, put together a great Greek inspired spread, and even decorated our loft with some fabulous Greek style art. No, it didn’t come close to the real thing. And yes, I’m a potentially horrible future mother who is wondering how this possible future belly parasite could possibly be worth replacing a trip to Greece with an olive bar and some travel videos. But do you know what? It was really fun. And as a bonus, it made me even more excited to visit Greece later. I’ve got some great new ideas about what I want to see and do, which definitely qualifies as a half win.
So maybe you can’t afford to travel the world. But you probably do have access to an International Foods aisle and some travel videos. So take advantage of them! It’s not the same, but it’s definitely something.
