Aprilnego

Soo often, I hear people make this statement “you must be rich to afford all your travels” sometimes I find it amusing and other times I ponder on why they relate travel to being rich. So this is to all the individuals who ever said that to me and to you out there asking yourself “do I need to be rich to travel?”, this is my thought. NO, you don’t need to be rich to travel. I repeat, you don’t need to be rich to travel. I believe traveling starts with going out of the home to take challenges and overcome your fears. I have the slightest idea why society links “travel” to the “rich” unless they’re trying to say “travel” makes you “rich” in terms of experiences and thoughts then I can relate. Traveling wasn’t made for the rich, it’s for everyone including you and I.

Heading towards Wli waterfalls on a motorbike from Gbledi Estate … Memories I’ll cherish forever

For me, travel consists of creativity, adventure, relaxation and a world of discovery(culture) hence my reason you don’t need to be rich to travel. Your traveling expenses will depend on your expectations, perception and living conditions. So if staying in an expensive resort, eating buffet food and sitting by a pool or beach is what you mean by traveling, then you need money to travel.This holiday type of travels is perfect once in a while but when done often is almost always the same experience you get, sounds cool but can also be very boring.

A relaxing day at the beach, enjoying views

My friend Herty ahead of me on our way to wli waterfalls.

Actually, traveling on the cheap can be more fun and presents you with more beautiful and rich travel experiences the “expensive traveler” most of the time will not get. You meet both the locals and fellow travelers, gain a genuine understanding of how life works in other places, and you have opportunities to see and do things that regular tourists will never see. I travel to experience new things rather than trying to find a more “relaxing’ version of home and for these experience, money is rarely a priority.

An example will be my Journey to the East post. I went to Koforidua on a budget which didn’t cost me more than a GHS100.

Sitting pretty under the umbrella rock

On top of mountain Afadja, highest mountain in Ghana

I am not rich, no, not even close, yet it doesn’t limit me from satisfying my curiosity. I believe people sometimes use money as an excuse not to travel, even if they had all the money in the world, they’ll d probably come up with another excuse not to go eg. safety. This is where priorities set in, if travel is your priority, you’ll find a way to make it happen just like I do. Booking a flight to spend the weekend at a resort in Thailand getting a Thai massage and all the goodies is cool, I mean really awesome but you don’t actually need to leave the country or travel far away to experience true travel. It’s a mindset, all you need is a curiosity to see, feel and experience things that are foreign to you.

How I act upon seeing sunset/sunrise… things I love

Upclose with naturebat lake bosomtwi

So it doesn’t matter where you go or what you do there, as long as it makes you uncomfortable, it’s different and exciting,that’s real travel.

I hope this post motivates you to push your boundaries, feed your soul, have fun and travel more. I want to know your take, do you need to be rich to travel? Comment your thoughts below and don’t forget to subscribe for updates if you like this post.

Love, April.