Scared of travelling? Read this comic.

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      A wise person once noted that the truly fortunate on this earth have twigged into the fact that it’s better to collect experiences than things. When you are sitting around with friends at the bar, or people you’ve just met at a party, no one wants to hear the tale of how you bought a 92-inch flatscreen plasma television on Boxing Day.

      The story of how you spent 24 hours on the Mekong Delta wrangling snakes, hi-fiving barefoot kids on passing fishing boats, and drinking home-made rice whiskey with a dude who looked like Kill Bill’s Pai Mei, however? Gold, and not just because that experience will help you instantly connect with others who are also happiest when anywhere but home.

      The sad reality is that travelling scares the living shit out of some people. When you’re standing on a dark street corner in Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, or Hanoi, looking for a guide book recommended-restaurant that doesn’t seem to exist, it’s hard not to feel like a stranger in a strange land. And try hopping into a rusted-out, exhaust-fumigated ’32 Packard in Havana sometime, taking the driver’s word that he is indeed a state-sanctioned taxi cab who’ll happily take you back to your Casa Particular that nine out of 10 tourists have never heard of.

      Chances are that, for reasons that go back to childhoods where “Don’t talk to strangers” was a mantra, travelling terrifies you for all the wrong reasons. If that’s the case, check out this truly great comic by Natalie Nourigat. And then get on the phone and book plane tickets to somewhere. And by "somewhere", we’re talking Laos, not Las Vegas.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Margaret Meps Schulte

      Apr 16, 2014 at 9:39pm

      YES! YES! YES! You have captured in a nutshell exactly what I write about in my new book, Strangers Have the Best Candy -- that being willing to take risks and talk to strangers leads to a life filled with adventure and friendship.

      Joyce

      Apr 17, 2014 at 5:50am

      But you don't have to go to the Mekong Delta for your stories. Get out with friends! Go canoeing with friends and have a mishap! Go camping and forget something and make do! The belly-laugh stories, the ones you keep for years, are those you have with friends.