Travel Diaries

(This is a post the I originally wrote for my college’s blog but I think it’s quite a good subject to put in here as well)

With the upcoming Olympics in 2012 is important to use the advantages that people from London have been given. I’ve heard so much moaning over the past months about how busy London is going to be and how everything is going to fail from the shock of the influx of visitors.

Technorati Tags: 2012, London, Olympics

Travel fear is something that I haven’t come across very often. Having travelled from a young age and never having any bad experiences, travelling for me has been nothing but a mind expanding enjoyable thing. But after a short time at college learning about both package tours and tailor-made holidays it seems that there is a somewhat scary feeling about travelling. There are a few common causes of Travel fear:

Travel Fear #1 – The Fear of the Unknown

Firstly, wading into the unknown is something that people just generally don’t like to do. It’s the fear of change that gets people. Not having all the luxuries and comforts of home can be a huge factor of people’s travelling habits. For example, some people would prefer to travel in their own country so that they still have some kind of safety blanket. They know the language, they can still get hold of their favorite foods and the climate will be very similar. Travelling in your own country is obviously not a bad thing (I’d absolutely love to see more of the UK and have a fantastic time when I do so) but I think a lot of people tend to do this rather than going further afield because of fear.

Travel Fear #2- Economic Fears

Secondly, the economic climate is less than perfect at the moment. It seems like every other week another company ends up down the toilet and this can only further the fear of those who are looking to travel. Substantial amounts of money is spent in the industry every year and people are very worried about where their money is going and what they are getting for it. If you’re going to pay £2000 for your yearly holiday it makes sense to be fairly nervous when spending it.

Travel Fear #3 – The Fear of Technology

For those of us that are nifty with technology, using the internet is an almost faultless (notice I said almost!) way to research, plan and book our holidays. For those who are less technologically inclined or just don’t have access to the web it can be a daunting task! When booking online you are signing contracts whether you actually read the terms of service or not, there’s a lot of jargon that can trip us up along the way and some people still just don’t feeling safe using their bank details online. Even reading that back makes me a little worried!

Travel Fear #4 – Media Perceptions

Lastly but defiantly not least, the media plays a massive part in peoples perceptions. Even one little article in the nightly newspaper or on the news can have a huge detrimental affect on people’s perceptions. Take for example some of the world more popular clubbing destinations. Many of these areas have a huge amount of culture and beauty but are looked over as holiday destinations because they have a stigma attached to them.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned in my 19 years (a long time I know!) it’s that taking chance is something that you should do regardless of how nervous it makes you. If you don’t take a chance on travelling outside your comfort zone, if you don’t take the chance that your holiday might not have been worth all that money, if you don’t attempt to use technology to your advantage and if you don’t try things out for yourself you will be severely missing out. You should have the same opportunities as everyone else so don’t take that away from yourself! Take the plunge..

Whilst milling around twitter and other blogs I came across a post by Wandering Earl which fits in quite nicely with this. He talks about the fear of travelling on your own so go and have a look around there for some more reading!

Do you have a fear about travelling that stops you from reaching your goals?

Technorati Tags: comfort zone, Fear, nervous, Travelling

So, this is the first of my hopefully many blog posts about my familys upcoming trip to Finland. this time next year, in summer 2011 we will be set to embark on a trek across Europe and Scandinavia. Starting of in our hometown of London, England, we will travel through 7 countries eventually ending up in Lapland, Finland.

My blogging will be mainly about how we are planning for the trip, things we will need to be prepared for, items we will be taking with us, things we plan to see and do in the countries we stay in, where we will stay and much much more.

Technorati Tags: Finland, Holiday, Travel