Genn’s Perspective
It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once over the years.
“Why do you travel so much?”
It’s a fair question. My parents have probably wandered the same thing, especially when another trip appears on the calendar not long after we’ve just returned from one.
For a long time, I wasn’t sure how to answer.
The easy response is that everyone spends their time and money differently. Some collect watches, some buy designer handbags, some enjoy fine dining. We choose to travel.
But that never felt like the real answer.
Travel has become less about seeing more places and more about seeing life more clearly.
Each journey reminds me how small I am in a world that is unimaginably vast. Standing beneath towering mountains, watching the sea hurl itself against ancient cliffs or wandering through streets that have existed for centuries before I arrived and will remain long after I’ve left–it becomes difficult to believe that my own worries are as overwhelming as they sometimes seem.
Travel has a way of putting life back into perspective.
It also changes me in quieter ways. Every unfamiliar places asks me to be curious instead of certain, patient instead of hurried, open instead of assuming I already know. Even when I return to a destination I’ve visited before, I discover something different–not because the place has changed, but because I have.
Perhaps most importantly, travel gives us something increasingly rare: uninterrupted time together. Away from work, routines and responsibilities, the days become wonderfully simple. We walk. We talk. We get lost. We share meals that stretch into long conversations. These moments have become some of the richest parts of our lives, not because they happen somewhere extraordinary, but because we are fully present for them.
I used to think that I travel to discover the world.
Now I think I travel to remember what matters.
Life has a way of filling itself with obligations, deadlines and distractions. Left unchecked, I can become consumed by them. Travel doesn’t solve life’s problems, but it gently resets my perspective. Somewhere between leaving home and returning, the noise becomes quieter, gratitude becomes louder, and I find myself again.
So why do I travel?
Not to escape my life.
But to return to it with clearer eyes, a lighter heart, and a renewed appreciation for the people and ordinary days waiting for me at home.
Wilson’s Perspective
I travel because life is too short to stay in one place, and because different destinations give me different reasons to smile. Japan is my happy place: castles, temples, the Shikoku pilgrimmage and onsen all make me feel like I am stepping into a world I truly enjoy. There is something special about being there–part history, part peace and part “I could stay here longer.”
Korea and Taipei are also meaningful because my wife goes there, so these trips are not just about the destination, but about sharing the journey together. Europe is for a bigger dream: my wife wants to see the other side of the world, and I am happy to be the travel companion on that adventure. As for the USA, that one is more serious–it is for work, so I go there with a different mindset.
In the end, I travel for a mix of love, curiosity and duty. Some trips are for the heart, some for famiy, and some for the job. And honestly, that makes life a lot more interesting.
Wayfaring: Still 