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Experience the Real World Through Travelling
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
I did not consider myself as a traveller until recently. Before, I consider travelling as a waste of time and money. I mean, with all those books, magazines, and movies, you would know everything about the world, right? That does not include the massive amount of information about the world in the Internet. Well, that was what I thought until I took one of those beachfront holidays to Majorca when my friends convinced me to take a break from work.
When I arrived in Majorca, the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, I found a place that is very different from what I studied or read in guide books and the Internet. Majorca's capital, had always been a rustic, old, dusty town from my readings. What I saw was a bustling metropolis with all the conveniences of modernity. Hidden behind castles, churches, rickety fish ports, and cobblestone pathways are new apartment buildings, shopping centres, marinas, and wide avenues. I had always envisioned the place to be very provincial with horses and donkeys walking down the street. The city's main thoroughfares were teeming with hundreds of cars and buses.
The next day, Guerrero, my contact and an ex-classmate of my wife, fetched me at the hotel where I'm staying so he can show me around. It was disappointing when he told me he was taking me to the famous ruins. I mean, who would want to see disintegrating ruins in the first place? But having seen the ruins of the Roman City of Pollentia, I was dumbstruck. They were works of art from nature. It makes me wonder how ancient Romans were able to put those rocks up on top of the other. It makes one question how those huge stone pillars were built without the aid of modern day engineering techniques. Makes you wonder how they were able to come up with very intricate designs without the aid of technology. I had always thought that the ruins would just bore me to death; I was wrong.
Guerrero then brought me to where the best beaches in the world were. Beaches to me were identical: seascapes and sandy shores. When I got there, however, I was amazed. The sand was finer than in most beaches I saw. As the sun began to descend over the horizon, the view simply spectacular. Since we were situated near Albufera, which is a natural park, we saw different kinds of sea birds, some of which I can't identify. No wonder that this area is popular for bird watching. Being a photographer and an avid bird watcher myself, the place proved to be very interesting.
That evening, Guerrero took me to a nice promenade near the beach of Alcudia to have dinner. I tried the conventional dishes that I've seen in travel guides; they are definitely delicious! And most importantly, the people were actually very friendly; some of Guerrero's friends who happened to dine there that night made me feel at home. It was a huge contrast to my belief that Spaniards are aloof and daunting.
Travelling opened my eyes to the reality. Indeed, what we know in the Internet, books, or movies is nothing like the real world. Now I believe that travelling, indeed, is a great teacher.
When I arrived in Majorca, the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, I found a place that is very different from what I studied or read in guide books and the Internet. Majorca's capital, had always been a rustic, old, dusty town from my readings. What I saw was a bustling metropolis with all the conveniences of modernity. Hidden behind castles, churches, rickety fish ports, and cobblestone pathways are new apartment buildings, shopping centres, marinas, and wide avenues. I had always envisioned the place to be very provincial with horses and donkeys walking down the street. The city's main thoroughfares were teeming with hundreds of cars and buses.
The next day, Guerrero, my contact and an ex-classmate of my wife, fetched me at the hotel where I'm staying so he can show me around. It was disappointing when he told me he was taking me to the famous ruins. I mean, who would want to see disintegrating ruins in the first place? But having seen the ruins of the Roman City of Pollentia, I was dumbstruck. They were works of art from nature. It makes me wonder how ancient Romans were able to put those rocks up on top of the other. It makes one question how those huge stone pillars were built without the aid of modern day engineering techniques. Makes you wonder how they were able to come up with very intricate designs without the aid of technology. I had always thought that the ruins would just bore me to death; I was wrong.
Guerrero then brought me to where the best beaches in the world were. Beaches to me were identical: seascapes and sandy shores. When I got there, however, I was amazed. The sand was finer than in most beaches I saw. As the sun began to descend over the horizon, the view simply spectacular. Since we were situated near Albufera, which is a natural park, we saw different kinds of sea birds, some of which I can't identify. No wonder that this area is popular for bird watching. Being a photographer and an avid bird watcher myself, the place proved to be very interesting.
That evening, Guerrero took me to a nice promenade near the beach of Alcudia to have dinner. I tried the conventional dishes that I've seen in travel guides; they are definitely delicious! And most importantly, the people were actually very friendly; some of Guerrero's friends who happened to dine there that night made me feel at home. It was a huge contrast to my belief that Spaniards are aloof and daunting.
Travelling opened my eyes to the reality. Indeed, what we know in the Internet, books, or movies is nothing like the real world. Now I believe that travelling, indeed, is a great teacher.
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Reserve a ticket and have the chance to get a cheap holidays deals 2013, and get ready to knew the real world!
