What do you do when you travel?

 

Why do people travel?

Most people at some point in their life will have an urge to travel. This may be a two week holiday to somewhere warm to top up your suntan or this could be a life changing year, or longer, trip. Everyone has their own reasons that they decide to travel but most people are triggered by something. This is often a life-changing event or it could be a sudden change of feeling giving you the desire to fly the nest and set off on an adventure.

Contrary to popular belief, traveling can teach you more than a classroom, job, or relationship ever will. I’ve found that people’s definitions of “the real world” vary quite a bit. For me, the real world means packing up and leaving your comfort zone, the familiar, your safe place, and experiencing unknown things – a new place, new people who may not understand you, unfamiliar customs, the list goes on. Traveling is being in the real world, and here are 10 vital lessons that it will teach you.

1. To be more patient

2. To leave your comfort zone

3. To be more curious

4. To appreciate other cultures

5. To live simply

6. To make friends with strangers

7. To embrace your solo travel experience

8. To try new things

9. To think creatively

10. To find beauty in small things

Best Travel Destinations

 

MALDIVES

                        The Maldives (/ˈmɒldiːvz/ or /ˈmɔːldaɪvz/); Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ Dhivehi Raa’jey), officially the Republic of Maldives, is a South Asian sovereign state, located in the Indian Ocean, situated in the Arabian Sea. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India. The chain of 26 atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to the Addu City in the south. Comprising a territory spanning roughly 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), the Maldives is one of the world’s most geographically dispersed countries, as well as the smallest Asian country by land area and population, with around 427,756 inhabitants. Malé is the capital and most populated city, traditionally called the “King’s Island” for its central location.

 

What’s best to do in Maldives?

1. Diving

The Maldives is one of the premier scuba diving destinations on earth and if there is one place you need to give it a try, it’s here. There are many affordable PADI dive centers where you can take a discovery dive if you are not certified, or sign up for several dive options to one of the many reefs.

The Maldives is known for its stingrays, whale shark migration and sea turtles. The crystal clear blue waters offer incredible visibility and there’s no need for a wetsuit here, the water’s warm and inviting.

2. Snorkeling

If scuba diving isn’t your thing, snorkeling is a great option. The reefs are so pristine in the Maldives that you don’t have to go deep to see a lot!

We went snorkeling with sea turtles and saw more than half a dozen munching their lunches at the reef. Spending a solid two hours in the water, we also managed to see so much more than just sea turtles.

My favourite was the immense schools of colourful fish flocking together as they floated with the tides. When three masses came together, we felt as if we were in our own giant aquarium.

3. Dolphin Spotting

When you arrive at Cinnamon Hakurra, we asked our greeter what she thinks is one of the best things to do in the Maldives is. “Hands down, The Dolphin excursion” She said.

So we decided to do it. Just before sunset, we set out in search of pods of dolphins. It didn’t take long for a captain to spot one and before long; the dolphins were playing in our wake a leaping at our bow. 

You will see a few dolphins in the wild, and we must say, the dolphins in the Maldives are some of the most active and playful we have ever seen!

They flipped and twirled out of the water putting on a great show for us.

We were also very pleased to see that the captain of our boat didn’t get too close to the dolphins or chase them too much.

He kept a safe distance letting the dolphins swim off should they choose to do so.

4. Island Hopping

Believe it or not, there is a large settlement in the Maldives and many locals live and work on the islands.

If you stay at a private island in the Maldives, make sure to book an excursion to visit the nearby communities.

The Maldives follow strict a Muslim culture so be sure to dress respectably with long skirts/shorts and no spaghetti strap sleeves.

I wore shorts but just brought a sarong with me to put on when we landed at the islands.

GREECE

Greece, the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. Geography has greatly influenced the country’s development. Mountains have historically restricted internal communications, but the sea has opened up wider horizons. The total land area of Greece (one-fifth of which is made up of the Greek islands) is comparable in size to England or the U.S. state of Alabama.

Greece has more than 2,000 islands, of which about 170 are inhabited; some of the easternmost Aegean islands lie just a few miles off the Turkish coast. The country’s capital is Athens, which expanded rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. Attikí (ancient Greek: Attica), the area around the capital, is now home to about one-third of the country’s entire population.

A Greek legend has it that God distributed soil through a sieve and used the stones that remained to build Greece. The country’s barren landscape has historically caused the people to migrate. The Greeks, like the Jews and the Armenians, traditionally have been a people of diaspora, and several million people of Greek descent live in various parts of the world. Xeniteia, or sojourning in foreign lands, with its strong overtones of nostalgia for the faraway homeland, has been a central element in the historical experience of the Greek people.

Greece is a country that is at once European, Balkan, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern. It lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa and is heir to the heritages of Classical Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule.

Best travel destinations in Greece

1. Acropolis

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, “highest point, extremity”) and πόλις (polis, “city”).^[1] Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as “The Acropolis” without qualification. During ancient times it was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site’s most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.

2. Parthenon

The Parthenon (/ˈpɑːrθəˌnɒn, –nən/; Ancient Greek: Παρθενών; Greek: Παρθενώνας, Parthenónas) is a former temple^[4][5] on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory. As of 2007 the Greek Ministry of Culture was carrying out a programme of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure.

The Parthenon itself replaced an older temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon, that was destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480 BC. The temple is archaeoastronomically aligned to the Hyades. Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon served a practical purpose as the city treasury. For a time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire. In the final decade of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

After the Ottoman conquest, it was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s. On 26 September 1687, an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. From 1800 to 1803, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures with the alleged permission of the Ottoman Empire.^{[citation needed]} These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the British Museum in London, where they are now displayed. Since 1983 (on the initiative of Culture Minister Melina Mercouri), the Greek government has been committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece.

3. Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Greek: Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός, Naós tou Olympíou Diós), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the centre of the Greek capital Athens. It was dedicated to “Olympian” Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman period the temple -that included 104 colossal columns- was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.

The temple’s glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged during a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD, just about a century after its completion. It was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter. In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was extensively quarried for building materials to supply building projects elsewhere in the city. Despite this, a substantial part of the temple remains today, notably sixteen of the original gigantic columns, and it continues to be part of a very important archaeological site of Greece.

4. Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus (/oʊˈlɪmpəs, əˈlɪm-/; Greek: Όλυμπος Olympos, for Modern Greek also transliterated Olimbos, [ˈolimbos] or [ˈolibos]) is the highest mountain of Greece. It is located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, between the regional units of Pieria and Larissa, about 80 km (50 mi) southwest from Thessaloniki. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks, deep gorges, and exceptional biodiversity. The highest peak, Mytikas (Μύτικας Mýtikas), meaning “nose”, rises to 2,918 metres (9,573 ft). It is one of the highest peaks in Europe in terms of topographic prominence.

Olympus was notable in Greek mythology as the home of the Greek gods, on Mytikas peak. Mount Olympus is also noted for its rich flora. It has been a National Park, the first in Greece, since 1938. It is also a World Biosphere Reserve.

Every year, thousands of people visit Olympus to admire its fauna and flora, tour its slopes, and reach its peaks. Organized mountain refuges and various mountaineering and climbing routes are available to visitors who want to explore it. The usual starting point is the town of Litochoro, on the eastern foothills of the mountain, 100 km from Thessaloniki, where, in summer, several Olympus Marathons terminates.

4. Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion (also “Hephesteum”; Ancient Greek: Ἡφαιστεῖον, Greek: Ναός Ηφαίστου) or earlier as the Theseion (also “Theseum”; Ancient Greek: Θησεῖον, Greek: Θησείο), is a well-preserved Greek temple; it remains standing largely as built. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of Saint George Akamates. The building’s condition has been maintained due to its history of varied use.

5. Sidari

Sidari (Greek: Σιδάρι) is a settlement in the northern part of the island of Corfu. It is a community of the municipal unit of Esperies. In 2011 its population was 386.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and lying east to the Asian mainland. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone and has a predominantly mountainous terrain. It comprises an estimated 51.4 million residents distributed over 100,363 km² (38,750 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10 million.

Archaeology indicates that the Korean Peninsula was inhabited by early humans starting from the Lower Paleolithic period (2.6 Ma–300 Ka). The history of Korea begins with the foundation of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary king Dangun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Unified Silla in AD 668, Korea was subsequently ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). It was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S. zones of occupations. A separate election was held in the U.S. zone in 1948 which led to the creation of the Republic of Korea (ROK), while the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established in the Soviet zone. The United Nations at the time passed a resolution declaring the ROK to be the only lawful government in Korea.

The Korean War began in 1950 when forces from the North invaded the South. The war lasted three years and involved the U.S., China, the Soviet Union and several other nations. The border between the two nations remains the most heavily fortified in the world. Under long-time military leader Park Chung-hee, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country was transformed into a G-20 major economy. Military rule ended in 1987, and the country is now a presidential republic consisting of 17 administrative divisions.

South Korea is a developed country and a high-income economy, with a “very high” Human Development Index, ranking 22nd in the world. The country is considered a regional power and is the world’s 11th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 12th largest by PPP as of 2010. South Korea is a global leader in the industrial and technological sectors, being the world’s 5th largest exporter and 8th largest importer. Its export-driven economy primarily focuses production on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, the United Nations, Uniting for Consensus, G20, the WTO and OECD and is a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.

History of South Korea

South Korea, country in East Asia. It occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. The country is bordered by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west; to the southeast it is separated from the Japanese island of Tsushima by the Korea Strait. South Korea makes up about 45 percent of the peninsula’s land area. The capital is Seoul (Sŏul).

South Korea faces North Korea across a demilitarized zone (DMZ) 2.5 miles (4 km) wide that was established by the terms of the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War (1950–53). The DMZ, which runs for about 150 miles (240 km), constitutes the 1953 military cease-fire line and roughly follows latitude 38° N (the 38th parallel) from the mouth of the Han River on the west coast of the Korean peninsula to a little south of the North Korean town of Kosŏng on the east coast.

Why should people visit South Korea?

“I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.” – John Green.