WANDERLUST FOR ALL AGES

J. Maarten Troost said, “Paradise was always over there, a day's sail away.”

Indeed, that is how connoisseurs of travel describe what wanderlust means to them. It is the joy that comes from travelling and exploring, a never ending thirst that is only quenched momentarily from experiencing each new city or culture. .

Our age, our history and our personality all play a part in shaping our view of wanderlust and this fascinating interplay of backgrounds shaping a person's love for travel is what prompted me to look into the minds of three people -- a teenager, a young man, and a middle aged individual -- to better understand how each of them feel about travelling.

To a Teenager
Armaan, 15, is a starry-eyed basketball fanatic who has travelled just enough to taste the joy of it, but not nearly enough to satiate his curiosity of the world just yet. To him, wanderlust is defined by exploring new places and trying new things, while also making a connection with the places he visits and the people residing in them. He realised all of this on a trip to England, where he felt both the excitement of being in a new place and the comfort of knowing a country he'd one day like to call home.

The rest of Europe sounds very exciting to him too. He wants to visit Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and experience the city famous for its food and sight-seeing, as well as Scotland -- the land of bagpipes, courtesy of his love for the movie 'Skyfall'. A bigger dream for his basketball-crazed heart, however, is to visit the American Airlines Arena or the Los Angeles Stadium in the US.

His ultimate travel dream is to visit every child's 'Promised Land' -- Disneyland. Asked to describe the perfect scenario he has always dreamed of with respect to travelling, he says, “I want to stand in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at night with my group of friends, with fireworks going off in the sky. I expect Disneyland to be magical.”

To a Young Man
Navid, 27, is another travel-hungry young man who has visited parts of Bangladesh, India and the UK, but seeks to experience and explore the rest of the world.

Not a big fan of crowded places, Navid's travel dreams comprise mainly of visiting peaceful, serene locations with the blues and greens of nature, in the company of a small group of friends. Among the places he has visited thus far, he describes Rhossili in Swansea as a personal favourite. “There's an amazing atmosphere there with not too many people and the beach is perfect with warm ocean water in the afternoon in summer,” he says.
Having visited picturesque parts of the UK, Navid's travel dreams spin back to home, where he would like to visit Bandarban, Nazimgar, Dusai, Saint Martin and Kuakata because, in his own words, “I haven't yet seen how beautiful my own country is.”

One dream he has harboured since childhood is to travel on a ship like the Queen Mary with a group of friends. Besides this, he would also like to travel to New Zealand and the land known as the 'Heaven on Earth' -- Kashmir.
As the years passed by, Navid's travel dreams seem to have evolved and even suffered a setback, with other priorities getting in the way. However, he plans on saving up and waiting for the right time when he and his group of friends will all be able to make a trip together.

He looks forward to making this dream vacation come true, with one perfect scenario in mind: “A beach surrounded by mountains on either side, where my friends and I will be singing and strumming guitars late into the night.”

To a Middle-Aged Man
The third person I spoke to is a man in his fifties who wishes to stay anonymous and views wanderlust differently from the desire to explore. For him, it represents relaxation -- a respite away from the hassles left back home, a place where he will enjoy good food and beautiful scenery without being bothered by any kind of work or inconvenience.

He wishes to travel to Moscow, Istanbul and Kashmir but his favourite destination in the world is one he has already visited -- Makkah. The peace he gained from experiencing the lifestyle of the city and even from sleeping in the mosques there are unparalleled to him.

His love for travel has evolved from a desire to explore to gaining spiritual peace in the company of his wife at this point in life. When asked to describe a perfect scenario with respect to travelling, he describes a simple cottage surrounded by colourful plants, with a view of hills and mountains. But a view of the Ka'aba, he goes on, is even more majestic.

Love for travel means different things for different people. It may be a passionate dream for someone who hasn't travelled much or a means of relaxing and unwinding for someone who already travels a lot. For me, the word 'wanderlust' brings to mind a sparkling image of places and people that I have read about, places that I'd like to experience for myself. Here's hoping that at least some of our travel dreams come true and if not, that the dreaming never stops.