How to hike from Valbona to Theth
May 8, 2024
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Albania | Our guide to hiking from Valbona to Theth; two beautiful traditional villages lying deep in the Albanian Alps
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In this article, I recall how my life has changed in many ways having experienced the benefits of travelling the world…
I was surprisingly relaxed as I bid farewell to my parents on a cold winters night in Heathrow. Excited of course, but thoroughly in control of my emotions as I embarked on a six-month tour of South America. After all I’d done this before, albeit for a much smaller period of time and way closer to home, so I should have nothing to worry about. It’ll be an adventure. Alas, the confidence quickly evaporated. Less than 30 minutes later I was sat alone in the departure lounge approaching crisis mode. What was I doing? Why was I doing it? Can I still turn back?
Such are the thoughts and emotions of a traveller departing on their first solo adventure. As humans we tend to overthink things, making up imaginary scenarios that most likely won’t happen, but dissuade us from doing what we ultimately want to. Questions arise in abundance around loneliness, security, accommodation, transport and language barriers. It really can seem overwhelming at the time. Fear not, it’s natural to feel like this; you’re not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
Here are 15 reasons to be optimistic about the benefits of travelling.
You’re sat there in a cold-sweat; imagination running wild at the thought of entering a shared dormitory full of strangers. Memories flashback to your first day at school and that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach. Relax, it’s nothing like that. The truth is, everybody has the same concerns and we all want to feel comfortable in our surroundings.
My advice is to just be yourself, take the initiative and say hello; most people will immediately appreciate the fact that you’ve done this and respond accordingly. Over time confidence will increase the more you speak to people and before you know it, you’ll be approaching a group in the hostel bar and trading stories over a beer. That was something I would never have done before travelling on my own in South America.
This is one of the big benefits of travelling for me. From creating a travel pack to researching tomorrow’s bus timetable, it pays to be organised – if only to reduce stress. Whilst I would never, ever encourage anyone to have a long-term trip planned out and booked down to a tee (after all, what if you meet a really cool group of people and want to travel with them for a while?), I’d certainly endorse researching where you are travelling and the locations you’d like to visit.
Travelling will boost your planning and preparation skills, using them on a daily basis as you navigate unreliable public transport, factor in time for a surfing class or have your documentation ready for border crossing. You’ll soon be operating with military precision.
TIP: I reaped the rewards of preparing a pack for each country I planned to visit including a map with the locations of attractions I wanted to see. This enabled me to chart a rough route through one nation into another and was actually really useful when sitting with companions to discuss where we wanted to go next.
Credit: maps courtesy of the Nations Online Project.
Travelling isn’t a paradise where the world is rid of stress and anxiety; of course you’ll still be concerned if you miss your flight or your luggage goes wandering. Yet there’s no doubt that in the main, it’s very good for your mental health. Unshackled from routine and the stress of work, I felt a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in a very long time. It’s a great opportunity to disconnect from your daily life for a while, immersing yourself into a different world and enjoying a new culture or environment, doing what you want to do.
Take a breath, step back and look at everything from a different view; you might just gain a new perspective.
A great benefit of travelling is to appreciate the wonderful cultures in existence across the globe, dispelling myths and creating new, positive perceptions. There’s nothing like browsing a bustling street market in Bangkok, sampling local cuisine in Rome or learning a city’s rich history on a walking tour in Quito. It challenges the social conditioning we’ve been taught throughout our lives. Strangers can be friendly and helpful. Unorthodox foods can be exciting and delicious. In my case, even coffee can taste nice! (I hated it before I went to Colombia).
Without travelling, I would have never experienced homemade Nasi Goreng in Bali, crispy Empanada’s in Quito or the delicious Lulo fruit in Minca. It’s completely opened my eyes to an entirely new world of sweets and spices. Where possible, I love to try and replicate such dishes at home as something new for my family.
As I mentioned before, travelling isn’t one big fairytale. There will be occasions when you feel stress and anxiety. Arriving in Neiva bus terminal at dusk after a rough, sweaty ten-hour bus journey and being unable to find the right collectivo to the Tatacoa Desert was one. Another was when my entire trip was turned upon its head with the news that Ecuador was closing its borders and stopping all internal transportation due to Coronavirus. It was stressful, scary and concerning.
Yet, you’d be surprised how you react. I had to go against my instincts to freak out and stay calm, as I knew getting blustered would only make things worse. I needed to keep faith that my over-priced flight would remain on-schedule amidst the flurry of cancellations. I’ve come away from that experience stronger, knowing that I can handle unprecedented, alarming and complex situations when needed. I’ve learnt that it’s important to keep emotions in check, retain a clear head and deal with each setback as and when they arise. Most of all, I’m aware of my strengths and weaknesses in these situations and how to manage them.
The bad times contribute to your personal growth as much as the good.
Another huge benefit of travelling and a personal favourite. Rewind it back to the very start when you were sat on the couch agonising over whether to book that flight. How exhilarating did it feel when you pressed the button? Were you slightly scared? You made the decision that so many of us do not; you leapt into the unknown. That’s a big step.
From researching the destination and navigating the airport to arriving at the hostel and ordering dinner, you’ve taken responsibility and are in charge of your destiny. You’re independent, free and able to live your own way. You’ll undertake new experiences such as white-water rafting, hiking through a cloud forest and sampling local cuisine. Those basic language lessons taken before you left soon come in handy when ordering a meal as the waitress smiles and understands every word you said. There’s a lot to be said for how travelling boosts your self-belief and you can take this on into your career, personal life and future adventures.
There’s that brilliant quote in George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire from Jojen Reed, when he wisely proclaims, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” I firmly believe this can be applied to travel. You can live through a thousand experiences and situations you’d never have encountered if you hadn’t left the comfort of your hometown. More often than not, the adventures in those far off, distant lands are completely at odds with what you’re used to.
I often recall the first time I saw the market stalls in Khao San Road, wafting unfamiliar exotic scents. I have fond memories of cycling with my friends over the world-famous Golden Gate bridge before flying down the hillside road into Sausolito. These memories, alongside the pictures you take, will last with you forever. One day when you’re sat there with your grandchildren going through old photos you can say to them, “I lived”.
When have you ever truly spent time with yourself? Okay so we all commute to work alone with our headphones on or take some time to read a book in bed, but I’m talking about out in the wider world. Exploring a city for the first time alone, taking in the sights, sounds and smells as you traverse the streets wide-eyed and full of wonder. Sitting in the restaurant having a meal for one, people watching as the world goes by at a hundred miles an hour.
The benefit of travelling is that you get to know yourself and become comfortable with your own company, not worrying about what other people think. It’s actually quite refreshing and was a real eye-opener for me on my first solo trip to Barcelona. I got to know myself more, understanding what my interests were and in which areas I needed to develop. It also helped me to live in the moment and appreciate every aspect of the trip so much more.
Probably one for those of us who are travelling solo, but equally relevant if you want a break from your companion (which, let’s be honest, we all want some time to ourselves every so often).
Ultimately, the beauty of travelling solo is that your day is yours and you can do what you want, how you want and when you want. There’s no compromising with anybody else over what to do or where to visit, or what time you plan to get up out of bed. The timetable is to your liking and yours alone. Even when you’ve got your day planned, you can adapt or alter it on the fly as suits your needs. Fancy a mid-afternoon beer? Why not. Changed your mind about visiting yet another church or temple? No problem, take it off the list. There’s no worrying about what your friend, or partner wants to do, as it’s solely your trip.
On the flip side of the coin, you can also meet other travellers and decide to socialise with them, doing activities as a group such as Free Walking Tours and hikes. Of the six weeks I spent travelling in South America, I can only remember spending the day on my own on one or two occasions. Otherwise, there were always other travellers I’d met in the hostel with whom I could socialise and do day trips with. The great thing is that there’s always options, whether you want to drink beers with a group at the bar or spend some time alone with a book.
Never been any good at managing your finances? Well, you’ll learn how to be if you want to stay out on the road for as long as you can. With a bit of research and a little discipline cutting out the non-essentials, you’ll soon know how to stretch your budget for another month at that beach hostel in Thailand. Travelling teaches you how to manage your money and spend it wisely. Frivolous purchases are quickly cut out as you compare the price to that paragliding experience above Medellin.
A really useful app that I was introduced to right towards the end of my trip was Tripcoin, within which you can record your daily expenditure and categorise accordingly to analyse where you’re spending your money.
TIP: For my six-month tour of South America, I broke my overall budget down into monthly, weekly then daily figures. This was after researching the rough costs to travel through each country. I even played around with the daily budget to see how it would impact the time I could spent out on the road; for example, $50 a day would give me six months but with $40 a day I’d have been able to stay out there for seven.
There’s no doubt stories from your travels is likely to be of great interest to those back home, especially if they’ve never had the good fortune to do so. As with anything in life, mentioning something wholly unfamiliar is a good way to capture the imagination, discussing where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Who doesn’t want to be interesting?
I had dinner in Popayan with a fellow traveller who’d been making his way through South America via a motorbike he’d purchased in Panama. If that wasn’t cool enough, we spent the entire evening discussing his experiences taking the plant-based medicine Ayahuasca in spiritual ceremonies throughout Ecuador and Peru. It’s fair to say I was mesmerised by the stories around what he’d seen when hallucinating, how he’d felt and why it changed his life. Fascinating stuff.
There’s some amazing people to be met when travelling; individuals from countries across the world with completely different outlooks on life. From the flamboyant Felipe from Sao Paulo to the fly-by-the-seat-of-his pants Ingvar from Holland, I’ve had the fortune to meet some incredible characters from all four corners of the earth. I still stay in touch with many even now such as Cat and Pip, who I spent over a week travelling Colombia and Ecuador with, Anna from Liverpool and Tsuk in San Diego. Whether domestic or international, it’s great to meet people based across the world and you’ll learn so much. I attended a wedding in Mexico last year and one couple attended who the Bride and Groom had met in another exotic destination!
So who knows? It could be the start of a friendship lasting a lifetime.
One thing travelling made me appreciate is my home. When I’m on the road, I always retain a sense of awareness around my personal belongings and general safety. Whilst I’ve never encountered any issues, I’ve always had the motto “No Complacency” which I’d say has served me well so far. So it’s nice to be able to get back and completely relax within my own home.
My appreciation of nature in the garden has also increased significantly, perhaps a legacy of the wonderful ecologies I marvelled at in Colombia and Ecuador. Then, of course, there’s friends and family. With constant change during travel such as continuously meeting and leaving new people when you go your separate ways, I’ve learnt to cherish the time I have with loved ones and the familiar faces there day-to-day.
One of my favourite benefits of travelling is how it affords ample time to step back, reflect and draw clarity on where you want to take your life. Every time I’ve been away, I’ve always thought about my life back home and what I wanted to change. Last summer, I sat in silence on the Pêc viewpoint overlooking the marvellous Lake Bohinj in Slovenia. It was there that I thought about what I wanted to achieve in life and the things I’d always wanted to do but never got round to doing. One of them was to learn a new language and, that night in the hostel, I booked my spot on a 10-week night course in Spanish at my local college in England.
The same can be said for South America. I had been recruiting for six years and although it was a job that I initially loved, by the end of my time I’d grown sick of it. Maybe it was the constant hamster-wheel of running to fill jobs and find new ones, the pressure of monthly sales or the negative stigma around the profession held by the general public. Whatever it was, I knew I didn’t want to do it any longer. I did a lot of writing during my time in South America and it confirmed that upon my return to the UK, I wanted a job incorporating this such as content marketing.
Sometimes, it takes a change of scenery and a period of reflection to clarify what you truly want in life and how you can get it.
Travelling will introduce you to some of the most incredible landscapes around the world. Living in the middle of England, I’d never have been able to visit the desert, hike through a cloud forest, climb the alps or summit a volcano. These magical natural wonders, crafted by nature over thousands of years, shape a long-lasting admiration for this wonderful planet we call home.
As quoted by the author, Robyn Yong, “We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us”. For me, the benefits of travelling are huge; it really is the best way to enrich your life and find fulfilment. I hope you find joy on all of your adventures moving forward.
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