Dear Travelers, Do not Travel for the sake of Passport Stamps - Explore the Country

We've all been there. Being such in a hurry to visit as many places as we can. To get as much passport stamps as we can. It's not bad to visit all as many countries as you can in one go. But you know what's bad and is not doing any good in the long run?? It's when you visit as many countries as you can in a few days! Not only that it's not advisable, you're also not getting the point of learning in traveling. Why do we travel anyway? Is it for leisure? Is it for business? Not unless you travel for passport stamps then I'm sure you're not achieving your goal in traveling when you do this practice.
Of course, who doesn't want to have lots of passport stamps? I myself gets giddy just by imagining my passport full colorful stamps. But the things is, is passport stamps more important than the travel itself? Pardon me but it always gets on my nerves to see posts in Facebook telling stories on how they manage to see a number of countries in just a few days. Really?
It makes me think you're just wasting time and more importantly, money! Time is currency too, JSYK. Just because you get to see all these places and countries in one go doesn't mean you were able to experience the place to the fullest. It's true, you could be saving airfare budget but I don't think it still makes it up for all the beautiful places you should have visited if it weren't for your tight itinerary.
I saw one post boasting to go to 7 countries in 15 days. Oh my gosh, girl. I dunno how you did it. Do you have any superhuman strengths because just by reading, I can already feel how tiring of a trip it was! No time to just sit and admire the view, it seems like they are always catching up on time. Catching flights and trains. I can't imagine myself doing this kind of practice.

A post shared by ℳaaya ℒegaspi (@ayawillgoplaces) on May 3, 2017 at 5:38am PDT

You know why this isn't advisable?
1. You're missing a whole lot of adventure and beautiful places - Let's say for an instance you go to a certain city, isn't it more ideal to roam around the city, then go somewhere near outside the city, then just chill in a nearby cafe and observe the locals? Just by roaming around the city can take up to a minimum of 1 full day. Then you would go to a place outside the city then just chill. I'm pretty sure outside the city, there are more places you can discover so why not visit it since you're already near the area? Kuala Lumpur for an instance. Why not visit Malacca and Genting Highlands as well? That's outside city but I'm sure you will enjoy it too.
And because you're time is limited, you might also not be able to see some of the places in your crafted itinerary because you ran out of time. Unforeseen delays are the worst but even if we want to, we can't control it. Please, just enjoy everything while you're there.
2. It is veryyyy tiring! - I can only imagine how fast paced travel this kind of itinerary is! Not mentioning if you're traveling in Southeast Asia, main transportation for border crossing are overnight trains and buses. If you will do this kind fast paced travel, you won't be able to get a good night sleep! You'll be sleeping in late and waking up early in the morning. Then you have to walk and see everything in a short period of time so you're always catching up on time.
You won't probably be able to get a good meal. Remember, food is important too while traveling. This is actually one of my favorite parts of traveling because I get to taste authentic local food.
3. You will never have the chance to admire the place - with this kind traveling, I'm pretty sure you will not appreciate the country you're traveling in as you will only be focusing on taking photos very fast without actually admiring the real thing. Isn't it sad that there's this amazing view in front of you and yet you can't simply enjoy it because you might be behind on your itinerary? It sucks.

A post shared by ℳaaya ℒegaspi (@ayawillgoplaces) on Apr 27, 2017 at 7:48am PDT

Sure, I've done traveling and seeing 3 countries in one go but I made sure that the itinerary won't burnt us up. I also made sure we can explore each country very well. Take Laos as an example, as this was my first time there. I allot 2 days in Luang Prabang and 1 day in Vientiane and yet there's still a lot to learn about this country.
As an alternate in seeing different countries in one go, why not just explore a country's most known cities? or it's provinces maybe? Say for instance you're in Thailand, instead of seeing Bangkok then going straight to Vietnam, why not visit Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya as well? After all, it's just a train/bus ride away? Why not watch a cultural show and explore the hidden streets?
Well, it is still up to the person on how they will travel, after all, it's their money they're spending. What I just want to probably iterate is that traveling is meant to be enjoyed and indulged into. It's a learning experience. Don't go to a place just for the sake of telling everyone you already went there. Traveling isn't a race on whom among travelers already went to certain places. Travelers aren't ranked on how many countries they already visited.
Travelers get fulfillment if they fully immerse their selves in the culture and food or if they learned a thing or two about the locals and the history. Once again, just enjoy the journey and admire the view.
This is just my opinion though. Do we share same thoughts? Leave in the comments below! :)

CONVERSATION

Mommy QueenElizabeth5/16/2017
I agree! Travelling is not about the number of stamps or just for the sake of adding one place at a time ticking your bucket list. When we travel we really love to enjoy and explore the place. As much as possible, hanging out with the locals is great to learn more about the place amd culture. I would to stay in a country for a couple of days to really see and feel what its like living there at the moment...
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cieri of thewonderfulkind.com5/16/2017
I am guilty of this! I must admit. I fell in love with travelling basically when I was a kid and it has been my dream to go to as many countries I can! My goal was fueled even more when I started to earn money of my own. But, I noticed when I hit my 30s, I enjoy taking my time in loving and appreciating places I go to - more than being in a hurry, rushing to a new place just for the sake of collecting passport stamps. I am loving how to explore and discover cultures, lifestyle of people in different places more.
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momi berlin5/16/2017
I so got your point. You're right. We should explore the world and go to places we would love to see and experience. More than the scenic view, its experiencing the culture and food offering. Oh, how I would I could travel. I used to travel a lot before. But after getting myself pregnant, I stay at home to look after my son. Now, I am looking forward to explore more places with my boys. Cant wait for them to grow up real soon.
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Laiariel Samangka5/16/2017
What a great article that you have shared with us. I like how you see things about traveling not for the same of passport stamps in which I agree with all your points. Just like you, I love to travel not because of anything, but because of the idea itself. There's nothing compare when you get to experience the in and out of the place, it's more than the passport stamp and the beautiful photo. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
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Kristine Redillas5/16/2017
Totally! Though some of my relatives have this attitude. It disappointed me since it has been a dream of mine to really connect with the place in case we travel. Doing it just for the sake of the stamps defeats the purpose of "traveling" or even journeying to the place. I do hope it will never be too late for them to change their mindset about it.

Btw, I so love your photos!
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Irma5/17/2017
I totally agree with you on this! In my country, there are some offers from the agencies to drive you to the neighboring countries and bring you back home in 24 hours for ridiculously low price. But, what do I gain from such a journey? I guess only spending the time in the bus and waiting for the next stop on the gas station.
As you said, researching the entire city and getting to know its soul is far better than seeing 5 cities through the glass of your bus.
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Amila5/17/2017
True.Travelling is not just for passport stamps or for a list of countries.Instead it is an opportunity to explore,people,culture and places.We always love to experience the local life.At the same time we love to visit historical places too while learning the history or origin of the attraction.Great post!
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JErny5/17/2017
I'm guilty, probably. Because in a span of 10days, we went to 4 countries, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. But it was still fun! We didn't to see all of the places in every country but we surely enjoyed being in one. The good thing was that we always make sure we have a good sleep every day. So for that 10 days, 7-8hrs sleep everyday, plus the places we've been at a time, it's still enjoyable. :)
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theresa5/17/2017
Correct! I know a person or two who does that. They just both like to show off. It's like the same as counting how many province in the country you've visited just to say you've been around PH.
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仙妮5/18/2017
I totally agree with your points shared here. Travelling is an awesome journey to explore but not in a rush...that's the reason I rarely joined any tours, but on my own backpacking style. I can slowly spent my travel time to appreciate the local people, values, cultures etc. Cheers, SiennyLovesDrawing
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Indrani5/18/2017
You are right one must not visit just for the sake of ticking it off the list. I believe in slow travel. I prefer to halt in different cities of same country for longer duration. I liked how you validated your arguments.
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