There’s this issue that is common among world travelers – placing the exotic and the far away ahead of your own country. People will spend a fortune to try something different just because they are a long way away from home (and to get that far away from home) but not realize perhaps the very same thing, or something remarkably similar is right around the corner from them. If it’s local then it’s boring and not worth the time.
This is a great tragedy because for many people who do travel, they find those things you take for granted as having value and they DO travel a long way to see them. The tragedy lies in not knowing what you have and always wanting what you don’t have. Maybe you convince yourself that you will see it later or that you’ll do it when you’re older because you want adventure now – or maybe you delude yourself into thinking it’s much cheaper to travel outside of your country than it is to stay within it. There’s merit in all of these claims but they all have their grounding in the notion that they are less important because they are familiar – break free of this!
If you’re a citizen of the United Kingdom you may be tempted to travel to everywhere that isn’t in the UK for a variety of reasons, using Gatwick car parking to jet off to the Rocky Mountains to marvel at their rugged beauty instead of heading to Scotland or Wales for very similar experiences. Yes, the British Pound is stronger than the Canadian Dollar, but if you really plan out your finances and what you will see, you may find you spend relatively close to the same thing for much the same experience – they even speak the same language!
Consider then that if you’re a Manchester resident and you’re looking for something different, why not look into utilizing airport parking Manchester to get to Belfast for a Northern Ireland holiday? No, Belfast isn’t as far away and different as Melbourne, Australia or Capetown, South Africa, but it is precisely because it is closer that it may be more interesting. The little things that you consider to be ‘the way things are done’ may be a little bit different there – maybe better, maybe worse – and be just enough to be entertaining and enjoyable!
Similarly, if you’re deciding to go on a grand hiking trip like those ones promoted in New Zealand, why not use parking at Gatwick for your car and head to Scotland for one of their hikes? The landscape is very similar and you don’t have to take a ridiculously long flight! Plus, Tolkein’s universe was more inspired by this area than New Zealand, making a trip to Scotland the more authentic Middle-Earth experience.
Take your car, park and fly, hop on a train or take a bus – but however you decide to travel, be sure you don’t write off your home country as a boring and not worth taking travel destination. You’d be surprised what incredible wonders it has in store for any point in your life.
What do you think?