This is the book that has totally changed the way I view travel - with philosophies that can also be used to design and change your life. Vagabonding is mindfulness and minimalism for travelers.
I find myself referencing a lot of times from this book, and I think it's the best guide to bring with you on your travels.
Lesson 1: "We quarantine our travels to short, frenzied bursts. This way, travel becomes just another accessory-a smooth-edged, encapsulated experience that we purchase the same way we buy clothing and furniture".
Travel should not be just another thing or experience we consume - something separate from life, some dream or luxury that only rich ones can afford. We fill up our bucket lists of places just because they are "must-visits" or "must-see before you die" just like when we shop for clothes or stuff that they say we must have or own. I think that your attitude towards travel greatly reflects your attitude towards life and money in general.
Lesson 2. Vagabonding is an outlook on life. It is about increasing your personal options instead of your personal possessions. Vagabonding is about time-our only real commodity -and how we choose to use it.
Being a vagabond forces you to give a hard look at your possessions and how much they are actually weighing you down. The more possessions and stuff you own, the less freedom you have. Redefine wealth by measuring the freedom and options you have instead of the things you own.
Lesson 3: Vagabonding begins the moment you stop making excuses, start saving money, and begin looking at maps with the narcotic tingle of possibility. Most of us put off travel into a far distant future - something to do someday or as a retirement plan once we have burned ourselves out from working too hard. We are wasting our most valuable time just to get that freedom during the least valuable part of our lives. Vagabonding should be a way of life and not some dream for an uncertain future. Instead of waiting for "someday", design your life in a way that you could enjoy it right now. Lesson 4: The best measure of your vagabonding attitude is found not in travel but in the process of earning your freedom to travel. To work hard just so you can have a grand vacation deprives us of the rewarding benefits of travel. Travel is not a vacation or an escape from your stressful work. Strive for work-life integration, wherein you view work as also a part of having a meaningful life in addition to your travels, not just a means to be able to travel. But just in case there's a job that is not your "true calling", this insight can level up the meaning of your work - as something that earns you the right to buy your freedom.
Lesson 5: Freedom to travel is not determined by income level; it's found through simplicity - the conscious decision of how to use what income you have. Since I aspired to be a true explorer/traveler, I started being more mindful of my material goals and spending habits. Being mindful of my spending also forced me to adjust and modify my lifestyle and habits. I was forced to eliminate bad habits, to simplify, to downsize, and to stop accumulating stuff that simply don't add value to my life. It revealed to me my values and what I deem most important to me. I never dreamed of having a big house, a fancy car, or expensive, branded stuffs. I always see every money coming to me as a flight ticket to another destination, as a tool for gaining more time freedom, and new adventures. Lesson 6: The goal of vagabonding is not to improve your life in relation to your neighbors but in relation to yourself. Most people are spending money they don't have just to please other people. Maybe that's why we have all met many rich, successful travelers who end up selling everything they own. Material possessions leave will leave us empty especially if they are not aligned with our true core values. Spend your money in a way that will enrich your life, not impress other people.
Lesson 7: The most vivid travel experiences usually find you by accident. Be prepared to find things you weren't looking for. I used to plan detailed itineraries when traveling. But I have found that the best way to travel is to be open and ready for surprises. I now plan things on the spot, and I would like to leave some days open to activities that I may discover or hear from locals or other travelers. Use some pointers and read itineraries but don't get obsessed over a schedule. It requires some adjustment on how I used to do things but I found it to be more liberating. The buzz of the unknown is simply addictive. Lesson 8: The secret to staying intrigued on the road - the secret to truly being different from the frustrated masses-is this: Don't set limits.
Don't set limits on what is worthy or not of your time. Watch, wait, listen, and allow things to happen. This mindset is also useful to apply back home - in your business and even in your life. On the other hand, don't try too hard to be an "anti-tourist" whose main motivation is just to stand apart from other tourists. I was guilty of this - a tourist who hates other tourists. Everything can be an attraction, just don't limit yourself. Lesson 9: Meeting new people from faraway lands wind up teaching you about your own, culture-fed instincts.
What is wrong or right in one place might be different from what you know. When we meet other cultures, avoid viewing them through the lens of your own culture. This way, you can see the world through their eyes. This is how to travel with real curiosity and wonder. Travel helps us really understand how the world works - what are just judgments and prejudice? What is universally right and wrong?
Lesson 10: Being busy is a form of laziness; lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being selective or doing things in a smart way is usually the more productive and fun path. Focus on the quality of your experiences rather than the quantity. Get to know a few places really well, and try to avoid racing around the world on some overly ambitious itinerary. Try to live it and experience it, not just gather stories for later.
I think this summarizes the whole idea of this book and that's why I fell in love with the philosophy of vagabonding. This attitude toward traveling is also useful in helping us to live in a more mindful and deliberate way. Seeing a lot of places and having pictures to show or some stories to brag about is not the point of traveling. The point of living is also not just to check off "to-do lists" and reach some fancy material goals. Don't be caught in a frenzy of buying, doing, and moving just to blend and conform to what everybody else is doing.
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