Few icons encompass the concept of traveling than Marco Polo who sent most years of his life discovering new civilisations. Nowadays as traveling is becoming more and more commercial and the adventures of Marco Polo seem distant from today’s comfortable journeys of planes and trains, few questions have examined traveling through philosophical questions and understand its meaning and importance in answering some fundamental questions we all encounter at some point of our life. So, what is traveling in a philosophical inquire?

As philosopher Emily Thomas tells us, travel is an encounter with the unknown. It discloses to us the“otherness” by relating to us things we had never experienced. As in principle, we create knowledge through experience or of what is available as a report of others, it means that our knowledge is constrained and it could also reflect bias, or misreport of others. The importance of knowledge is known as it shapes beliefs which are a compass for attitudes and a person’s understanding of the environment. Have the wrong knowledge and ignorance will be shaping the beliefs and have a consequence  on shaping wrong attitudes. It is by traveling that we broaden our horizons and create knowledge from experience by making personal evaluations based on first-hand experiences. The best way to expand our knowledge of the world is through observation and experimentation. We cannot understand the sea and ships by sitting in a chair. Instead, we need to take the courage and explore. It is through this steps and miles that we self-explore a bit of the world and create understanding based on the senses and experiences. Traveling is a strong influence of personal identity. The choices we make in a consistent way impact our sense of self, identity and how we relate to others. Since kids we have been developing a sense of identity from the choices we make: from the hairstyle to the way of dressing, behaving and thinking. Certain choices make us similar to others and disconnect from others. By making certain choices that lead to a change in the way of life, leisure or experience we can shape our identity differently. Traveling makes someone a traveller, who has more experience and things to talk about “the Bedouins”, “horse-riding”, “eastern cultures” and as such it becomes similar to people who have similar experiences and shapes its own way of thinking and understanding. As American philosopher David Thoreau claims, we do not only travel but we allow ourselves to get lost on our way as to find the most important part of ourselves. The busy schedule restricts us to limited choices and experiences but by putting ourselves in a wider context of cultures and experiences offering more choice for new experiences and self-discovery. As such, traveling provides the means for self-exploration and discovery. As Montaigne tells us “traveling through the world produces a marvelous clarity in the judgment of men…This great world is a mirror where we must see ourselves in order to know ourselves”

Traveling is an immersive journey. Since ancient times people have been pushed to travel abroad either because of trade or curiosity to discover new civilizations. This has led to different interpretations and understanding of the world map. Part of the philosophical ramble of time and space became more important during the Age of Discovery, when philosophers started taking travel seriously. Since then, with the modernization of transportation travel is more and more affordable to many people. However, travel cannot be only movement from one place to another. Going to work does not account as travel. Travel is a bit more and requires a bit extra. As Thomas in his book “The Meaning of Travel” the difference between everyday journeys and travel lies in “how much otherness the traveller experiences”. And in today’s world of globalization with international hotel chains, restaurants and coffee shops, the otherness can be hard to come by. It is the authenticity and perseverance of otherness that traveling juxtaposes different styles, cultures, understandings and ways of living in a way that discloses the colors and complexity of different ways of living.

Finally, traveling can be at the core of human enquire for greatness, achievement and self actualization. Marco Polo traveled for 24 years in the silk road to discover new civilisations recording his travel for curious readers in Western Europe. Nevertheless, Marco Polo is not the only one. From the climbers of Everest, to the divers of deep seas or people who travel to savannas to see lions, everyone has a sense of achievement and challenge. The initiative to move out of comfort zone and face challenges to discover new destinations and embrace the beauty of the mountains or secrets of sea puts travelers in challenge from which they create life-memories. It is through memories and experiences that we learn the best about ourselves and add value to our long-life-journey. As the past wisdom says, a life not challenged is not worth living. That is why traveling is at the core of human experience, as a sense of achievement, the mean of broadening our horizons, embracing the unknown, shaping our identity and exploring the esthetics of the planet and human existence. It is this philosophy that makes people take that flight, train, ship, bus…believing that great journeys are not about the destination, but about the experiences of every mile and how we shape our very own understanding.