Travelling Changes You for Good – Here’s How

Swoyambhunath temple in Kathmandu is a short hike away
Travelling is not just about pretty landscape and sightseeing. It can impact you in many ways. From my personal experiences, here's how travel can change you.

Travel changes you for good by widening your perspective. It nudges you to question assumptions, cultivates patience, and teaches you to read situations with empathy rather than judgement.

Nearly ten years of travel has introduced me to new cultures, languages, tastes, and landscapes. It introduced me to a more fluid sense of time and possibility, making me discover my strengths and skills. Through travels, I have remained curios about the world and my place within it.

This post reflects on my experiences and how travelling can change you for good.

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”

Anthony Bourdain

Travel makes you more adaptable

Travel forces you into new routines, languages, and unexpected setbacks – say, delays; lost luggage; route changes; weather-related disruptions. Repeatedly navigating such situations builds mental flexibility and gives you more confidence in handling uncertain situations. You learn to adapt and take these situations as part of the experience.

On my way from Pokhara to Kathmandu during my first trip to Nepal, I was stuck on the road due to a landslide. A bus journey that usually takes 7-8 hours took nearly 20. My co-passengers – all Nepali folks – showed no signs of discomfort all this time and I learnt to accept what I couldn’t change. This is just one example of unexpected situations I have gone through in these 10 years of travels.

During rice planting in Nepal. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

You learn to prioritise experiences over things

The best thing about travel is not something tangible, not something you can touch. It’s the memories you have of meeting people, the conversations you had, the meals you tried. No one else who visits the same place will have the same memories as yours. Travelling can help shift your focus from material things to experiences – and experiences are always more rewarding.

I remember the first time I tried durian, had egg coffee in Vietnam, or had my first homemade drink in Nepal (called raksi), or the feeling I had when I went on my first trek and saw a beautiful full moon shining over a lake. Even years later I narrate these experiences with the same spark in my eyes as I had at that time.

At a waterfall. Da Lat, Vietnam. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

You learn empathy and your perspective widens

Seeing how people live and learning local norms reveals that many life choices are contextual, not universal. This reduces snap judgments and increases curiosity about others’ experiences. You learn what is ‘normal’ for you may not be the case for others.

Travelling also helps in letting go of your assumptions about others. The more you explore, observe, and question, the more you understand your pre-conceived ideas about different countries and cultures were not based on real experiences. You start accepting we all are humans, after all, trying to live the best we can.

An elderly boat woman in Hoi An, Vietnam. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

Travel makes you ask the right questions

It’s one thing to have a narrative about people we have never met, and places we have never visited. But firsthand observation of different systems like education, healthcare, politics, urban design etc. challenge our oversimplified narrative and foster critical thinking about our own society. You start looking inward and asking questions about what counts as the ‘right’ way to do things.

By the Phewa Lake. Pokhara, Nepal. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

You gain practical life skills

Planning routes, managing budgets, problem-solving in unfamiliar settings, learning language basics — all are transferable skills that can influence how you navigate life – personal and professional. You learn to be more flexible and plan less rigidly, improvise faster when needed, and trust your judgements.

Enjoying warm hospitality by a family of farmers. Nepal. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

You become more resilient and self-reliant

Facing and overcoming hiccups while travelling builds emotional resilience. Small wins during travels translate into greater trust in your ability to handle stressful situations back home.

When I was on my first trip back in 2016, I realised my abilities and skills. I used to think travelling would be stressful – and it is at times. I thought I didn’t have the social skills and that I was too introverted to ask for help, even. I was full of doubts about myself but as my trip began, I realised I could rely on myself, that I had strength and skills to take care of things.

I go back to my journal entries from past travels as a good reminder of how things have changed within me and how I could rely on myself in difficult situations.

At a dock where fish is bought in bulk by retailers. Hoi An, Vietnam. Photograph by Parvez Shaikh

Your creative and cognitive flexibility improves

New surroundings spark creativity – fresh sights, sounds, and encounters form new mental connections that boost problem-solving and artistic thinking.

We think our creativity shines where we are the most comfortable. While that might be true for some, it certainly has not been the case for me. My best photographs are not taken in places I knew and was comfortable with. They were taken in places where discomfort and barriers like language, culture etc. were part of my day to day life.

Travelling together helps relationships deepen

Travel can strengthen bonds and reveal which relationships thrive under difficult circumstances. If you can go through these difficulties together, it’s safe to assume you are in a good company.

Travelling helps you learn things about others that you may not back home. Their likes and dislikes, tolerance, empathy, taste, skills, and a lot more is out for a show while travelling. I believe people who can travel together can stay together.

The bottom line

Travelling challenges your perspective, helps you get out of your comfort zone, widens your understanding, and makes you self-aware among other things.

When I say travel, that doesn’t mean visiting another country necessarily – travel can be to a place close to you as well. What makes a difference is your mindset – be willing to let go of your comfort, be curious, ask questions, challenge your perspective, eat and drink things you haven’t before, hop on a motorbike and explore without a destination – all of this is part of travelling.

Let me know where traveling takes you next and how has it changed you. Also checkout upcoming experiences by Poets And Pilgrims and join us on a journey that will leave you with learning and memories you will cherish for long.

I could go on about how travelling can change you but for now, let me end this with another Anthony Bourdain quote that resonates with me:

"Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."

Anthony Bourdain
Picture of Parvez Shaikh

Parvez Shaikh

Parvez is a documentary-style photographer who has been travelling and photographing for a decade. He founded Poets And Pilgrims to bring a diverse group of people together and share life experiences.

Also Read

All Entries

Upcoming Experiences

All Experiences