The world is a beautiful and amazing place. And it is waiting for you to come explore and experience it.

My first point of advice for you is to start small. Travel is like a muscle. It takes some time, and some effort, to build.

It may seem daunting to decide on an adventure and then launch off for a big backpacking trip in Tibet. And it is daunting! It is so daunting that you might not do it. Or worse, you might do it and it turns into a confusing and exhausting ordeal -not the enriching experience you were hoping for.

Let me tell you how I started small.

It started with the small adventure of a day walk

I can't remember where I got the idea from but I was a kid, maybe around 12 years old, and I got this idea to go for a big hike along the railroad tracks that ran by my city. I thought about it and planned it for a week. The night before I packed my backpack with snacks and lunch and some simple necessities including my trusty pocket knife and a notebook with pencil. And early Saturday morning I set off on my adventure!

I walked along the railroad tracks and for the first few miles it skirted alongside a river. Then for the next few miles it wandered into a beautiful New England woods.

For half the day I walked out, taking breaks and writing in my notebook- enjoying the river, the woods, the sounds, the birds, and the smells of the world.

As half the day passed I turned around and made my way back.

It was an easy but wonderful experience for me. It was a long time ago but I still remember it.

It expanded into an overnight camping adventure

I loved that day. It was a beautiful experience. And a few weeks later I did it again but went deeper. I took a trip to my local military surplus store and bought a cheap backpack, a sleeping bag, and a small tent. And planned the same walk, but this time I would spend a night in the New England forest. Which I did. It took more planning, more food and more water but the planning aspect of it all was also a whole lot of fun.

The travel increased and I found inspiration

I am a reader. I love books. And this further enabled my passion for travel. But I am not big on traditional travel books. They tend to be too clinical. "Here is where to go, and here is what to do, and how much it costs."

I like more personal accounts of travel that is a little bit off the beaten track. And I discovered a book entitled "Worldwalk". It is about a young man who had this vision of walking around the whole world. He did it and it took him four years. The stories he told about the countries, the people, and the experiences really captivated me. I still have that book.

Seek out inspiration through books, videos, stories and people. It will encourage you and open you up to possibilities. When you discover that other people have done it you will realize that you can do it also.

Pairing up travel with other interests

There is almost always a second dimension to my travel. I don' travel for a vacation. My travel is driven by curiosity and interest. I love castles. They are a passion of mine. So of course I travel to see and experience them. And I have seen them all over the world and all over America.

Yup, America has castles. They just are not as old as the castles in other countries. (Medieval Castles in America)

My number one passion however is the night sky. I have been an avid astronomer since I was a teenager. And this has opened up travel opportunities for me. I have visited observatories all over the country and have traveled a thousand miles to see an eclipse. This includes an extended stay in Arizona because that is a place that has the most amazing night sky. (Visit the section of my website devoted to telescopes and astronomy)

An obsession with Vincent Van Gogh

As I travel I also hunt down museums that have works by Van Gogh and I have seen with my own two eyes many of his works. That has been a very rewarding challenge for me. (See my collection of Van Gogh Photos here)

Stamp Collecting and Travel

I started stamp collecting when I was a kid. And for several decades, in my adulthood, it fell to the wayside. But eventually I took it back up as a hobby. And it has been very rewarding for me. Stamps from all over the world are tiny tributes to many of the wonderful things this world has to offer. (Visit my stamp collecting section right here)

These are some of the things that interest me. What interests you? What kinds of things would you like to see/experience or learn about? And how can travel facilitate that?

The world is ready for you - but you might not be ready for it!

If you are looking for big adventures I have some advice for you. You shouldn't just embark on the adventure. Travel, and in particular international travel takes some muscle building. If you just throw yourself into it you might have a less than rewarding experience.

You need to take small steps first. Do smaller travel for short periods of time. Work your way up to the bigger things.

And...

With the bigger travel experiences you should do a lot of planning. And embrace the planning stage of travel. It is a part of travel that I really love. Doing my research and deciding what exactly I should see and visit is a whole lot of fun for me.

This preparation might also include physical readiness. Travel can be exhausting, you do a whole lot of hiking and walking. And you need to be ready for this. Your body needs to sustain you and uplift you. Exhaustion definitely reduces the experience of travel. Get yourself into shape.

You have to prepare yourself for the world. It's waiting for you!