Traveling is a source of great pleasure and education. It widens our knowledge of people and the countries which we visit. IT broadens our outlook on life. It removes our prejudices. It promotes goodwill and peace between nations. Visits to places of historical interest, famous sites, and battlefields are not only entertaining but also instructive.
In the past, people had few opportunities of traveling. The roads were bad. There were thieves and dacoits. Traveling was not safe. The means of communication were poor. It looks weeks and months to travel from one place to another. Only a few fortunate ones came back safe. Times have changed now. Traveling has become easy. Means of communication have improved. There are airplanes, railway trains, buses, taxis, and scooters. People travel by day as well as by night. Railway trains, buses, and planes are all full. It appears as if the whole population was out for enjoyment.
Traveling has now become quite safe and the people seem to be getting crazy about it. And why should they not? Traveling helps them see much of the world and learn many things. It sharpens their power of observation. It makes them mentally alert. Moreover, traveling gives us an opportunity to see people of different lands and climates. We meet people who are complete strangers to us. Our outlook on life becomes broad and we become tolerant in our attitude.
Traveling is not only pleasure able but also most instructive. The relics of the past remind us of the fate which overtook empires and nations of the past. Moreover, the visits to bridges, dams and barrages, magnificent laboratories and factories enable us to understand what man is capable of.
Traveling enables us to see nature in all its grandeur. We see mountains, lakes, waterfalls, smiling cornfields and the glorious sparkling sea. A visit to Kashmir has a thrill of its own. The sight of the “Shikaras” sailing softly on the waters of the Dal Lake is a scene which cannot be easily forgotten. Traveling is much better than the reading of the book. Books appeal to the mind; traveling appeals to all the sense. What is seen with eyes leaves a deeper impression on the mind? Hence subjects like geography, economics, arts, and science are best learned through tours and trips.
It is, in one way, the most wholesome method of spending one’s leisure.
