On Monday we featured a thought-provoking post by David Jobanputra that considered the reasons why we travel and drew analogies between our travel experiences and religious and spiritual rituals. David suggested that for some people, travel and its associated trappings may serve as a substitute for religion. This got me thinking about some of those 'deep and meaningful moments' that many people experience while on the road. Is there an element of delusion in how we tend to view these magical times? Are they really what makes travel special, as many claim?

Let's have a look at a few of the classic examples:

1. Watching the sunset/sunrise. All over the world, travellers will rise at a ridiculous hour and make their way to a special vantage point to observe the sun making its daily arrival in the morning sky. 12 hours later (more or less) an even bigger crowd will gather at the same spot, whether it is by a famous temple, ruin or geological marvel. They might enjoy a cocktail, they may have brought a picnic - most will be taking dozens of photos as the sun bids farewell on another day and the darkness returns.

2. Opening ourselves to try new things: it might be exotic foods, local music or a 'local delicacy' (those words should often be accompanied by a health warning!). We are more inclined to try foods that we have never heard of while far from home.

3. Chance encounters. For some reason the further we are removed from our everyday environment the more inclined we are to speak with strangers on a bus or when sharing a bench while taking a rest.

4. Talking with locals. Similarly to meeting other tourists, we place a certain importance in interacting with local people. Whether they are barmen, waitresses, shop owners or tour guides, we tend to value those brief encounters as insights into the lives of those who spend every day of their lives in the places we're passing through.

What do all of the above have in common? For one, all can be experienced just as easily from our own homes as they can on the other side of the world. Yet how many of us will stop to look at the sunset from our back garden? Who will talk to a stranger on a train, or take the time to show an interest in the lives of those that they meet in the course of their day? 

What is it about travel that makes us become so much more adventurous? Without doubt many of us do become less inhibited and more curious as we venture through new lands. Yet I wonder what it is that drives that curiosity, when so many of the magical travel moments could be experienced just as easily on our own doorstep.