A love affair with travel…

Call it what you like – traveling, backpacking, globetrotting, vagabonding, wanderlusting… For me, traveling is more than just answering the call of adventure. It is more than an infectious, incurable case of wanderlust.

To take trips, go on journeys are life-changing experiences that molds a person’s character, perspectives and principles. Traveling is a must for a full life.  As St.  Augustine said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” In my opinion, you haven’t truly lived if you haven’t gone beyond the borders of the place you call home.

And while some do say you must go the distance, as far-reaching as possible, I think it’s not about the miles traveled but sole act of going places that are outside of the familiar, locations that lie away from your daily dwellings and life.

But of course, if you can, go far. Seek the wild, revel in the oddities and the unique, experience the strange, voyage to the remote, do the extreme, find your adventure.

“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can.”  – Anthony Bourdain

 

Why We Blog

Everything about a trip – the giddy feeling of being a throwback to old explorers, the thrill of  adventure, the wonderment of discovery on the road and even the crazy, what-the-hell-was-that-cringe-worthy mishaps – all of it makes for great experiences and a fascinating story. 

The blog came about because I wanted to share my love for seeing the world and to help others find ways to travel on a shoestring budget. We hope to encourage people to go on adventures.  

But not everyone thinks it’s for them. And so we aim to change their minds. Listening to  people’s travels or their plans to go on a trip has always been absorbing to me. So hopefully the stories and guides will entice a few people, and maybe, just maybe, get them hooked on the idea of going places.

Then, there are those thinking travel is beyond their reach because of limited resources or a tight budget. Most people I know cite travel costs as their biggest setback. I beg to disagree.  

I think dreams of travel and bucket lists are attainable for everyone; all you need is some careful planning, smart budgeting and good research. Well, that and  a lot of guts and determination to pull a trip off. It’s also good to have an idea of what you shouldn’t sacrifice (decent beds, clean bathrooms!) and to learn what you can compromise on in terms of preferences. Because champagnes tastes on a beer budget just isn’t that realistic. 😉   

We hope we can help out with the logistics and planning of a trip to make it affordable, sensible and memorable.

 

What’s up with Reefs2Ridges?

My best friend said it reminds him of the outdoor brand, Sea to Summit. Close but not quite.  

While that name is cool, Reefs2Ridges is actually named after a conservation and sustainable development concept.  

At first, Terry and I went through a gamut of names. From quirky ones to all sorts of “wanderlust” references to what Terry called “try hard mode” names, we hashed it out. One night, however,  I came across some articles on the Ridge to Reef approach. I knew about it before, but it never crossed my mind as a potential blog name until then.

I’ve always been an outdoorsy traveler with a love for history and  thrifty backpacking tendencies courtesy of my dad. I’m also a bit of an environmentalist, a tree hugger and proud of it.  So when it came time for blog names, it made sense to end up with a meaningful one connected to my love of nature.

Ridge to Reef is a conservation and sustainable development initiative that uses “integrated approaches to land, water, forest, biodiversity and coastal resource management that contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.” (Source: UN). We played around with the name for a while. In the end, we chose “Reefs2Ridges”.