Stage 4: Together
Together
Travel is the truest test of a relationship. It bonds unlikely people together and tests old relationships. It puts it to the test and finds the weak spots in a relationship like a raccoon sitting on a chicken coop, trying to find the weak spots.
But it also bonds you in ways that you couldn’t have imagined. In this podcast episode, we are traveling with others. We will talk to travelers who have had their minds expanded, their relationships shift, and hearts grown because they traveled with others.
““If you have someone you think is the one, take them and travel around the world. Buy a plane ticket for the two of you to travel all over the world, to places that are hard to reach and hard to get out of. And when you land at JFK and you’re still in love with that person, get married.” Bill Murray ”
Big Topics:
What is human connection?
What is chemistry?
What is compatibility?
What makes a relationship work?
Why do you need to choose your travel partners wisely?
Why you can’t travel with anyone.
Why traveling educates individuals and local communities.
Why traveling with children is educational.
Why do we crave human connection.
Stories about best friends traveling together.
Stories about coworkers traveling together.
Stories about families traveling together.
How to adjust to travel setbacks.
How to be alone in a group.
How to make instant connections.
Two Travel Dads
We see more when we have more eyes on the ground. That is why Rob and Chris, from Two Travel Dads, love traveling with their children. Their boys help them see things that they might have stepped over: a metallic bug on a rock, a bird on a tree branch, or hearing
Their children’s eyes illuminate the wonder of the world to them that their adult perspective might have glossed over. They aim to educate their children through these hands-on experiences. But when they travel as a family, they don’t only aim to educate their children, they aspire to educate the world about what all kinds of families can look like.
Sid + Sorja
Travel has a way of intensifying a relationship. Those we meet on the road we develop a special bond with. You are meeting someone out of their element and are experiencing emotions and situations they may have never had to handle before. We see each other in our most shakey moments. But when you still want to hangout with someone after traveling together, that means there is something deeper there. That is how Sid and Sorja felt when they met a decade ago in New Jersey.
Originally from Scotland and Denmark, the ebb and flow of travel and distance has made their relationship more robust. These two best friends have learned that travel is more than the funny pictures of camel rides; it is about soothing the other when one gets their credit cards stolen. When you go through the worst together, that bond is unbreakable.
Ambitious Trekker
You can’t just travel with anyone. Finding that right travel partner is as thorough of a process as Goldilocks testing each bed: you have to find the one that is just right. But if you make your choice before really testing it, you have to sit in your decision. Those that you choose to travel with are unpredictable. They have their own whims that may not jive with your own. Brian from Ambitious Trekker learned that the hard way. He joined a group trip with an acquaintance but didn’t worry about not having a deep relationship now because they would get closer on the trip. But those that you make plans with on the plane will not always show up once you have landed.
Brian learned that you can’t rely on anyone, even those you travel with, once you are boots on the ground.
Carla Yuen
We don’t always get to choose who we travel with. But regardless of the circumstances: family reunions, work trips, conferences, we still need ways to bond. That is what Carla Yuen has discovered on all of her work trips. She has travel written into her contract, which means she travels with coworkers and clients that she doesn’t really know. Awkward? Sometimes. But she has found that even when you are thousands of miles from home with strangers who are also thousands of miles from home, our need to connect comes through every time.
Strangers Abroad is a travel podcast hosted by solo female traveler and storyteller, Adrien Behn.