The Benefits of travel
I’ve never been a great traveller, I love my home and my routine. I’ve always loved being within driving distance of my business. I’ve never really understood the benefits, until I discovered the beauty of 5 day travel.
- Break your routine
- Expand your view
- Meet new people
Travelling away from your home and work gives you an opportunity to break your routine and get you out of the things you should be doing. When we take a break and we stay at home we are constantly looking at what needs to be done and the pile of things that we haven’t got to do.
One of the key principles of creating an exciting and enticing future is being able to see and imagine what it will look like and how it will feel. When we travel we are able to expand our view. See house styles we never knew existed, eat new food and arouse our senses.
Meet new people
Meeting new people makes our lives richer and our concept of what is possible so much greater. My Dad told me on our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur;
‘I talk to everyone Leins. Every lift ride is a 30 second opportunity to find out about someone else’s world.’
I used to have a similar saying about wear-testing garments ~ Every day that you don’t wear-test a garment is a missed opportunity to make a design better.
Try talking to new people, find out about a city you never knew existed, find out about somewhere they have visited, it might be your next travel spot.
The beauty of 5 day trips
For a long time, I thought that travel had to be this big long thing that was at least for 2 weeks. I had tried going away for the weekend but I would always come home exhausted and feeling like it had been work not a refresh.
Until I discovered the 5 day trip.
- Only 3 days away from work if combined with a weekend (Wednesday to Sunday, our fave)
- Good hotel rates and flight options leaving midweek
- 5 days means you can have a full day of rest while away
- You don’t have to be in a rush
- Enough time to explore a city, even with flights
- I love flying! Writing on the plane and then arriving somewhere new like magic
My Top Tips for planning your 5 day trip
You get to design the exact holiday you need and want but here are a few ideas to inspire your 5 day travel. These are things that we have tested out and started to find a real rhythm with it all.
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Try and stay at one hotel/location for the full 5 days.
Staying in the same hotel will get you a better rate and it also means you can settle in and create a great resting spot for your trip. Set up your bathroom with all your gear, hang your clothes and let that part of the trip be done.
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Book luggage!
I’ve gone through the world of only taking carry on and I simply don’t understand it! Yes it may take a little longer at the airport, but will the additional 10 minutes really impact that much? By taking luggage you can take all the clothes you want and have options for the amazing things that may appear. I always take an outfit to wear out for a fancy dinner, I want to look and feel fabulous.
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Pack the majority of your clothes on hangers
When you arrive, open up your suitcase and pop everything in the wardrobe to hang. Creases can drop out and you can have the joy of choosing your outfit each day. For anything you don’t end up wearing it can go straight back into your wardrobe once you get home.
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Stop planning so much.
Of course you can read or find out about all the activities before you go but instead of giving yourself a non-stop schedule while you are away, allow yourself the ease of going with what you feel like on the day. That may be rushing like a mad woman to see everything or it may be lying in a park with part shade and reading a book. The more we can listen to what our bodies and minds want on any given day, the more we will be able to rest, play and explore.
If something is booked out, it’s ok.
If you don’t see everything, it’s ok.
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Have an easy day
The beauty of 5 days away means that you can have an absolute nothing day in between. That may be Netflix in your room with snacks and room service or it could be hiring e-bikes and taking it easy. Or it could be booking in at a spa. Again, allowing yourself the time to slow down and refresh.
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Shift the mindset
Everything is as it is meant to be. You can always come back. Enjoy every moment.
Who cares if you don’t do every tourist attraction? Who said they were even that good?! What if you were able to explore a random part of the city? What if you took away all the expectations of what travel is meant to be and you simply allow it to all unfold? What if you just follow the yellow brick road, wherever that happens to take you?
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Have some solo time
If you are travelling with others, make sure you still take time for yourself on your own. Often when we travel with others we come home thinking, whose holiday was I on? See what comes up for you and take yourself off for at least half a day. Perhaps book a treatment, go shopping, write, read or take yourself out for a yummy brunch and champagne.
It is the solo time where we are the only priority where we can truly refresh ourselves.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Since discovering the 5-day trip, travel has become an adventure for me. I go with zero expectations other than to experience something cool at sometime. It may be small, it may be big, it may be everyday, it might be talking to a cab driver who tells me something new.
Amazing things are happening every day, all around us.
You just need to look for it, listen for it, be open to it.
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This blog has been created and designed to inspire you to Become the Creative Director of your life.
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See you next week!
