Unknown Buddhist

Travel is only glamorous in retrospect.

I don’t know the context in which Paul Theroux said those words; for me they underscore the fact that even the most ordinary and mundane travel experiences seem to take on a different and mostly glorious meaning when viewed in retrospect. Sometimes, even the downright unpleasant experiences on the road can seem romantic when viewed in the rear view mirror.

I have seen this time and again, in my own experience on the road: there was nothing pleasant about being detained in Swaziland; losing money in Mozambique was hard to take; and abandoning my initial planned visit to Lesotho on the eve of the trip was depressing; the nights I spent at a stinky “lodge” in Chinsali were hard to take.

Something which was not glorious at the time it was happening to us can seem glorious when looked at in retrospect. I remember…