The power of slow travel
Sometimes immediately after returning from a trip, you may feel the urge to have another vacation. Maybe you have done a lot of travelling, so much so that you don't really remember much of how your trip was. This is a common scenario, one which could be mitigated through slow travelling, which helps leave a more enduring impact on one's mind.
Last year, I travelled to various places in the northern part of Bangladesh, including Rangpur, Dinajpur and Panchagarh's Tetulia. While some places were explored quickly, I took my time to explore other places at a slower pace. Traveling slowly helped me make a real connection with the local communities and culture and it gave me a more connected experience.
What is slow travel?
According to the definition of Macmillan dictionary, slow travel is travelling long distances over land and water rather than by plane, especially because you are concerned about the environment or because you want to spend time enjoying the journey.
Such kind of travel can be achieved by engaging in activities such as trying local foods, staying overnight or dining with locals, and supporting small businesses in those areas. This type of travel also helps promote sustainable tourism and contributes to the local economy. Slow travelling makes an enduring impact on your travelling experiences too.
Setting travelling aim
When your travelling aim is to know more about the people and culture or to make a real connection with the surroundings, slow travelling is preferable. There are some places which have a lot to offer and you prefer to explore your surroundings more carefully and intensely. Those places, maybe that be a cultural or historical site or a natural site, you might like to know them more intently, exploring the subtle links.
The benefits of slow travelling
I would share two of my travelling experiences related to slow travel. At first glance, the Kantaji temple in Dinajpur seemed to me like just another temple. However, as I spent more time there, my impression gradually changed. Of all the beautiful temples I have visited in Bangladesh, Kantaji temple stood out as a thing of exceptional beauty with its intricate terracotta decorations. The temple is decorated with 15,000 terracotta plaques, which depict a range of stories, including flora and fauna, geometric patterns, and mythological tales from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Mughal emperor Akbar's reign. While exploring the temple areas, a priest voluntarily offered to assist us in comprehending the significance of the terracotta artwork. A momentum was created and we felt compelled to stay there for more. We purchased some locally crafted items and hand-made food. We had our meal at a local restaurant, savouring the authentic flavours of dishes prepared by the locals.
Travelling slowly creates the opportunity for travellers to fully engage with the local culture and their way of life. By embracing slow travel, travellers can experience the beauty and richness of the world around them.
In Dinajpur, we boarded a local transport, commonly known as 'van gari' and slowly made our way through the picturesque rice fields. The scent of the freshly-cooked 'polao rice' wafted through the air, and the gentle breeze added to the serene atmosphere -- all these created a soothing, relaxing and calming environment. Roaming around in a village on a local transport can be a great way to experience the local culture, getting off the beaten track. The feeling I got is that the simple and slower-paced lifestyle with the strong community bonding contributes to a sense of inner peace and contentment.
Slow travelling also helps bust your stress and reinvent yourself. Work stress and everyday demands can distract us from getting what is meaningful and interesting to us. Dr Tamara McClintock Greenberg, the author of the book 'Psychodynamic Perspectives on Aging and Illness', said that travelling can allow you to step away from a hectic life, make you calm and content and provide you with opportunities to interact with new people, culture and explore new places which can help to have a fresh start when you are going through or recovering from major transitions. It will also help you go beyond your comfort zone, forcing you to learn something new and making you emotionally strong and more focused.
So slow travelling creates meaningful experiences and memories that will be treasured for life. It is more about the journey itself than the destination.
Nazneen Imam is a lecturer at North South University
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