This week’s topic on Traveler’s Night In, a “tweet-up” for travelers, was Transformative Travel.  Ten questions were asked, tagged #TNI, and afterwards I was looking through my scrapbook at all my early travel destinations and dreaming of future ones!

Here are the questions:

Q1. What place has changed you the most? How?

• @BreatheDreamGo Everyone knows India has changed me the most! Going to India restarted my life, gave perspective, opened up the world to me
• @camorose #France taught me how to wear a scarf, savor every bite, always take the stairs & generally be much more chic.
• @hvbabywilltrvl Cuba. The warmth and beauty of the people.
• @BBC_Travel Touring through southern Italy & Greece. Remember thinking, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
• @surreyblonde Canary Islands – where i really learnt how to chill for 2 weeks and wasn’t fretting about getting a mobile signal 🙂

Q2. Wisest person you’ve met on the road and why?

• @MiddleSeatView:  It will sound egotistical, but myself I have learned to trust my gut. things have turned out okay#TNI
• @YUShouldTravel I met this incredible woman in #Sedona, AZ who simply blew me away with her insight and knowledge of spiritual awareness.
• @TravelsceneUSASeriously wise though: the aboriginal elders at Uluru. Their culture has survived for thousands of years.
• @nadiyaki An old woman outside Thessaloniki archaeological museum, she said about men: One goes, many come!

Q3. What is the prime responsibility of a traveler?

• @malloryontravel:  To the true traveler the destination is merely an excuse to make the journey!
• @christinenspain:  To be a ‘diplomat’ of their own country and always, ALWAYS have an open-mind
• @HartmannLuggage: Stimulate the local economy? 🙂
• @Chanize Do no harm. Share w/ locals. Inspire those at home to get out there
• @KickTheGrind:  To Never EVER say “Eww… That’s weird”

Q4. Moment you decided you were a traveler for life?

• @boomergirl50 7 years old. On a train to Quebec City to learn french at my parents’ urging
• @McMedia It’s inherited, My dad traveled the country in a motor home. The ultimate “Road Trip”
• @HitTheRoadCa ME TOO! RT @Chimeratravel When I gave up my paying job w/benefits to open my own travel planning company.
• @NicoleWills2I knew before I’d ever travelled … watched a presentation on a school trip to Europe & I’d never felt such a rush of excitment!
• @WheresAndrew Leaving home at 15 to study in #France. Coming home a year later & forgetting how to say “airplane” in English.
• @vipglobaltravel When I cleaned out my junk drawer and found $- all foreign currency from all over the globe! I feel blessed 2 be able 2 travel! 🙂

Q5. What is the most spiritual experience you have had while traveling?

• @HotelHostessYoga on the cliffs in Negril, Jamaica at sunrise. Absolutely amazing
• @ZipSetRachel: Visiting the children’s home and mission farm my gpa built in Ecuador after he was gone. Talk about leaving something behind!
• @EitanTours hiking in the Golan, suddenly felt i knew names & uses 4 many of the plants I touched, never studied, felt the wisdom from my soul.
• @AmyMcKeever Reaching the top of the Parthenon in Athens and realizing that I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that very moment.
• @spiritoftravelmy birthright trip to Israel, with fellow jews my age…climing massad
• @kymri:  Surfing ANYWHERE with dolphins is an amazing spiritual experience

Q6. Best advice for the un-traveled?

• @TruTravelReview See the sights, but spend some time getting lost too. We wondered the “streets” of Venice for two days and loved every minute.
• @doubleadventure Its time to pop your bubble my friend.
• @TLC_Designs: do research on cultural acceptance re: clothing. Dressing inappropriately = bad vibes from locals.
• @shipsandtrips:  ask the locals where to dine.
• @LPUSAstaffGet un-un-traveled.
• @banffrocks:  Have a fake money belt around your waist as a decoy and keep the real money belt in your underwear.

Q7. Promote your favorite voluntourism or charity effort.

• @LandLopers My heart belongs to stray and abused dogs 🙁 I love this charity in #Bangkok: SCAD Bangkok – Soi Dog Rescue http://ht.ly/3LypX
• @unbravegirlNot going to lie. It was tough work but I loved WWOOFing on the rice farm. It helps that the rice farmer had a crush on me. 🙂
• @mina_travelive: A7 @WomenforWomen is creating opportunities for women and making the world a better place (to travel in). Really. They do great work.
• @Monicalwilliams Working with Habitat for Humanity (@Habitat_org). You see where the money goes.
• @FunAsWeGoYasha Ministry in Kenya! We need to keep kids educated, only way to progress in this world. www.educateachildtoday.blogspot.com
• @Chippy2u @Turtlenews Sea Turtle Populations Drop Following Spill

Q. 8 What Sacred places would you most like to visit and why?

• @Chimeratravel pretty much all of Israel. Same for Tibet. Israel b/c of amazing connection w/ so many religions. Tibet b/c of Buddism.
• @hejoramaI’d love to go to Astoria because that’s where the Goonies used to live. Sacred enough?
• @Marilyn_Res I’d love to visit the Tien Shan (Heavenly Mountains) in Kazakhstan.
• @CravenTravels Emirates A380 First Class Sleeper Cabin, reasons should be obvious!
• @Banff_Squirrel All the original 6 NHL team’s old arenas. And see them play there just one more time.

Q. 9 How have your actions while traveling affected others?

• @asmallplace I have managed to make travelers out of a few friends with my constant travel-related talk.
• @tree_hug_r Can the police track these?
• @RobertKCole Using kindness to reduce (often deserved) loathing of US tourists
• @esthercrumpet Also like to think where all the books/ top/ bags/ notes/ pens I left behind me as I went are now!
• @WheresAndrew made hand puppets out of barf bags to entertain crying Nigerian babies on LHR-ORD transatlantic.
• @AmericanSahara I once taught some Sri Lankan factory workers to do the Time Warp

Q. 10 One wish for the future of travel?

• @BridalTravelGuy:  No middle seats on airplanes, Free WiFi everywhere, an immediate fix for jet lag
• @rtwdave: A10: More high speed rails in the USA
• @aseper That I win the lottery so I never have to worry about not traveling again.
• @travelcanucks Sustainability in developing nations.
• @Vagabond3Live That where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
• @WeekendInParis: A10 Free Wifi everywhere so we can tweet from the road & never miss a #TNI!
• @adventurousness That visa fees go down! No seriously, that countries are able to maintain their cultures amidst increased tourism.

Miss #TNI this week?  Join in with your answers to the questions in the comments below and make sure to join us next Thursday from 3:30 pm EST- 5:00 pm EST for all the fun!

Thanks to the ZipSetGo girls for organizing a conversation with travelers from all over the world!

photos by @DanThompson_TN @camorose @surreyblonde @Chimeratravel

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