Why We Travel: Chasing Stories, Not Just Destinations

Have you ever come home from a trip and realised you talked more about the weird bathroom in Thailand than the actual temple tour? Yeah. Same.

Let’s face it, travel isn’t just about passport stamps or bucket lists — it’s about the stories. The random moments, the “can-you-believe-this-happened” tales, the kind of experiences that start out as chaos and end up as punchlines. We don’t travel just to see the world. We travel to feel something — and maybe, just maybe, to come back with a tale worth telling at the next braai.
Let’s unpack why travel is almost never just about the destination.

Turns out, your love of travel isn’t just wanderlust — it’s hardwired. Your brain is a novelty junkie; it craves the unfamiliar.
Did you know that dopamine (that wonderful “feel-good” chemical) spikes when you plan a trip? Studies show that people are often happier before a holiday than during it. How does that even make sense? Anticipation is pure joy. 

You’re picturing the adventure, the food, the freedom; you’re engaging all five of your senses for a burst of sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and that feeling of the ice-cold water from the fontanelle in Rome. Your brain is in ready, set, go mode to eat gelato on a Roman street corner.

Throw in escapism, personal growth, and the thrill of unpredictability, and suddenly, travel becomes a mental reset button. It rewires how you see yourself and the world. You can’t not come home a changed person - have you been shouted at by an Italian woman on a Vespa for crossing the road in the wrong spot? You’ll never forget that.

Sure, you bought the fridge magnet from Santorini. But what you really brought back was the moment you accidentally ordered raw octopus and politely ate it anyway under the watchful gaze of the Greek taverna owner.

Travel memories don’t live in your camera roll — they live in the way you felt. The story you now tell about getting caught in the rain in Prague or missing your bus in Maputo and befriending a street vendor and having countless R&Rs.

You won’t remember how soft the hotel pillows were. But you will remember the time your Airbnb host took you to her cousin’s birthday party and you sang karaoke with strangers.

Let’s be honest: the best travel stories usually start with “So there was this mix-up…”

You were meant to take a left. You took a right. And suddenly you’re in the backroom of a workshop in a dodgy alley in Cairo at 21:00 with a local merchant trying to peddle his wares just so you can hotspot from his phone so you can get an Uber to your hotel (I kid you not, I still have the mother-of-pearl inlaid box I had to buy). This cannot be locked into a simple photograph or Instagram story.

There’s something wild and wonderful about how the wrong turn often leads to the right memory. That awkward train delay? Now a running joke. That mispronounced order? A delicious mistake. The goose that chased you in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco? Iconic.

What kind of travel storyteller are you? We’ve developed this quiz - find out here:

1. What’s the first thing you research before a trip?

A) Food and drink hotspots

B) Historical tours and museums

C) Off-the-beaten-path adventures

D) Local events and live music

2. A perfect travel day includes:

A) Eating something you can’t pronounce

B) Learning something new

C) Getting delightfully lost

D) Dancing with locals at sunset

3. You miss your bus. What do you do?

A) Find a street café and wait it out

B) Use the extra time to visit a museum

C) Start walking and see what happens

D) Chat with the locals - how else will you get to know the city?

Mostly A’s — The Culinary Chronicler
You travel for taste; your stories are flavoured with spice, wine, and culinary surprises.

Mostly B’s — The Culture Collector
You want meaning, history, depth; your souvenirs are little-known facts and fascinating insights. Everyone knows about Tahrir Square, but do they know about that little shop where you can buy hand-blown Arabic glass perfume bottles?

Mostly C’s — The Chaos Magnet
You thrive in unpredictability. You don’t plan the story — the story finds you. Has a local grabbed your hand and guided you through 5 lanes of chaotic traffic in Ho Chi Minh City?

Mostly D’s — The Connection Chaser
You collect people, not places. Remember Frederik from Copenhagen who told you which rides not to miss at Tivoli Gardens?

Here’s a not-so-hot take: rushing ruins magic.

Slow travel — spending more time in fewer places — lets you live in a moment, not just pass through it. It’s the difference between skimming a headline and reading the full story.

Stay long enough to become a regular at a coffee shop. Return to that beach more than once. Walk the same street twice — and notice something new.

Your life matters, and you only get one. Travel lets you step out of your mundane routine and into something wild, unpredictable, and worth remembering.

So next time you pack your bag, don’t just ask, “Which passport stamp am I getting?”

Ask:

👉 What story am I hoping to find?

👉 What story might I become part of?
👉 And how will I tell it when I get back?

Because in the end, it’s not just the places you’ve been — it’s the stories you carry home that change you most.