Are We More Adventurous Abroad?

This question suddenly came to me the other day whilst I was worried about going go-karting with the uber-competitive guys in my office. It wasn’t so much the karting itself as the dread of their incessant macho attitude as the day itself approaches. The first thought that popped into my head was “If I was travelling right now, I wouldn’t even be giving this a second thought”. And I realised it was true. There is no way that if I was abroad I would let anything prevent me from doing something adventurous or even (dare I say it?) reckless, no matter how much testosterone was flying around.

Sitting in the comfort of my own front room I can break out into a cold sweat when I see a particularly high zip wire or bungy jump on TV, but yet I know in the back of my mind that if I was halfway across the world and someone asked me whether I wanted to do either of those things I would do them without hesitation. OK, maybe with the bungee jump there would be a slight moment of hesitation, but the thought of an ice cold beer afterward would be the motivating factor for just biting the bullet and doing it.

So what is it about being abroad that fills us with the desire to throw ourselves out of planes, off clifftops and into oncoming traffic on the back of an unsteady vehicle? Is it the need to prove something to ourselves about the person we have become or aspire to be? Or is it simply to show off in front of the new friends we have made whom we may never see again? Before we go, our families and loved ones wax lyrical about the importance of a good insurance policy and probably with good cause, for they know just as well as we do that we will throw caution to the wind and take part in activities that would probably flaunt several health and safety laws in most countries. So why don’t we do these things all year round, in our home countries? OK, I’ll admit that particularly where I’m from (the UK) the truth is that the weather really isn’t as nice as many other places in the world and so skydiving would often be fruitless as I wouldn’t be able to truly appreciate the beauty of landing in the middle of a field on a wet and grey January morning. It would also be impractical for me to hitch a lift to work every day on the back of a motorbike taxi whilst drinking a bucket. Well, not if I actually wanted to arrive on time and without getting fired, anyway.

But I think the main reason is our attitude. At home we live with our sensible heads on. We work, we pay our bills and occasionally we allow ourselves a good time with our friends. But that is usually the scope of our vision. When you go abroad, you treasure the short time you are there. You see everything with fresh eyes and want to make the most of the place you have visited. You drink more than you would at home. You socialise more. And you do more ‘fun stuff’. (“What?? Paying bills isn’t fun to you?” I hear you cry. Well no peeps, it isn’t. Sorry). This is great. I’m all for that. I just wish that all of us were the people at home that we are when we’re travelling, myself included. This, therefore, will become one of my resolutions for 2011. Be as adventurous at home as you are abroad.

Julia…..prepare yourself……I see a lot of broken limbs in your future.

What about you? Do you find that you’re more adventurous when you’re travelling? Or were you born in a helmet and flippers and manage to find thrills even in the aisles of your local supermarket?