Youth Talk

THERE it was, by the foot of my bed, neatly wrapped and stacked underneath numerous other gifts: my first global atlas.

As my seven-year-old self eagerly turned each page I was exposed to the fascinating nature of this world, what with futuristic metropolises co-existing with rural settlements.

I recall reading about places I could only dream to visit, including the mystic ruins of Timbuktu, and in my childlike fervour I pinned up a map of the world, vowing to visit all the places I had only experienced via photographs and descriptions.

A beloved childhood game of mine included randomly throwing a plastic arrow on the aforementioned map. Based on where the arrow landed I would submerge myself into imagination by acting out potential scenarios I could face in that particular location. 

As the years have progressed my passion for culture has only flourished thanks to my intensive travelling. I have been fortunate enough to immerse myself into different cultures, whether it is through sharing a dosa with a Sri Lankan fisherman or climbing the Great Wall of China with a zealous tour guide.

When asking around, I’ve observed that popular holiday pastimes for most people include relaxing on a beach in the Maldives or jetting off to Dubai for a weekend of shopping.

And while, admittedly, everyone has a different opinion on the idea of leisure I can’t fathom anything more insipid for a trip abroad. Shopping and beaches are two of Bahrain’s largest exports and, if anything, shopping abroad only further enhances the materialistic culture our society seems to be entrapped in.

We already have enough pairs of shoes and clothes but how many can say they’ve had enough variation in experience? To quote an overused teenage cliché: ‘you only live once’.

Shoes and clothes will always be available to us but how many times in a lifetime will we be able to observe the Northern Lights of Finland and Iceland?

Or trail the unknown on the Inca Trail in Peru? Sadly enough, the answer remains in the single digits. So why not reconsider that winter weekend in Dubai?

Try something new, even if it is a mere road trip to the Tree of Life. If you can even find it, that is.