Don’t Ever Travel for the Passport Stamps

Once you start traveling to only receive passport stamps, you start to lose the reasons why you should travel in the first place.

Here I am sitting 40,000 feet in the air on my approach to Amsterdam, unable to sleep due to it still being slightly before midnight Eastern Standard Time. And I’ve been thinking more and more about why I am leaving the Amsterdam airport (AMS) during my 15 hour layover.

Against popular belief, I’m not leaving for the thrills of Customs & Immigration upon arrival. But, rather to get out and to experience another culture & city as much as I can.

While sitting at JFK prior to departure, I hurriedly put together a 1-day in Amsterdam itinerary that I thought would best show me the beautiful city.

The thrill of travel is meeting people from across the world, trying food you’d never normally eat, and taking part in adventures that you never thought you’d be a part of.

Taking time to reflect on your travels will be more fulfilling than flipping through filled passport pages. Let the pages and stamps serve as a reminder for the experiences you had.