Our adventures together go back more than 3 decades and the last 7 years have gone by in a flash! During this time we have traveled non-stop and have learned so much about the world and each other. A reporter recently wanted to know our learned lessons from traveling the world – basically the things you learn from traveling to 195 countries and traveling continuously.

We have shared the link to the interview above, and have also written out the 10 most important lessons learned from traveling the world in this post. These insights have kept us safe, curious, engaged and constantly learning and discovering.

What can you learn from traveling? Hopefully these get you thinking about your own lessons learned.

10 Lessons from Traveling the World

The more we travel the more we pay attention to our surroundings trying to listen, understand and learn from our experiences. Here are our 10 lessons from traveling the world.

#1 – We are all the same in our hopes and desires

Traveling across the globe to 195 different countries we have observed and realized that all of us are the same in our hopes and desires. We all want to be safe, have a roof over our family’s head, food on the table, access to healthcare, education for our children and peace in the community around us.

During our last 7 plus years of non stop travel we have spent a lot of time talking to people. All kinds of people from villagers in very remote communities to homeless people and educated scholars in large cities. And the bottom line is: We may look different from the outside, yet we are very much alike on the inside.

What I learned from traveling – the most important thing is how much we are all the same!

#2 – A country is not defined by it’s government – but by it’s people

A country, any country for that matter is not defined by it’s government, but is defined by it’s people. For example, the hospitality that we felt in Afghanistan was extraordinary. Even though the beautiful people of Afghanistan do not have very much themselves, they offered up whatever they could as a gesture of hospitality.

Even earlier, while traveling through Central America in the early 1990’s with our then toddler son, there were so many times that a local would save us. Why and how you ask? Well, we would park our Westfalia camper van in the most dangerous of places – like a drug cartels coca plantation.

Of course, we didn’t know that…but they did. There were numerous times that farmers and other locals would direct us back to their homes and would guard us with machine guns through the night as we slept. Crazy to think what could have happened if they didn’t.

The generosity we encountered across the world was simply overwhelming. Time and again, we were humbled by the kindness of strangers, especially those who had very little. They would open their homes and hearts to us, offering everything they had – a bed, a meal, safety, even just a cup of tea – to make us feel welcome as their guests.

These experiences were profoundly moving, leaving us truly speechless. While our instinct was always to reciprocate, we learned that many cultures consider such offerings a matter of honor, and acceptance would be disrespectful. So, we would receive their gifts with the grace and gratitude they deserve.

#3 – Education is required to advance a nation

Countries that have invested in widespread education have experienced progress in many areas which can really advance a nation. Take Finland, for instance. It transformed its economy by focusing on a strong public education system that emphasizes critical thinking and creativity.

This focus has led to high literacy rates, innovation in technology, and overall economic growth. Traveling through Finland, you’ll notice how this investment in education reflects in the people’s high quality of life, civic engagement, and overall well-being.

#4 – There are extraordinary people everywhere

One would think that a country where folks are struggling just to get by would also have limited phenoms. Well, were we ever wrong! There are extraordinary people in every pocket of the world creating their own opportunities.

For example, we were walking close to the beach in Lome, the capital of Togo and happened upon a young boy. He must have been 9 or 10 years old. He was all by himself on a corner of a busy intersection. The boy was sitting on the ground and making toys out of mud, straw and sticks to sell to passersby.

The toys that he was making were fantastic – especially given his very limited resources. Unfortunately at that moment we didn’t have any cash to give him and decided to go to an ATM. When we returned he and his toys were gone. To this day we regret not getting his information, as this boy is someone that we would have loved to help out in furthering his education and talent.

#5 – Giving money to women helps a community

During our visit to any impoverished country we always set aside some money to give to women in the community. I will never forget the glee of the 2 elderly cleaners in a small hotel in Cape Maclear in Malawi when we gave them the equivalent of about $5 USD each.

These ladies were jumping for joy because they were going to be able to buy some corn flour for their family. Our experience has been that if we give money to women, they will bring it back to their families and their communities. However, if we give money to men they will most likely spend it on themselves.

Now, we are generalizing of course, there are plenty of men that bring resources back to their families. However given our experience, we choose to help out a woman who will most likely help out her family and community.

#6 – Travel light – Live light

When we sold our 3 car garage house in 2017 and donated 99.9% of our worldly possessions we realized how much unnecessary stuff we really had! And later as nomads when we got robbed in Taranto Italy, (the thieves taking the little bit that we had), we realized that we needed even less.

As some of you already know we travel light and live light as we only have carry on backpacks. We travel with that in almost every climate from Andorra in January (brrr) to Zimbabwe in October (their hottest month). We learned early that to have less stuff makes us feel lighter and ultimately better. Give it a try and see if a purge of stuff is cleansing for you.

#7 – A smile and kindness is the best form of communication

Traveling to so many different places, being able to communicate with folks can be difficult at times. However, a smile sure does go a long way….as does kindness. If people see that you are trying to make a connection in a positive way 9 times out of 10, they will go out of their way to help you.

That can be difficult at the end of a long day of travel. However, we find clearing our minds of all the negativity of a stressful day prior to interacting with folks is key.

I remember coming into a small family run hotel in Bosnia and Herzegovina where the owner was not having a good day. She was quite grumpy and negative saying that we did not have a reservation and they were full up.

However, I tried to be as positive and smiley as I could have been and didn’t relent. After a bit, she gave us the best room that she had and even made us dinner.

So, we always try to “show up” as positive as possible; using our smile as our currency.

#8 – Health is Wealth

Traveling non-stop as we do, staying healthy becomes very important! And we focus on our health quite a bit. As some of you know, I am vegan, don’t drink alcohol, work out regularly and do intermittent fasting. Together, we try to walk at least 15K steps a day and hike as often as we can.

However, as we age, that is just not enough. In 2024, we added quite a bit to our health regimen, including the annual Executive Health Screen in Kuala Lumpur and a twice a year skin check in Bangkok just to name a few.

You may recall, about a year ago, we got quite a wake up call in Senegal when we discovered that Rob had a very serious malaria infection. This illness derailed our travel for the last 2 months of 2023 and could have ended up much worse than it did.

Since then, we have been much more vigilant with checking things out before they get to be as serious as that infection was. So, for us health is truly wealth.

#9 – Nature is the best healer and teacher

For our mental health, we find that we need to spend a considerable amount of time in nature. And this takes planning to make sure that we balance our time in larger cities with our need to reconnect with the trees and our beloved hiking trails.

For example, even though Surakarta, Indonesia is quite a large city, we made sure to find time to get away from the cement and smog and go hiking and exploring on that island’s beautiful trails. And for us, this is important to do wherever we go.

#10- Trust your instincts

While traveling it is easy to just go with the flow and not worry about too much. However, we urge you to always trust your instincts, especially in more dangerous countries.

As you may recall a few years back as we were traveling through South Africa we got ourselves into quite a bit of a mess that could have ended very badly for us. However, Rob trusted his instincts and saved our lives because of that. I still get shivers down my spine just thinking about what could have happened.

Final Thoughts – What I learned from Traveling

For us, traveling the world is more than just visiting new places; it’s a journey of personal growth and discovery. It is also a huge privilege and responsibility. Each lesson learned along the way shapes us into more open-minded, patient, and grateful people – or so we hope! Now, Rob would argue that the patience piece I still have to work on – and I do – I work on this daily!

Whether you’re planning your first trip or are a seasoned traveler, remember that the real value of travel isn’t in the destination but in the journey. The experiences and friendships we gain along the way are so much of the lessons we learn from traveling!

Are there lessons from traveling the world that we didn’t mention? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Happy travels!