Through the Lens: Why We Travel

Why do you travel? What a simple yet wonderful question and one that the New York Times has been posing to readers for quite a while. I travel because that's how I was raised....to go out and see the world and try new things. I travel because I love how it humbles me by showing all the things that I could never have imagined before the moment I saw that "new world" before my eyes or lived that experience.

Gaby Dressler, South Africa

To be honest, I usually associate "travel" with getting on a plane and leaving whatever country I'm living in, but the obvious truth is that you don't even have to go far to really "travel." This weekend I was driving back from Ohio through West Virginia and northern Maryland and was yet again struck by how beautiful the landscape was. Knowing that it would probably be one of my last trips to that area, I turned off the highway into one of the state parks and just walked around for a bit. I was stunned at just how little I know and have seen about this country I call home and all the beauty that it has to offer...

Joshua Hamby, Uganda

When I came back from Sudan almost 2 years ago, I had no energy for traveling. I needed to nest for a while and create a space that was truly mine. Over the years, I have really done that and feel very happy to have been able to crave out a space and a life that I enjoy. With that base under me, my urge to travel has returned with a vengeance. As of today, I've already been to three countries this year with at least one more on the horizon (Mexico for a friend's wedding) and I still feel like I haven't left. I've recently found myself plotting how I can afford to squeeze in at least 2 more trips abroad and those don't include the mega I'm-not-doing-anything-but-relaxingvacation that I desperately need.

Ethel Lara, Careysburg, Liberia

*this is the town where my family is from*

Phil Dvoskin, Namibia

When the New York Times posing that question to their readers, they get such amazing stories and reader photographs that I thought it would be wonderful to share my favorite of those photos from throughout Africa....it reminds me of just how much is out there waiting for me to explore.

So why do you travel?

{Photos: New York Times}