Chasing Travel Ghosts (Part 2): Thoughts on Going Back
Updated : 04/10/19 | April 10th, 2019 Last year, I talked about how travelers are often chasing ghosts. We revisit places, trying to capture that initial amazingness we felt while we were there. And most of the time we end up disappointed. We go back and try to re-create something that can’t be re-created. In a way, we are all like drug addicts, simply trying to chase that first high. But we can never quite reach it. After all, it is people who create our memories — not places. And so last year I vowed never to chase ghosts. It’s why I’ll never go back to Ko Lipe in Thailand, and why I said I would never go back to the Greek island of Ios. The memories I made in those places were too special, and I knew going back wouldn’t be the same without the people who were there the first time around. Yet here I am, writing this post from Ios, a place on my “do not return” list. Yes, I came back here. But it had nothing to do with chasing the ghosts of travels past. It was my birthday ...