Let's open our world is a strong sentence that momondo use. And they also present you with five ways to open our world. I believe that a lot of people that travel a lot, already use the different ways to open our world – if not, here is a "cheat sheet" that might help you to open your mind and our world.
When we got the honor of becoming momondo ambassadors, we felt really safe with standing by this company. They have a lot of (if not all) the same values as we have and it felt like the perfect marriage between us. And we love the slogan "Let's open our world". Mini and I really try to do that – both open our world and our mind.
We did write a post about what traveling with an open mind means to us. You can read it here. And a great thing is that momondo share a lot of those values. On their website, momondo also gives out tip on how you think and act while traveling.
Here is our interpretation of those five ways. It would be great to hear from you guys if you have a different view or if you have other points that you keep in mind while traveling. At first, it might seem obvious and easy. But when you put your mind to it – what does it mean to you? For example – what does "lower your guard" mean to you? Here is what it means to us!
We always try to leave our judgments at home when we are out exploring. A lot of people will say that they don't have preconception when it comes to other people. Saying that is a lie. We all have prejudice and if we say that we don't, we are lying. We believe that an important part is knowing about your thoughts and actions. It is first then, that you can try to change.
By lowering our guard, we try to accept each and every individual as they are. Sure, we have met some people during our years traveling that we would like to call strange. But at the same time – who says that we are not strange in other peoples minds? Try to lower your guard and be open to new opportunities and new chances in life!
This is my favorite one. Mini often says that I'm "that weirdo that will sit next to a stranger on an empty bus" and I think he's right. I love talking to people – strangers or friends, as long as anyone will listen, I will talk! My favorite thing is that you learn so much by talking to strangers. You often learn more about other cultures and you get another way of thinking. I often have my mind set up that I have a strong opinion about. Turns out that I'm often wrong. A stranger might say something to me and I will change my mind.
The most important thing is that you talk to people with an open mind. Make sure to really listen when they talk and try to learn something new each day!
Unless you are hurting yourself or anyone else, always say yes! Often we say no to new things because we are either afraid to try something new or we say no because we have a premonition that we won't like it. Mini is the first one to raise his hand when it comes to this. He is sometimes saying no to things that I want to do. After a lot of nagging, he will come with me and then after the experience he will admit that he had a great time and that he is happy that he did it.
One thing where he was really reluctant (almost mad) to was when I went ahead and booked a donkey walk in Portugal. We were supposed to meet the owner of the place early new years day and Mini was not happy. But after the walk, he was so glad and now when he says no, I remind him of the donkeys 😉.
Isn't this one of the most important things in life, to stay curious?! During my education, I was always told that a journalist that is not curious, is not a good journalist. You have to be curious according to us, because if you aren't, how can you live a great life? Be open-minded and be open to explore and be curious. And it is fun to be curious.
Mini is an expert on that. If there is a button to push, he will do it to see what happens. Honestly, he is like a child when it comes to that. When he got his first cd-player, he unscrewed the whole thing to see how it looked inside. After that, his dad had to help him to put it together again. But that's a good thing – always stay curious.
This is a big part of our travels – the need to wanting to share our experiences with all of you. Most often it's positive things and experiences that we want to share but we give you the high and the lows. If there is a place that we really like, we want to let everybody know about this place. And often we will look for some tips or tricks that might enhance your experience of a certain place.
That is literally our job, to spread the word and to share our travels with the rest of the world. And we believe that a lot of you have the same urge and need to share your experiences. It doesn't have to be a blog, it can be on Facebook or Instagram or whatever. Just make sure that you care and care enough to share!
Traveling makes us grow as human beings and it makes us more humble and gives us more understanding about other cultures and people. A great way to start is to book your next adventure, using the momondo website.