Everyone has their own dream escapade. It can be somewhere in the real world or it can also be in a fantasy world. This is probably the reason why most people love to read the best travel books that can inspire them to explore.
Reading books is like escaping the exhausting life that we face in our own realities. Just like what most book enthusiasts would say “reading is food for the soul.” So come on and start nourishing your soul by reading some of the best travel books of all time!
“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The story revolves around the pilot (narrator), who had crashed his plane in the Sahara Desert, and the little prince, a young blond boy who came from Asteroid 325. The little prince befriended the pilot after he drew him a sheep.
The prince shared his journey to the pilot before coming to Earth. In Asteroid 325, he fell in love with a beautiful rose only to have his heart broken because of its lies. The young boy fell in despair and decided to leave his planet and set out for a long journey.
The travels of the Little Prince
He had met several creatures from his neighboring planets (asteroids) who shaped his personality over time. In one of the nearby asteroids, he met several grown-ups whom he found strange and shallow. One of the adults he met was a geographer who suggested that he must travel to Earth.
Leading to Earth, the little prince landed in a desert where humans are nowhere to be found. He then met a snake who always talks in riddle and whose poison can send him to heaven. He disregarded the snake and continued to explore the place around him.
What you can learn
The little prince finally found a friend in a fox who made him realize that “important things in life are visible only to the heart.” It was that realization in which the little prince concluded that he still loves and longs for the rose he had left behind.
Eight days passed since the pilot’s plane crashed but the two have shared great times together. One year after the prince landed on Earth, the pilot had his plane fixed, and the little prince was about to go back to his home planet where his rose was waiting.
The snake obliged the prince’s request to bite him, and he fell straight to the sand. The next day, the pilot can no longer find the little prince’s body where he sincerely hoped that the prince would travel safely back to his home planet.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis
This book became one of the biggest blockbuster movies in the early 2000’s. It tells the journey of four Pevensie siblings: Susan, Peter, Lucy, and Edmund who went to a magical land called Narnia.
Finding your own adventure
Due to the war outbreak in their hometown in London, they were forced to evacuate their house and stayed in the mysterious home of Professor Kirke in the English countryside. Little Lucy first discovered the world of Narnia by accidentally hiding in a wardrobe.
Along with her three siblings, they have joined forces with Aslan to end the evil reign of the White Witch in Narnia. After defeating the witch, they have been proclaimed as kings and queens of the golden age.
Without realizing, the four of them have become grown-ups and have forgotten entirely the world from which they came. Years have passed, but while the siblings were running with their horses in the forest, a familiar smell leads them back to the wardrobe only to find out that they are children once again.
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
In this generation, this is one of the best books to read about traveling. It talks about the protagonist, Santiago, and his determination to pursue the dream he always encounters every time he sleeps under the sycamore tree.
He dreams about a treasure in an Egyptian pyramid. To finally end the uneasy feeling that the dream caused, he decided to seek for a gypsy’s interpretation of the dream. Santiago was surprised when the gypsy advised him to go to Egypt. He then met a man claiming to be the King of Salem and tells him that finding the treasure is his “personal legend” and that he has to go to Tangier.
It was not an easy journey for Santiago as he encounters difficult circumstances, but he did not lose his faith. Along the way, he falls in love with a girl named Fatima in Al-Fayoum where he also met the 200-year-old alchemist.
Pursuing your personal legend
Santiago leaves Fatima for the time being and pursues his so-called personal legend with the help of the alchemist. The alchemist teaches him several lessons such as to listen to his heart’s inner desires and pursue the legend.
The 200-year-old alchemist demonstrates a lot of things which leaves Santiago in awe like creating a sandstorm and turning lead into gold. In the latter part of the story, it was revealed that there is no treasure under the foot of the pyramid but rather the treasure has always been hidden under the sycamore tree where Santiago always spends sleeping.
“Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book is one of the best books about travel and self-discovery in centuries. This is the story about a writer who just went through a divorce. It made her realize that the life she has is not the life she wants to live. Her world was turned upside down. There was only one thing she can think of to mend her broken soul. And that was to travel for one year.
Loving yourself
For her first stop, she goes to Italy and treats herself with so much pleasure. She takes delight in eating mouth-watering cuisine and drinking delicious wine. The place did not help her overcome depression, so she proceeds to her second stop, India.
There she spends a lot of time in meditation to cleanse her wounded soul. She feels lighter and she becomes ready to explore another chapter of her life. She sets off to Bali, Indonesia. There, she will eventually will find her true love.
Conclusion
The Little Prince and Chronicles of Narnia are one of the best travel books, especially for children. At a young age, these books would be a big help in honing their imagination and critical thinking. Here is a list of travel books that are worth mentioning: Seven Years in Tibet (1953), Siddhartha (1922), Euphoria (2014), Into the Wild (1996), The Beach (1996).
