I think that while there may be a tendancy to romanticize the people  and places we meet when we travel, who we are eventually catches up to  us. At the same time, travelling is a heightened experience during which  we meet people we otherwise might never meet and see things we might  otherwise never see. It's what makes traveling so great. What I think is  hard about traveling is remembering that while these experience enhance  who we are, they don't make us who we are. We carry that with us  wherever we go. As I travel I try to remind myself that I'm not trying  to escape myself or to become someone new. Rather, traveling helps me  learn who I am.

When I'm fully aware of this is when I have the best travel experiences.  The picture above was taken in the Shuk in Jerusalem on a Saturday  night, of three travelers I met on the road. On Saturday's, the Shuk  (Jerusalem's large street market) closes down for the sabbath. On  Saturday night a small bar opens up amid the otherwise empty bazzar. As  the night went on more people joined our table and we drank and talked  into the night.