Not likely to get a holiday abroad soon? Never mind, you can satisfy your wanderlust by enjoying some of the pleasures of travel – without leaving home, writes SHEILA RYAN
WANDERLUST, itchy feet, the travel bug: despite the urge to roam, most of us have to spend long periods at home before embarking on the next adventure.
However, when grounded by circumstances some of the highlights of travel – seeing new things, learning about different cultures, meeting interesting people – can be enjoyed here, with no vaccinations or visas required.
Meet fellow travellers
Most of us will never get around to all the countries on our wish lists, but thanks to the couchsurfing phenomenon it is possible to invite people from all around the world into your home.
“I really liked the idea that I would meet people whose countries I might never visit and I loved the idea of just being exposed to cultures at a very human level,” says Belinda Brummer, who has opened her apartment in Co Wicklow to people from Israel, Canada, Italy and the US.
Couchsurfing.org allows people who want to visit a place to match up with people who live there. The traveller gets free accommodation and a taste of living in the host’s country, while the host gets a flavour of world exploration from home.
“Hosting is very much more about what you give than what you get,” says Brummer, who is also motivated by the opportunity to commit random acts of kindness.
Brummer had ambitions to work her way around the world, but when her career progressed, her travel slowed down. “I haven’t got around to travelling as much as I wanted because I’ve got a career, and so this is a way to do that.”
Based on altruism and trust, CouchSurfing.org claims millions of members in more than 230 countries and its goal is nothing less than changing the world by building connections across cultures.
“It’s a great myth-buster,” says Brummer, “because even if you don’t mean to, you have these stereotypes of cultures and when people come here they could be from any country. They’re just people.”
couchsurfing.org
Get an adrenalin hit
No round-the-world trip is considered complete without a serious adrenalin rush involving a high bridge, a scenic gorge and a long piece of elastic, but why let backpackers have all the fun?
Bungee Ireland holds regular bungee jumps around the country, using mobile cranes to hoist nervous punters skyward. The jumps are organised by charities, so they are relatively expensive, but a large part of the fee goes to a good cause, and it is still cheaper than flying to New Zealand.
bungeeireland.com
Seek enlightenment
Many a traveller has gone east to explore alternative religions, but eastern philosophies have also come to us.
There are opportunities to delve deeper into eastern religious practice without travelling to India or Tibet. The Irish Zen Group, which focuses on sitting meditation, has three practice centres, in Galway, Dublin and Cork, and is open to everyone interested in taking up meditation.
Dubliners need go no further than Kilmainham to find the Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre for World Peace and Health, where the Tuesday evening sessions are suitable for those who want to find out more about Buddhism.
Another organisation offering access to the Buddhist tradition of Tibet is Rigpa, which runs a retreat centre on the Beara Peninsula in Co Cork as well as meditation courses at centres around the country.
For a more informal look at eastern philosophies, try a self-guided wander around the sculpture park at Victoria’s Way in Roundwood, Co Wicklow. There, visitors can pause and meditate on the stages of life’s journey, symbolised by huge stone sculptures including Shiva, Buddha and numerous idols of the elephant-headed god, Ganesh.
zenireland.com
buddhism.ie
rigpa.ie
victoriasway.eu
Test your taste buds
Part of the fun of travelling is experiencing the local cuisine, especially in Asian countries where adventurous eaters can stretch their palates to the limit.
Like the Irish pub, the Chinese restaurant has colonised the world, and many major cities have their own Chinatowns bustling with opportunities to try something completely different.
In Dublin we have more of a “China village”, but for those hankering for something exotic to remind them of their travels it’s worth taking a chance on the noodle houses and Korean barbecue restaurants on Parnell and Capel Streets.
Drink in an Irish pub
We travel to get away from the familiar, have new experiences, step out of our comfort zones, but sooner or later we all find ourselves in an Irish pub.
Invariably, the bartenders are Irish, but the clientele is a mix of fellow travellers steered there by their guidebooks.
To replicate the authentic Irish pub overseas experience, you could do worse than start in the Harbour Bar in Bray, Co Wicklow.
A Lonely Planetpoll that recently voted it "Best Pub in the World" has not gone unnoticed by international travellers, and it now attracts more overseas visitors than ever.
“That award has significantly increased our business and, most amazingly, has brought people from as far away as Australia, Japan, Colombia to America and a ton of Europeans, more than we have ever seen before,” says Mark O’Toole of the Harbour Bar.
If carousing with an international bunch of party people is on your holiday to-do list, a Dart ticket could be all you need.
harbourbarbray.com
Hit the museums
For instant transportation to the far east, visit the Chester Beatty Library. Tucked away in Dublin Castle, this museum houses the legacy of Alfred Chester Beatty, an American who travelled in Egypt and Asia, adding to his collection of manuscripts and books, before settling in Ireland in 1950.
“Irish people are very surprised when they come in. They marvel at all these treasures that they have on their doorstep, right in the city centre,” says Derval O’Carroll of the Chester Beatty Library.
“We have lots of sacred texts from the world’s religions representing Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, the eastern religions.”
If you’re feeling peckish while there, you can take refuge in the museum’s Silk Road Café, where the illusion of travel continues uninterrupted. The chef, Abraham Phelan, bases his dishes on the cuisines of the countries represented by the museum’s collection.
cbl.ie
silkroadcafe.ie
Take time out
Early evening in France brings out large numbers of people to the parks to play pétanque. The game seems to serve chiefly as an excellent excuse to put the world aside for a few hours.
It is a tradition to be envied, but you do not have to go to France to join in. The click of boules can be heard every Tuesday evening and Saturday afternoon in Terenure’s Bushy Park, where the Park Pétanque Club meets.
Club chairperson Pierre Di Pizzo has just returned from the European championships in Sweden, where the Irish team qualified for the world championships in Marseille this October.
The club welcomes all comers and the members always bring a spare set of boules to lend to new players. There are also pétanque clubs in Cork, Bangor and Sligo.
parkpetanqueclub.com
Talk about Ireland
Most of us get a bit misty-eyed about home once we have been away for long enough. We have all found ourselves bending the ears of random people about all the wonderful places that they simply must visit when they go to Ireland.
The City of a Thousand Welcomes initiative aims to harness this urge. Launched in June, it introduces first-time visitors to hospitable Dubliners who are knowledgeable and passionate about their city. Then they meet up for a drink or a cup of tea.
Fran Mansfield, from Tallaght, regularly meets up with visitors, usually Americans, to share her knowledge of Ireland.
“I think I’ve an awful lot to offer because I was born and reared in Dublin, so I know a lot about Dublin that they wouldn’t normally see,” she says.
Mansfield has also travelled all over Ireland, returned to college to do Celtic studies and worked with Dublin Tourism. After her husband had an accident, she became a full-time carer.
“I had an awful lot of knowledge that I didn’t want to go to waste,” she says. “I felt as well that this is getting me out of the house a bit because I was minding him 24/7.”
Despite being a seasoned traveller, Mansfield has never been to the US and has enjoyed having her preconceptions about Americans (rich, divorced etc) dispelled by the people she has met.
“I’m looking at it with a different perspective,” she says. “They’re just like us.”
People keen to meet visitors to Ireland and give them the benefit of their insight into Dublin can apply online to be a City of a Thousand Welcomes ambassador.
cityofathousand welcomes.ie