For many Global Traveler readers, travel is part of everyday life — as routine as brushing your teeth, eating breakfast or checking email. Travel changes you; it reshapes routines, priorities and perspectives.
For the fifth consecutive year, Global Traveler, in partnership with United Airlines and Andaz Hotels, searched for the United 1K Global Traveler of the Year. Travelers worldwide were invited to describe how travel has influenced their lives. We asked: How does being a frequent traveler define you? Thousands of frequent flyers responded.
The contest, open to United 1K members, ran online from May 1 to Oct. 31, 2009. Essays, limited to 200 words, arrived in steady streams, each offering a distinct and compelling view of travel’s role. John Mapes of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, captured the subtle ways travel becomes woven into daily life.
Mapes is director of global education development for a multinational medical technology company and logged more than 200,000 miles with United Airlines in 2009. He served two years with the U.S. Peace Corps and has lived and worked across Asia and Europe. His global work centers on healthcare, environment, energy and economic development. In his free time he enjoys bodysurfing, gardening and spending time with his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Kiran.
As the winner, Mapes receives a choice of two bicoastal experiences. United Airlines provides two round-trip first-class tickets to either Los Angeles or New York. Andaz, Hyatt’s newest global brand, offers accommodations, dinner and a city tour at Andaz West Hollywood or Andaz Wall Street.
The Winning Essay
Touch to my heart and down to my side — passport, wallet, cell phone.
Like pilgrims who find comfort in a familiar blessing, I have developed travel rituals that steady me. I pack the same clothes the same way into the same suitcase: socks rolled into shoes, ties folded into a coat pocket. The garments always reach the rim of the suitcase. With my eyes closed, I know everything is where it should be.
Before I leave a house, hotel or airplane, I instinctively touch near my heart and down to my side to confirm the familiar — passport, wallet, cell phone. I extend the suitcase handle and feel the expected weight as it rolls. All is as it should be.
Those rituals have shaped how I live. Everything has its place. Leave behind what you can. Move efficiently. Pay attention to details.
At the same time, if I remain in one place too long, I grow anxious to move on. The right balance for me is one-quarter sentimental, three-quarters new and different.
My family has tried to replace my suitcase. My company has tried to change my phone. I have tested other airlines, but I always return to the familiar. I know my suitcase fits in the overhead bin and my book fits in the seat pocket in front of me.
Touch to my heart and down by my side — passport, wallet, cell phone. I’m ready.