Welcome to Traveling Also Means
Why this blog exists, what you will find here, and the kind of travel conversation I hope we can share.
There is a moment at the airport that I have witnessed more times than I could count. A traveler steps up to the counter, passport in hand, carrying more than luggage: expectations, questions, and sometimes a little worry.
During about 21 years in airport and airline station management, I saw that moment repeat itself with people from many countries, cultures, and walks of life. What struck me was how many of their questions had little to do with the flight itself. What will it be like there? How do people live? What should I be careful about? What should I not miss?
Those questions are where this blog begins.
An Unfinished Sentence
The name Traveling Also Means is an unfinished sentence, on purpose.
Traveling also means adapting to a different rhythm. It means tasting something unfamiliar, asking for directions in another language, noticing how people greet one another, and learning the everyday realities no brochure mentions. It can mean patience at a crowded terminal, respect for local customs, or simply paying closer attention.
Each article here will try to complete that sentence a little differently.
Where My Perspective Comes From
My path has taken me through journalism, radio, communications, and a long career in aviation. Radio and journalism taught me to listen, to ask questions, and to tell a story clearly. Aviation showed me travel from the operations side: the planning, the people, and the realities behind what looks like a simple trip. Along the way, personal travels and speaking English, French, and Spanish have helped me connect with people beyond the surface.
None of this makes me an expert on every destination. What it gives me is a way of looking at travel: with curiosity, with respect for the people who live where we visit, and with an eye for the practical details that make a journey easier.
What You Will Find Here
Traveling Also Means is an independent travel publication, not a travel agency or a booking platform. Its articles move between two kinds of writing, and many will combine both.
- Stories about places, cultures, people, and food: the experiences and observations that help us understand a destination rather than just visit it.
- Practical perspectives on preparation, safety awareness, local realities, and the insider knowledge that comes from years around airports and air travel.
I will write about what I know, and I will be clear when something is a personal opinion rather than a fact. Travel changes, and so do places, so I will also encourage you to check current conditions before you go.
An Invitation
This blog is for many kinds of readers: those preparing for a first international trip, those who travel often for work or for pleasure, and those who travel mostly through stories. You are all welcome here.
Read at your own pace, and start wherever your curiosity leads. If an article makes you curious about a place, or helps you feel a little more prepared for your next journey, it will have done its work.
Welcome to Traveling Also Means.
— Francklin Pierre, Founder