You know how when you do anything for a while, you start to become a little jaded? How even things that once seemed amazing can gradually start feeling mundane? I think travel can sometimes be that way, especially if you’re traveling for an extended time, or out of obligation (e.g. for work). The wide-eyed wonder of being in a new place becomes replaced by boredom at the thought of having to visit another museum or dread at the thought of going through another airport.

Well, I recently stumbled across a fantastic website called 1000 Awesome Things, where blogger Neil Pasricha lists all the ordinary and even mundane things in life that are actually pretty awesome when you stop and think about them (some of his examples include picking the fastest moving line at the grocery store checkout, or when someone guesses that you’re way younger than you actually are).

Neil’s list of all the little things that make life awesome inspired me to start my own list – one that’s focused on the awesome little things associated with travel. It really made me smile a lot as I came up with this list, so I hope you’ll read through it and take a moment to tell me about what awesome things you would add to the list.

Being the first group called to board your flight. Getting the entire row of seats on the plane all to yourself on a really long overnight flight. Getting free upgrades. Showers with fabulous water pressure. Showering for the first time after days of hiking/camping/doing anything really dirty. A room with a view. Finding out the museum you’re visiting is having its free day that day. Getting discounts. Long evenings spent talking with new friends you made on the road. Staying in a hotel that provides really nice shampoos and lotions. Staying in a hostel that gives you big fluffy towels so you don’t have to use your itsy-bitsy, non-fluffy travel towel. Awful weather that clears up just in time for your arrival. Finding out your bus/train/flight is delayed just long enough that you don’t miss it on a day when you’re running late. Free bottles of water and a welcome basket of fruit in your hotel room so you don’t have to go hunting for drinks and snacks when you’re tired. Stunning sunsets in an exotic destination. Stumbling upon an amazing site or event that no other tourists seem to know about. Finding money you didn’t know you’d lost in your coat pocket/bottom of your bag. Ordering some bizarre-sounding foreign dish off a menu and having it turn out to be amazing. Free wi-fi. The moment when you wake up in the morning and suddenly remember that you’re in a foreign city/country. Afternoon siestas. Hammocks. Drinks with little umbrellas in them. Drinks that are essentially coconuts with a straw in them. Receiving emails from family and friends whining about how boring their life is/how much they hate their job while you’re sitting somewhere amazing. Beautiful hotel pools. Hotel pools with bars that you can swim right up to. Free samples (the chocolate shops in Belgium come to mind). Eating all the desserts you want because you know you’ll be walking it all off during a long day of sightseeing. Beaches with sand so fine it squeaks between your toes. Experiencing snow or the ocean for the first time (if you’re from someplace that doesn’t have those things). Not having to make the bed. Mints on your pillow. Hearing a song over and over while you’re on vacation so that every time you hear that song, you remember your trip and smile. Eating an incredible meal that you could never afford to eat in your own country. Hotels with all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets. Discovering an amazing new food you never realized existed. Being someplace so remote you can see all the stars in the sky. Free airport transfers. When the in-flight entertainment features a movie you’ve been dying to see. When you find a public restroom. When you find a CLEAN public restroom. When you try to do that self-portrait thing with your camera and it actually turns out. Flying somewhere and gaining an extra day because of the time difference. Wine and cheese picnics in foreign parks. When the line at airport security/customs/immigration is shorter than you expected. The first view of your destination through the airplane window. Realizing that every night is a Friday night because you’re on vacation. Finally seeing a city/monument/site you’ve always wanted to see and having it live up to or even surpass all the hype. Coming home to your own, perfect bed at the end of a trip.

What awesome little thing about travel would you add to the list?