Spotlight on Travel – Finding Meaning in the Journeys We Take
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In this edition of Spotlight on Travel, Rob Watson and John Coster return after time away on their respective journeys, bringing with them a conversation that moves far beyond the idea of travel as leisure. Instead, they explore why travel matters, what it changes, and how it shapes the way we understand the places we come from.
John begins by reflecting on his recent return to Nigeria, a country he first visited nearly twenty years ago. This latest trip took him deep into the working world of a new media house and into regions that are often described from afar through the language of instability and fear. What he found instead was a more complex reality shaped by people, encounters, and a sense of shared humanity. Moving between cities, filming on the ground, and attending a local wedding, he describes the experience as one that pushed him to examine assumptions, recognise local resilience, and appreciate the care shown by those who guided and protected him.
Rob contrasts this with his first journey to Japan, a country he approached with curiosity and a desire to understand its rhythm. Travelling between cities, navigating public transport, and immersing himself in the everyday organisation of urban life, he describes Japan as a place defined by engineering, order, and a social expectation that visitors must adapt, rather than expecting the host culture to bend around them. He brings attention to the quiet details that reveal deeper cultural patterns, from the simple act of waiting at pedestrian crossings to the calm efficiency of public spaces.
Together they discuss the challenge of tourism and the tension between authentic engagement and the growing global habit of performing experiences for the camera. They reflect on the difference between visiting places for bragging rights and experiencing them through conversation, patience, and attention. Both recognise that their most meaningful encounters came when they stepped away from the familiar, whether by leaving the main temples of Angkor Wat years ago or by finding quieter corners of Japanese cities far from the crowds.
The conversation also turns to what travel reveals about home. Rob and John consider how experiences abroad cast new light on the places we return to, highlighting gaps in organisation, social cohesion, and cultural understanding. They question how cities with residents from around the world can better support encounters between cultures, rather than leaving people to retreat into small, separate groups. For both of them, the value of travel lies not in escape, but in the ability to see one’s own society more clearly.
As the discussion closes, they return to the idea that the stories that matter most are the ones rooted in connection. Not the staged photographs or the checklist of attractions, but the everyday exchanges with strangers, the unexpected kindness, the shared food, and the moments that cannot be planned. Spotlight on Travel, in this sense, becomes an invitation to look for significance not only in distant places but also in the experiences that shape how we live and relate to one another.
