Travel is a feeling, an exercise of the will, and even a kind of training.

As someone who has never dared to step off the beaten path, I've taken many a mindless, comfortable tour with groups, but I've had pathetically little experience with self-directed trips, particularly solo, exploratory, roughing-it kinds of adventures. The closest I've come was during some time spent in New York many years ago. My coursework wasn't very demanding, so I had some time to wander around.

I was alone in a foreign land, and remember having a frightening sense of unlimited freedom. I had a map, but no idea where to go. None of the streets meant anything to me. What would I gain or lose by following this one or that? Did anyone care? There was no one to talk it over with; I had to work out their significance for myself.

I also felt loneliness. When the evening fog rolled in, the dormitory's isolation became very apparent. I wondered how long it would take anyone to notice if I should happen to disappear.

I couldn't shake my feeling of insecurity. On nights that I stayed late to finish reports in the information lab, I had to force myself to pack up and catch the train back to my dorm before midnight. My whole body would tense up as I hurried home amidst the windblown litter and the rattle of empty beer cans, past the homeless people drunk or passed out in dark corners. I was terrified that they would get up (even though I knew research had shown that homeless people were rarely aggressive).

It wasn't until shortly before I returned to Taiwan-when I'd finally seen all of Manhattan, learned to enjoy solitude, and made a few friends with whom I attended some outdoor concerts-that I realized that New York evenings were quite enjoyable and not at all dangerous. I was annoyed at my earlier mistakes and swore never again to surround myself with imaginary fears.

I don't know whether anyone is born a traveler, but my experience taught me that even someone as careful and conscientious as me can, given the time and opportunity, learn to cast aside their inhibitions and nurture their wanderlust. While travel isn't necessarily a pilgrimage, it certainly has elements of an "inward journey" and of seeing the world and yourself through the eyes of another.

This month's cover stories focus on types of inexpensive travel that are particularly well suited to young people, such as working holidays and traveling as a volunteer. We've come a long way from the days when staying at home was thought the economical thing to do and travel an expensive indulgence.

I once read something to the effect that "poor people are bound by space, while the rich are bound by time." A Taiwan Panorama writer conducting interviews in Hong Kong's poor Sham Shui Po District in 2007 discovered something similar: many of the mainland Chinese emigres living there refused to spend money on the subway and had never visited bustling Hong Kong Island, just eight stops away. Nowadays, the government and private foundations in Taiwan support travel by kids from poorer families in a number of ways. If these kids are willing to put in a little mental or physical effort, they too can travel abroad. Unemployment among university graduates is currently at record highs. We can provide these young people with short-term make-work jobs, or spend the same amount of money to send them on inexpensive (and far more educational) trips abroad.

Naturally, this kind of youth travel requires the willingness to set aside comfort, the courage to face the unknown, and parents who are willing to let go. But life is a journey, and making frequent small trips helps people of every age take in, reflect on, and grasp this larger adventure.

This month's Taiwan Panorama includes several pieces that involve setting out, setting things aside, and letting go, including articles on laughter as medicine, the Legend Lin Dance Theatre, and the Danshui River ecological corridor.

With the proper attitude and training, you don't actually need to go very far or do anything in particular to make the kind of trip that will help you unwind, both mentally and physically.