Wanderlust synchronicity

There are so many conscious reasons to travel; personal reasons, for sure.  But there are also universal, more subconscious reasons to travel; reasons that I believe are innate in all of us wanderlusters.  There is that thread that connects us all, and reminds us that we all find wonder and inspiration from the same experiences. The flavors of foreign food, the smell of a distant land, the fashions of the native people, the blooms of the native flowers.... it all sparks a flame in that same spot inside my heart and mind as it does in yours.  Or so I think.

This belief of mine was just confirmed when I was scrolling through Instagram lastnight, and came across this picture on the feed of one of my favorite accounts, anotherbohemianqueen:

I saw this image and thought, "that is my photo."  I was sure of it.  I looked, and there was no tag to me, and I know this account is aware of the importance of tagging their photo sources.  My mouth fell open as I spent the next 20 minutes scrolling through my photos feed to find what I thought was the SAME EXACT photo that I had taken on our last trip to India, and posted earlier this year on Instagram. Only it wasn't the same exact photo.  It was this:

A photo of the same vendor, selling the same wares, on the same street, in the same city.  Taken by some other traveler who was taken aback just like me at the combination of color and daily life and wanderlust and awe... enough to stop and take a picture too.  I took several photos of this street scene, and captured the same "X" motifs above the window; I have compared details enough to know that these two photos were taken in the same EXACT spot.  This is not any landmark. This is not a monument, not a tourist destination.  Yet we both saw the magic. This is wanderlust.  This is beautiful.  This is what I can't put into words.

So when you pass a fellow traveler on the street and you smile at eachother, these are the things you are smiling about.  That inner calling, that inner knowing, that outward wandering.  It leads us all to the same places.

Do you have similar experiences?  Do share in the comments below!