Motivations?
For me, straight shaving is much more "involved" and I find straights infinitely more interesting than DEs. DEs have a history of course, but straights have a much longer and more colorful one.
Also, I take a great deal of pleasure in the fact that I am maintaining a shave-ready edge myself as opposed to just popping another blade into my SuperSpeed. There's a much greater sense of accomplishment with a straight compared to a DE.
Besides, IMO, straights yield a closer and longer lasting shave than with a DE. There's both an upside and a downside to that: If you enjoy shaving, you don't have to shave as often. That statement therewithin contains both the pros and cons. I CAN shave with a straight every day, but I far prefer shaving every other day as the shaves are just somehow better that way.
In reference to traveling, I don't travel very much, so I don't have an opinion on that...