Why venture to galaxies far, far away when Earth is right there, ripe for exploration?
Our planet buzzes with captivating customs and life forms just waiting to be uncovered and investigated. And the breathable oxygen makes the process all the more enjoyable.
Sure, our world has been explored many times over, and travellers are often left with the same memories of fairytale castles, millennial-old temples, and mountain-perched pagodas.
Yet, each experience is filtered through our personal perspectives, making the interpretation of the same world boundless.
All the serendipitous opportunities and encounters along the way contribute to shaping this unique perspective. By letting space to spontaneity, you’ll open doors to even more wonder and experiences at every turn.
Reflecting on a decade of solo travel, I’ve concocted five key principles that have guided me along the way.
Investigate the true frontiers
Back in my early travel days, I was on a mission to check off every country on the map. My list of places to see grew faster than I could keep track, and brief layovers was enough to count as a country milestone.
But thanks to newly gained wisdom, my focus shifted from quantitative goal achievement to observing how different regions morphed into one another. Where are the boundaries and continuities of the human geography landscape. Or simply put: where does one place end and another begin, really?
And even more mind-bending: how can the same cultural traits be found in cultures separated by oceans and mountain ranges, or even located on opposite sides of the globe?
When I first embarked on an overland journey across the Asian continent, I found myself wondering how much time and distance were necessary before I finished quitting China and started entering Laos. How much does a country spill beyond the boundaries imposed by politics? As my travels continued, I questioned the moment when I truly found myself somewhere else, and how that somewhere else revealed itself.
To sum up, I measure my progress by regions covered and not by countries visited.
Maintain the pace
To grasp the moment of change between countries or regions, it’s important to maintain a steady and deliberate pace. Avoid favouritism, rushing, shortcuts, or lingering.
Sure, some places may be so incredibly charming with their laid-back vibes and out-of-this-world scenery that they command a longer stopover.
However, like with people, I prefer when I have to learn to love a place. Unpopular destinations are just waiting to be appreciated for the unique qualities they conceal.
Less inspirational places, whether entire countries or overlooked neighborhoods in famous cities, deserve exploration with equal curiosity and focus. Their lower popularity among tourists can be used as an advantage.
Overindulging in comfort can cloud your objectivity. I want my memories of a region to create a seamless movie reel in my mind, which would allow for a better appreciation of the distance travelled and the changes in landscapes.
Experience time dilation
Embarking on an open-ended backpacking journey might be the easiest and safest way to experience time dilation. For those who have left the confines of a stationary life, time takes on a dynamic quality. A single day can feel like a week, while an entire month can vanish in the blink of an eye. It’s time travel without the need for unreliable machines or convoluted theorems.
When you travel to new places, even the most routine activities are reinvigorated by the strangeness of the surroundings. Tasks like going to the bank, doing laundry, or using public transportation, which might have become automatic in familiar territories, regain their significance and novelty.
This heightened awareness of the present enables us to capture moments that might otherwise slip in the many folds of apathy, like those fleeting interactions with a roadside villager that bridge the space-time continuum for a few seconds.
Aim for directionless travel
When you’re fixated on a specific goal, you often miss the unexpected gems hidden along your path. True exploration must be free from predefined objectives or purpose.
Real discoveries happen when you stop looking for them, revealing themselves along a path you wouldn’t have taken if you stuck to the most efficient route.
To truly uncover the unforeseen, you need a driving force—a grand or seemingly unattainable goal that will keep you going. This forward momentum into the unknown opens doors to discoveries, which may divert you away from your initial plan.
My decision-making style is directionless, fuelled by impractical dreams, and often diverted by a captivating reality. External forces acting on me during my journey can manifest as a chance encounter, an enticing opportunity, or an unpredicted destination. What keeps me motivated is the drive of moving forward.
Listen to the Walls
Being drowned under theories and research in my daily work, I find little motivation to read about the countries I intend to visit. Thus, when travelling to a remote and unfamiliar destination, all my senses and awareness are dedicated to absorbing the kind of knowledge that cannot be found in documents.
I prefer experiencing history firsthand rather than through books. I like to pretend I don’t know anything about the culture and politics before I enter a new country, which isn’t far from the truth. This approach allows me to recreate the excitement and wonder that early explorers might have felt.
While this approach might raise some eyebrows, I deliberately avoid guided tours when visiting historical sites. Instead, I prefer to “accidentally” stumble upon a group and steal a snippet of explanation from the overzealous guide in the process, then drift off into a quiet chamber and let the ancient walls speak for themselves.
What I’ve learned from the time-worn walls when stepping into neglected millennia-old buildings has often been more enlightening than a scripted and condensed narration based on recorded sources.
