Voyagner

Tours and the tourist trails are fine but it’s unlikely you’ll be truly moved by the experiences programmed. I’m an independent traveler because I don’t want to compromise and I want the freedom to change my plans on a whim. I also tend to make friends with locals first and other travelers later, while independent travel is a start many people fall into the trap of only getting to know other travelers, so while they still see those other cultures that we part of the reason they decided to travel, they never really connect with the people of that culture on a personal level.

They say that it’s about the journey, not the destination and when it comes to those moments on the road you will find them most often while on the journey or while sticking around for a while and thoroughly exploring a place.

Take a Detour

Take a recommendation from a local, an expat or the crazy fisherman with pants hippy who still thinks he is on the 60′s hippy backpacker trail. Hire a motorbike and do a road trip with no planned destination. Visit a national park, they are so often missed on international travels unless there is a famous highlight but they are made national parks for the same reason they are made at home, they hold some of the country’s greatest natural treasures, get in there and go searching for that secluded hidden waterfall. Hire a boat and cruise around the islands, there are still stunning beaches and bays to be found that the tours cruise right by.

Look into joining an expedition or research project, hiking high passes in the Himalaya or searching for the Kting Voar in the jungles of Cambodia is much more likely to leave you with memories that you and very few others will ever share. Think about great trips others have taken, Marco Polo, Ewan McGregor, Kerouac or even silk road traders, they weren’t on holiday looking for a party or to relax by the pool working on their tan for a couple of weeks and that is why you and I are interested and want to read about their travels.

Often unplanned side trips, even ones taken by mistake can lead you into a hell hole or a hidden gem, either way you’ll probably come out of it with a story to tell.

Stay and Explore

Another way to go is to really get to know a place and its people. If you stay in Thailand long enough you’re bound to experience a Coup d’état and that is always going to be one for the travel story books. The lives of expats in developing countries are often full of stories that you would never hear back home. Hanging around for just a few months in a place like Bangkok or Phnom Penh can easily give you enough anecdotes to write a book, and many have done just that.

Longer stays also mean you don’t have to worry about timing your travels to attend events like festivals or national holidays where you can sometimes really see some aspect of the local culture that the cities only break out on these special occasions.

Befriend a Local

One of my own favorite experiences was in Indonesia, were in Yogjakarta there were very few western travelers around. I invited my driver to join me for meals and generally invited him to be part of my travels. He took me into his village, introduced me to his family and the local snake trader where we indulged in Cobra blood and meat. We went to beaches only the locals visited and quiet shrines in the mountains and told me about how he was almost crushed to death in an earthquake 2 years earlier like 20 others in his village were. He even revealed his secret second wife.

Go Overland: By Any Means

This is a really awesome way to go, you’ll face some real challenges see amazing sights and you can do it all by some really cool means of transport. This is getting back to the adventure in the journey, I really don’t know how you can go wrong when you choose a departure, a destination and make a promise not to book yourself on a torturous bus or extended train ride in order to get there, these modes can be used but it’s more fun if it’s not your primary transport.

You can’t fill every moment of traveling with life changing and memorable experiences but it really is worthwhile occasionally asking yourself if what you are doing is living up to your expectations, if you would want to hear your story if it was someone else telling it?

Images: Stuck in Customs, Pear Biter, Ирвин Адам