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I didm't expect to be such an odd-man-out on this topic. I guess my free-wheeling comfort arisis from 60's Africa when Lonely Planet hadn't even been dreamed of, and one operated on blind faith there was even a road all the way across the country. Somehow you could piece everything together on the fly, and I still believe in that magic..
Adventure is not what you find behind behind clearly marked doors, but what comes in through doors left open.
Adventure doesn't just mean being interrogated at gunpoint by revolutionaries. It can also mean being invited to a family's farm for the weekend. Are you free to say Yes, or do you have to squeeze in one more museum?
I never said that adventure means being interrogated at gunpoint by revolutionaries. Where the hell are you coming up with this stuff?
You're the one who brought "adventure" into this, which you seem to think means flying by the seat of your pants. I don't think I agree with that. One can have a plan in place and still have an adventure.
Most people don't enjoy traveling by blind faith. If you enjoy it, more power to you. There's nothing wrong with either way of traveling. Whatever works for the traveler.
Besides, I recall traveling with my family to Germany as a child. We had some aquaintances in the country (the parents of my cousin's wife). We met up with them and they invited us to stay in their small village for the weekend. My parents thought that sounded wonderful, so they took them up on their offer. We ended up spending most of the weekend watching TV with them. That's literally all they wanted to do. I think squeezing in another museum would have been far better. Sometimes the clearly marked door is better than the door left open.
Adventure is not that comfort grasped by the masses, it's the beckoning call of that which was unexpected in the still night. That taste of discomfort that allays the frustration of the routine, the barely discernible hint of bitterness in your swallow when you know the comfort of all that has been known might crash into the nether. It takes fear from an enveloping terror to a welcome blanket of alevo from the mundane, an injection of perspicacity to the doldrums of the inane travails that we suffer. A sweet nectar of from the sheen of sweat on our upper lip as we accept our fate at the hands of turgid rivers of anxiety that flow deep within our veins like the maldad that runneth deep betwixt the river of Styx in the Hades of adventure travel.
I'm surprised the rest of you don't feel the same.
Adventure is not that comfort grasped by the masses, it's the beckoning call of that which was unexpected in the still night. That taste of discomfort that allays the frustration of the routine, the barely discernible hint of bitterness in your swallow when you know the comfort of all that has been known might crash into the nether. It takes fear from an enveloping terror to a welcome blanket of alevo from the mundane, an injection of perspicacity to the doldrums of the inane travails that we suffer. A sweet nectar of from the sheen of sweat on our upper lip as we accept our fate at the hands of turgid rivers of anxiety that flow deep within our veins like the maldad that runneth deep betwixt the river of Styx in the Hades of adventure travel.
I'm surprised the rest of you don't feel the same.
Lol are you writing a book? I absolutely love the prose but don't travel in your way at all. Adventure for me is meeting unexpected people and getting away from the main tourist drags to eat in restaurants that only locals know about. It's not getting on a plane to someplace far flung without doing any research, and going wherever the wind takes me.
Adventure doesn't just mean being interrogated at gunpoint by revolutionaries. It can also mean being invited to a family's farm for the weekend. Are you free to say Yes, or do you have to squeeze in one more museum?
Can only speak for myself, but I have to squeeze in one more museum, thanks. YMMV.
I had a feeling that smugness would rule this discussion....
I've done both. Now I prefer some structure and planning. I don't want to pay $200 for a train ticket when it will only cost $35 if I book it in advance. I don't want to show up to Vietnam during Tet when it's mobbed and hard to find a decent place to stay. I don't want to dream about eating at elBulli or Noma but never get to go because I didn't make as reservation.
I have some priorities other than simply wandering around when traveling, these days. The beaten path has its place sometimes.
I had a feeling that smugness would rule this discussion....
I've done both. Now I prefer some structure and planning. I don't want to pay $200 for a train ticket when it will only cost $35 if I book it in advance. I don't want to show up to Vietnam during Tet when it's mobbed and hard to find a decent place to stay. I don't want to dream about eating at elBulli or Noma but never get to go because I didn't make as reservation.
I have some priorities other than simply wandering around when traveling, these days. The beaten path has its place sometimes.
I have to share this link. I think about it often when i'm in the travel forum and these discussions arise. I adore rugrats' reply.
I'm impressed that you dug up a four year old post, but I see why. That's exactly spot on!
Searching by keyword 'borscht' in the travel forum made all the difference. I never forgot that and there are only 7 posts with that word. I laughed for days over this post and marveled at the accuracy.
I plan for everything including the weather. We are headed to Disney for Christmas and I planned that trip a year in advance. We went to Galveston and Mexico this past summer. I can't tell you how many times I checked for a hotel, rental car and airline updates, and changes. Everything went smooth. I like it that way.
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