Hilary (Center) at Amber Fort in Jaipur, India
You’ve heard the saying “wherever you go, there you are.” To me, the notion that “the farther you go, there you were” is the perfect summation of how we grow when we travel beyond our comfort zones.
On a recent trip to India, I had all the feels!
Days when I felt most challenged by the heat and chaotic traffic (comprised of people, cars, rickshaws, and live animals) were also the nights I went to bed feeling the most alive and excited. There were moments of tremendous joy and those of intense discomfort.
Boundaries I didn’t know I had were pushed, but I also enjoyed the most gracious hospitality I’ve ever experienced. And the literal palaces where I stayed were pretty great.
Sunset on Game Drive, Sabi Sabi Reserve, South Africa
My time spent on safaris in Africa provided similar juxtapositions. The thrill of the chase when trying to track down a leopard at sunset to round out my “big five” viewing, and the unexpected “thrill” of waking up at 2:00 A.M. to the sounds of a hyena trying to chew through my tent, sit next to memories of hours of quiet peace while on game drives and the home-away-from-home feeling created by the extraordinary staffs at our small lodges that allows guests to relax deeply into the natural world around them.
Places like Asia and Africa are not just vacations, they are activations – firing cylinders in your brain and soul that might have lain dormant for years. When we are repetitive in our landscapes, revisiting the same scenery year after year, we might find ourselves continually filling the same buckets. What would happen if you shook up your routine? You’d discover new buckets you didn’t even know you had to fill!
Epic journeys to far-flung corners of the globe often appear on bucket lists because they genuinely are once-in-a-lifetime experiences. These bucket list trips frequently involve long flights, multiple connections, significant time zone and weather variations, and substantial cultural shifts. Having to learn the basics of a new language (or alphabet!), take precautionary medicines, or even spring for a new wardrobe can make such destinations less appealing to the average traveler, or even feel out of reach.
Village Healer in Bushbuckridge, South Africa
With proper planning, any landscape can become accessible. Here are some things to consider as you look to plan your next long-haul, bucket list adventure:
– Make a list of your dream destinations and prioritize them. Perhaps you can’t tackle more than one within a year or two but start with your most important and continue from there.
– Be realistic about the physical requirements of your destination of choice. If your trip requires you to be more active than in your day-to-day life, prepare yourself by training in advance.
– Don’t overpack but also make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable. Seek out shoes, apparel, and gear that can aid your experiences, and pack band-aids and moleskins to avoid blisters. (Side tip: use holidays and birthdays to treat yourself and fellow travelers to necessities prior to the trip!)
– Travel in the shoulder seasons to avoid extreme temperatures – and crowds!
– Consider going with a group that provides a tour host for the duration of your trip. This will allow you to relax and enjoy the journey and give you access to locals who will help you navigate a new culture.
– Don’t assume you can’t afford your dream trip! Most likely you can find great experiences tailored to a variety of budgets.
– Most importantly, don’t wait! Trust me, long flights do not get easier as we mature.
Taj Majal, India
I’ll leave you with the vision of an empty glass jar. When you put stones in the jar up to the top, it’s considered full. But you can also take grains of sand and fill in all of the air surrounding those stones.
We humans are like that jar, and our buckets can be filled in various ways. If traveling is on your bucket list, what are you waiting for? Get going!
by Hilary Wilkes
Hilary is a local travel advisor and works personally with clients to plan trips around the world. She also plans and leads group trips through her family’s store, Highland Hiker. Learn more at scouttravelco.com and highlandhiker.com.
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