Comments on: The Destination Is Everything, The Destination Is Nothing

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:36:28 +0000

@Kyle: Many of your stories about Yangon remind me of this. It’s the beautiful irony of when you have a destination, but keep yourself open to options…that are often more interesting than the temple or statue you were headed to see in the first place.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:05:33 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with what you have to say here. Destination gives us something to do, rather than aimless wandering, which sometimes doesn’t yield much. But, it’s best to take the paths that may not get you to your destination, but may lead to much more interesting things!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:16:37 +0000

@tripgirl6: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the photos! Bangladesh is definitely a photographic place, especially for people.

By: tripgirl6

tripgirl6 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 03:33:16 +0000

The pictures are fascinating! I can’t pick which one is the best because they all look amazing in those pictures. Thanks for sharing.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:25:46 +0000

@Tim: Bangladesh is one of those countries where locals really want to help you, but often don’t know what you’re asking directions for – if we ask five people for directions, we’ll usually get 10 answers 🙂 While this can get frustrating when we need something specific like a bus station, it adds to the fun on a trip like this where we know in the end we’ll make it to where we need to go.

Lovely story of being invited to a meal with strangers and finishing as close friends.

@Matt: Thanks for your kind comment. This reminds me of a connected quote from Eisenhower: “The plan is nothing. Planning is everything.” With an open mind, your journey can lead you to a very different place than you first expected…and that is more than OK and what’s meant to be.

@Hana: I completely agree that walking or biking is really the best way to be open to interacting and engaging with people. When you ride by in a car or bus, you have that barrier between you and the people. The closer you are to the street and homes, the more you’ll be meeting people and the higher the chances are that you will be invited for tea or a birthday party. Enjoy your travels in South America!

By: Hana

Hana — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:28:54 +0000

Wonderful article! I never really thought about how having a destination can bring upon so many other experiences, especially when it comes to interacting with the local community. I also think taking a bike or a walk, instead of a car or a train, to a destination makes a big difference – I’d say you’re much more likely to interact with strangers and be open to new unplanned experiences while on foot or bike. It was great to read about your experiences, I hope when I travel around South America I can meet locals who like me enough to invite me for tea or even a birthday party! 🙂

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:52:13 +0000

This is a beautiful reflection on the traveler’s way and it is accompanied by delightful comments that further corroborate the claim that the journey itself yields a thousand destinations. It is interesting how we plan our trips in advance, thinking of a particular destination perhaps and yet we already know that the one who plans the trip is not the one who arrives at the lake, grotto, or cottage.

Your words have put a smile on this face.

Fair travels and fine friends,

Om shanti.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:41:17 +0000

Your post made us laugh quite a bit, especially the part about asking for directions and not ending up where you thought you were going…This can definitely add much adventure to a trip and the memories will be, literally, everlasting, and fun. Neat how you ended up being invited to a party. We had a similar experience during a vacation, looking for a destination we never reached and being invited to share a family meal with strangers with whom we established a friendship that lasted years. You are right: the spontaneous encounters are priceless and worth every second. Really liked your introspection on this post…

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:39:30 +0000

@Nomadic Chick: Your experiences in India definitely resonate with me. Sometimes I feel bad because local people will get very excited because we visited such and such site in their country. And while the site was nice, it was all the adventures and interactions leading up to it that meant the most to me. Hard sometimes for people to understand.

And like you, I love having assumptions turned upside down. Has been happening quite a lot recently 🙂

@Rachel: We’re repeatedly surprised by the genuine hospitality of ordinary people around the world – rather humbling. And even though I knew singing in situations like this is not so much about the quality of the voice, I still got nervous with 40 people all staring at me waiting expectedly. That’s the great thing about traveling with a spouse, you can share the mike 🙂

@Stephanie: We sometimes joke that locals are the worst people to ask regarding directions because they so want to help you that they won’t admit if they don’t know where a place is located. Makes for some interesting adventures though!

@Kirsty: Glad you are enjoying our Bangladesh posts – you’re one of the few people we know who has actually been here! Walking and biking are the best way to get close to people and action, although public transport usually provides an adventure or two as well.

Have to admit I kind of laughed at the thought of you on a Busabout in Italy 🙂

By: Kirsty

Kirsty — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:32:10 +0000

I’m loving reading about Bangladesh! Great stuff guys!!

I agree that, for me, it’s the journey that makes the trip. I spend two weeks in Italy and hardly remember the trip… I think because I was being ushered around on Busabout. I didn’t have to think about my point-to-point travel and had zero interesting stories to tell. I just sat on the bus, zoned out and waited until I got to the next destination. Boring!

Hop on a bicycle and things get even more interesting… !