The Beauty in Travelling off the Beaten Track

One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was to travel, to explore and to seek out the beauty this world has to offer. True beauty is a rare commodity when you require a 5-star hotel because all-natural beauty has been destroyed for beautiful hotels, restaurants, shops, and all the luxuries you find at home.

I’m a planner. And by that I mean I always plan to go somewhere with people that plan — so I don’t have to. I won’t even Google the place because I don’t want to deal with my expectations.

This recent trip to Sumatra was off the beaten track. It was a bitch to get there, and because of that, very few people go.

There were more cows on the beach than humans. Tourists were rare. Locals were plentiful — and they all had a big fat smile, a wave and a high-five on offer when they saw you.

A ZERO for convenience is a TEN for nature and all the beauty that surrounds it.

You’re more likely to have a goat steal your shit than a human. Nobody will pester you to buy fake Raybans on the beach because they don’t have any. Children wear the biggest smiles — you don’t question for a second if they’re genuinely happy because you know they’re fucking happy!

If you ask for nut juice in your latte, they’ll laugh. If you ask for a latte, period — they’ll laugh. The coffee is black. And it’s delicious.

You meet amazing people and connect immediately on one commonality: You all seek adventure. Even if you don’t speak the same language, hold the same beliefs or even practice the same religion — it doesn’t matter.

You’re all here for the same experience: To immerse yourself in another world — if only for a minute. You get to experience mother nature at her very best.

Monkey’s picking coconuts. The force of the ocean as it slams you to the bottom of the reef. Spectacular sunsets and incredible landscapes. You’re not thinking about a tan that will last five days when you get home. For once, you’re fully present.

Lying on a sunbed sweating balls all day every day for me is torture.

I want to see the world. I want adventure. I want to be appalled and mesmerized at the same time.

Would I like some 5-star action along the way? Damn right. I want it all. From the mountains to the oceans and the cities in between.

I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’ll keep chipping away and ticking these gems off my list one at a time till the heart stops beating.

That way when I die, I won’t question if I’ve lived.

Oh, I’ll have questions, a few what ifs and maybes, but at least travel and the regret of not going won’t be on one of them.