The Essential Elements Making up a Good Trip
There’s nothing wrong with the emergent, so-called ‘social media culture’ referred to as ‘getting the Gram shots’ as a surefire way to collect and keep memories of the trips you take. However, getting those perfect Instagram snaps shouldn’t replace the purest essence of what any good trip one takes is all about. There are some essentials that make up a good trip, which should be referred back to any time your trips start to feel like you’re just going through the motions.
Pursuing common life elements
It’s perhaps something a little different if you’re traveling exclusively and specifically for a vacation, but even then, pursuing common life elements on every trip you take is a surefire way to make sure you can come away from it with the justified claim that it was a good trip. It’s yourself with whom you’ll ultimately have to be honest, so it doesn’t help polishing and filtering things on the Gram when you know how the trip really went.
So how do you do this? What exactly does it mean to pursue common life elements?
It simply means mingling with the locals and venturing a little way beyond the pure tourist areas. Eat where the locals eat, stay one or two nights in serviced apartments or as part of a home-stay, for instance and set your daily activities to the rhythm of the locals. One day it would be interesting to wake up as early as the locals who are going to work do…
Cultural experiences
Everything then builds on from the pursuit of common life elements, including the cultural experiences you will, well, experience, more genuinely and naturally. Nothing will feel forced if a local you befriended drags you along to some or other weekly cultural event, for instance, which you might have otherwise not have known about for all your online destination-research efforts.
Culture is what makes up the essence of any destination you visit, so naturally it should add to what makes up the essence of any subsequent trip to that destination.
Mindless fun
Let loose in whatever safe and responsible way appeals to you. Enjoy what would easily otherwise be classified as mindless fun, because therein lies the opportunity to come away with some very specific and unique memories you would probably struggle to recreate even if you visited that same destination a thousand more times!
R & R
Even if it’s something like just another stopover in a global backpacking adventure, taking some time to relax and enjoy the environment of the destination you’re visiting is important. This is how you get to uncover the soul of a destination. Engage in whatever activity you enjoy during your down time, like perhaps exploring some more of those new casino sites you’ve been burying your nose in while making good use of some waiting-and-transit time.
Destination-uniqueness
Ultimately it’s all about the uniqueness of the destination you’re visiting on the trip you’re naturally trying to make a good one, but just go about your business of being a traveler and this destination-uniqueness will reveal itself to you instead of you having to chase it.
