Travel has gotten complicated with all the listicles and “hidden gem” guides flying around. Everyone’s an expert now. But here’s the thing — I’ve been lucky enough to visit a fair number of places, and the trips that actually stuck with me were never the ones I planned down to the minute.
My first real solo trip was to Lisbon. I didn’t even mean to go there, honestly. I’d booked a cheap flight to Madrid and then a buddy told me about a $30 bus that could get me to Portugal overnight. So I went. No hotel booked, no itinerary, just a backpack and a phone with 12% battery. Probably should have led with this — I am not a careful traveler. I’m the kind of person who figures it out when I land.
And that’s sort of the point, right? The best parts of traveling aren’t the landmarks. They’re the weird little moments. Eating something you can’t identify from a street cart at 11pm. Getting completely lost in a neighborhood where nobody speaks your language and somehow ending up at the best meal of your life. I once spent an entire afternoon in Bangkok watching a guy carve fruit into animal shapes. That’s it. That was the highlight of my day. No temple, no rooftop bar. Just a dude with a knife and a watermelon.
What I’ve learned — and I’m still learning, honestly — is that travel doesn’t have to be this big transformative event people make it out to be. Sometimes it’s just… different. Different food, different sounds when you wake up, a different kind of tired at the end of the day. That’s what makes those small, unplanned moments endearing. They remind you that the world is way bigger and weirder than your daily routine lets on.
So yeah, if you’re thinking about going somewhere — anywhere — just go. Don’t wait for the perfect plan. Some of my worst-planned trips turned into my favorite stories. And some of my best-planned ones were, well, forgettable. Go figure.
