Traveling is exciting itself but what if you could turn every single trip into an unforgettable adventure? In fact, this is not up to faith’s mood but rather a matter of your choice. Here’s a list of several mini-adventures you can incorporate in your next trip to take it to the next level of traveler’s joy. All the ideas are sourced from the crazy inspiration-filled book “203 Travel Challenges”.
1. While abroad, go to the hairdresser’s/barber’s
Here the challenge is not to go to the hairdresser’s per se, but to do something abroad that you usually only do at home and perceive as a trivial activity – a haircut, manicure, or in Arab countries men can go to the barber’s…
2. Go diving and discover sunken ships and underwater rock forests
If 71% of Earth’s surface is covered with water and you can’t dive, this means that even if you never stop going around the world by land, you don’t stand a chance of knowing more than one-third of the planet. Discover a whole new world as you learn to dive – because, in the blue deep, there aren’t only fish and seaweed.
Where: The world’s top 10 diving destinations include Barracuda Point Malaysia, Palau (Micronesia), the Red Sea (Egypt), the Blue Hole in Belize, night diving into the bioluminescent waters near Hawaii, Bali, the Maldives, Seychelles, and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).
3. See a shipwreck – without going underwater
It’s human nature – we are drawn to tragedy and decay. We roam around abandoned villages, enter buildings carrying legends of ghosts and dive to reach sunken ships. If diving is not your passion, we challenge you to visit one of the most famous shipwrecks in the world… without having to dive.
Where: At Navagio Beach (Zakynthos, Greece), you will see the remains of a vessel washed ashore. You can take a peek from the high rocks or reach it by boat. Outside the town of Muynak (or Moynaq) in Uzbekistan, in the direction of the Aral Sea, you will witness a sinister view along the road – the skeletons of ships and fishing boats abandoned long ago in the desert. Up until about 30 years ago, Muynak was a sea harbor, but today it is in the middle of the desert, 50 km (30 miles) from the coast after the rivers were diverted for irrigation purposes, and so the road leading to the Aral Sea turned into a ship graveyard.
4. Jump into a warm, open-air mineral pool while it’s snowing
There are plenty of warm, mineral pools in the open air around the world. However pleasant they may be in the summer, there is nothing like getting into one in the winter, when snowflakes are falling from the sky and you are soaking in warm, mineral water, not caring about tiny details like weather forecasts or an air temperature more suited to polar bears…
Where: The Blue Lagoon in Iceland or a Japanese onsen.
5. Rent a bike and ride it slowly between villages
With a smile on your face, cross villages and talk to locals about this year’s harvest of apples and how much the piglets cost. We bet you have no idea. Have a beer with one of those locals who spend the day scanning passers-by in a cafe in the center.
6. When you are on a holiday, get up early and see the sunrise at least once
Or don’t go to bed at all and watch the sunrise – a good enough option for those who can’t get up early. Get inspired by Robert M. Pirsig and his book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”: “I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is no point in sleeping.”
7. Hunt treasures with Geocaching
‘Geocaching’ is a contemporary form of a treasure hunt. You need a smartphone or GPS to play. People from all over the world hide various objects in the most incredible places in different countries, which you need to find as you follow the coordinates. When you find the treasure, you have to replace it with another item – and the game continues for the next player who will visit the location.
8. Visit your favorite celebrity’s favorite places
Writers have their imaginary literary worlds, but they also have their real, authentic lives, which are just as worthy of being traced and re-lived. The same goes for musicians, actors, painters, scientists… Pick one of your favorite writers, musicians, actors whose footsteps you would like to follow in, and hit the road.
9. Go up in a balloon
Ever since the Montgolfier brothers succeeded in launching their balloon (named deservedly after them – the Montgolfier) into the air in 1782, we’ve been drawn up into the sky. See the world as the birds see it. Take to the skies at dawn above Angkor Wat in Cambodia, over the rock wonders of Cappadocia or in the Dubai Desert – pick your destination and rise at dawn as the view is the most beautiful then.
10. Bungee jump
It’s not for everybody, but if you’re wondering whether to do it, sign up, stand at the edge of the bridge and you will find out then if you’ll manage it.
Where: The scariest places in the world to bungee jump: Macau Tower in Macau, Asia, is the highest place to bungee jump according to Guinness World Records – the site rises 233 m/ 764 feet above the ground. You can also jump from a bridge over the Corinth Canal (it connects continental Greece with the Peloponnese Peninsula) – at a height of 79 m/ 259 feet. One of the most beautiful places to jump from is Victoria Falls (on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe) – at a height of 111 m/ 364 feet.
