I Took a Trip With No Proper Plan. Somehow It Became My Favourite One
I have always been the type of person who plans everything.
Before I go anywhere I check the weather look at hotel reviews save restaurants on Google Maps make a list of places to visit and usually have a plan for the backup plan.
Nothing dramatic had happened. I was not running away from anything. I was simply tired of the routine—waking up checking my phone going to work coming home scrolling for far too long and then doing it all over again.
One Friday evening I looked at my calendar. Thought, “Why not just go somewhere?”
By Saturday morning I had packed a bag. That was the plan.. Rather there was not really a plan.
Buildings slowly disappeared. The roads became quieter. There were shops, houses, trees and fields that I would normally never notice.
At one point I realised that I had been staring out of the window for an hour without touching my phone.
That felt unusual.. Nice.
When I finally arrived I did not rush to the hotel. I walked around for a while even though I had no idea where I was going.
I found a bakery tucked away on a side street and stopped for breakfast.
The place was not fancy. There were a few tables, an old fan turning slowly from the ceiling and the smell of freshly baked bread everywhere.
I ordered something that I could not pronounce properly. It turned out to be delicious.
Sometimes the best meals are the ones you do not spend three hours researching
I Found a Place I Wasn’t Looking For
Later that afternoon I decided to explore the area on foot.
I had heard about a viewpoint nearby but instead of following the usual tourist route I took a smaller road.
I was not expecting much.
After walking for twenty minutes I came across a quiet little street lined with old houses and colourful plants. An elderly man was sitting outside his home listening to the radio.
There was something about the place.
No crowds.
No traffic.
No people taking selfies every seconds.
Just an ordinary neighbourhood going about its day.
I stood there for a moment. Thought about how easily I would have missed this if I had followed my original idea of what I “should” see.
That became my part of the trip.
Not the famous attraction.
Not the perfect photograph.
Just a random street I happened to walk
A Small Travel Mistake
course travelling without a plan came with consequences.
That evening I discovered that the restaurant I had planned to visit was closed.
I stood outside looking at the entrance feeling slightly annoyed.
For some reason I had convinced myself that this was going to ruin my evening.
Then I noticed a food stall across the road.
There were a few plastic chairs and the menu was handwritten.
I sat down. Ordered whatever the person at the counter recommended.
It was spicy. Very spicy.
I immediately regretted my decision.
The owner noticed my face. Started laughing.
I started laughing
Five minutes later I was sweating, drinking water and wondering why I had agreed to try something that could probably remove paint from a wall.
It was memorable.
Years from now I probably will not remember the restaurant I originally wanted to visit.
I will remember that food stall.
The Morning I Didn’t Want to Leave
The morning was probably my favourite.
I woke up early without an alarm.
The streets were still quiet. The sunlight was just beginning to appear.
I walked outside with a cup of tea. Sat on a bench.
Nothing interesting happened.
That is exactly why I loved it.
At home I am always trying to be productive. When I am relaxing part of my mind is thinking about the next thing.
That morning there was nothing I needed to accomplish.
I just sat there.
I watched people open their shops. I watched a woman sweep the front of her house. I watched a couple of birds fighting over something near a tree.
It was ordinary.
I felt completely present.
What I Took Home
When it was time to leave I realised something.
I had taken photographs, than usual.
I had not visited every attraction.
I had not eaten at the popular restaurants.
I had not followed an itinerary.
Yet I remembered more.
I remembered the smell of the bakery.
The mans radio.
The spicy food.
The quiet morning.
The feeling of walking without knowing what I would find.
Maybe that is what I had been missing.
I thought I needed a planned holiday.
What I actually needed was a space to breathe.
Since that trip I have started planning less.
Not everything, of course. I still check where I am staying and make sure I have my tickets.
I leave some room for things I cannot predict.
Because sometimes the best travel memories are not the ones you carefully arrange.
They are the ones that happen when I take a turn change my plans sit down somewhere unexpected and simply let the day happen.
Honestly those are the trips I want more of.