What makes experiences amazing for you?

For us ----most of the amazing and unique experiences are a result of conversations with people we meet along the way and on occasion it is finding ourselves in a location that we always dreamed of going to or locations that never imagined we would experience.

A couple of conversations that will always remain with us:
My brother was killed in the Vietnam war and it was important for me to travel there to see where he spent the last year of his life. It was therapeutic for me even though I realize what I experienced had nothing to do with his experience. We had an opportunity to talk with a Vietnamese gentlemen who fought in the war on the American side for seven years. I took a piece of him with me and it was a very special conversation.

We actually had two or three of these experiences while in Vietnam.

Dave and I love to meet knew people and generally start conversations with people we don't know in elevators, sitting in a bar and talk to the people at the table next to us in a restaurant. We made friends with a couple of guys from London when we were in Fiji and they have become very good friends. We have been to visit them in London and they joined us in Scotland when we were traveling.

While in Northern France on a Battle bus tour we had an excellent conversation with our driver/guide about US politics and why the American people seem to be against having a global health care plan.

As for places that have been unique experiences for us several leap to mind:
Both of us had a spiritual event when visiting Machu Picchu. It is an amazing place for us. We do not know if others will feel what we did. It impacted us in ways we were not expecting.

When we went to Colca Canyon and watched the amazing Condors fly I had tears streaming down my face. Their beauty took my breath away.

As a little girl I loved to watch Elvis movies.... one of my dreams was to go to Acapulco and watch the cliff divers. Again-- the tears. I don't normally cry a lot but some of our travels have been very special. When I was ten laying on the couch watching Elvis and wanting to actually see those divers in person--- the dream completed was a special moment.

As you can imagine each of these meaningful things are going to be different for each person.

When Dave and I were riding three hours up the river in Malaysia in a Long Boat we were giddy, happy and tingling. Another one of those moments when you sit their in disbelief that the kids from Ohio grew up, left home and are traveling the world. It was very special.

Meeting knew people and hearing their stories are the reason we travel.

Reply to this

Dave and Merry Jo, it sounds like you two live an amazing life of adventure. I think you are right in that it is about a personal connection and follow dreams

Lebdawho I know that feeling - I would love to go to Japan one day and think to myself "Only in Japan". Reply to this

This is going to sound a little strange but most of my 'amazing' experiences are due to the weather. The day I decided to move to York, I walked along the river front, the sky was the deepest azure blue, the sun hot but with a light breeze carrying laughter from the riverfront bars, completely cliched but just a perfect British summers day.
I loved watching the sunset over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, the salt in the air and the eery mists curling like clouds along the water. I'll never forget walking to work along the prom watching a storm roll in over Liverpool's skyline. The juxtaposition of clear cut blue and angry purple storm clouds, the flashes of lightning. When the storm finally caught up with me I still has 10 minutes to walk and I was drenched but laughing at my own misfortune with many others sheltering in the art deco facade of penny gamblers.

I'll never forget blood on the moon over the Mediterranean, it rose like the sun from the sea and glowed so brightly, or the sunrise over Ibiza which made the last hour of our killer watch perfect.

I think the power of nature for me is always awe-inducing, I love ruined buildings, crumbling and over-run with wild plants, I like monstrous leaves of ivy that creep into the formations and break it apart while holding it together.

It's these seemingly small acts of nature that provide me with my most unique experiences, I always manage to feel humble at the presence and power of nature.

Reply to this

I could not agree more with Crouching tiger about how the weather impacts an experience and makes it memorable.

I love thunderstorms and can many years later remember them and tell stories about the glories of the thunder and lightening. As a child I remember laying in the front yard on a blanket looking up at the sky and watching the storm roll in.

I remember the cool, crisp air and bright sunshine as I stepped off an airplane in Antarctica -- taking a look for the very first time of this amazing land. The weather was memorable. I grew to love the wind.

Foggy days on the Northwest Coast of Washington watching the views change from minute to minute. Reminds me of those spy movies we watched as kids.

Reply to this

Adam,

How do you answer this question? What makes travel experiences amazing for you? Reply to this

Open mindedness is the key to all of this from our perspective.
We certainly agree with you. Reply to this