Travel – The Less You Take, The More You Get

Travel is an inherently social, yet intensely personal pursuit. Often, the greatest rewards are the indelible memories captured in the process.

While many people concoct extravagant plans for their journeys, it invariably seems that the most gratifying travel experiences are those that arise from unanticipated surprises – the impromptu events that occur due to the generosity of others, good timing, or occasionally, dumb luck.

Stumbling across this photo on flickr, I believe photographer Maureen Dai captured the essence of a most elemental travel experience.

I write a lot about technology and the role it plays in travel distribution, customer engagement and guest satisfaction. This image should serve as a reminder that in its most fundamental form, travel has very little to do with technology and everything to do with exploration, inter-personal interactions and life enriching experiences.

One of my most memorable travel experiences was an ill-fated night on a summer bike trip on San Juan Island in Washington State. As care-free high school kids, we seemed to have overlooked the need to plan ahead and make advance reservations for the first night on the island.

When we finally discovered that everything on the island was full, we had some choices to make and retreat was not an option. So at dusk, we snuck onto a relatively isolated portion of a private beach, decided against making a campfire and elected not to pitch our tents in an effort to maintain a low profile. Dinner was meager and shelter lacking, but the weather held and we awoke the next morning to dawn on a spectacular bay – and the sounds of a homeowner yelling at us from the distance to get off his property.

We had followed the famed advice of an anonymous traveler to “take only memories, leave only footprints.” In many ways, that night was more memorable than many I have spent in luxurious suites overlooking spectacular vistas. It was unplanned, spontaneous and a bit outside our comfort zone – all factors that made it a once in a lifetime experience.

That night on the beach also helps me appreciate any opportunities to enjoy magnificent hotels and outstanding personal service – those dimensions can certainly enhance the travel experience. But that’s not all, it also allows me to enjoy a clean, yet spartan motel room managed by an innkeeper who understands hospitality. For all its comparative shortcomings in location or decor, there is also recognition due for a quality operation targeting a more economy market segment – and the appreciation of having accommodation in a distant foreign locale.

Perhaps more often than not, the less you take, the more you get.

For me, that is the essence of travel.

Thanks again to Maureen Dai for capturing it so beautifully.