The Pursuit of Adventure

Do you know what it’s to paddle a kayak in the open seas? To make eye contact with a humpback whale or to photograph Angor Wat? What about climbing the Great Wall of China?

When we think of adventurous people we often think of those who push their bodies to the limits climbing Everest or running in arduous adventure races.

An adventurer is someone who bases their life around adventurous acts, constantly seeking out new and interesting things to do with their time. Adventures create a psychological arousal, be it a fear or flow response, either way, your heart is beating faster.

To pursue adventure means wanting to step outside of your comfort zone. To decide to move away from the comfort of your life and push yourself to discover new things, about the world and about yourself.

Adventure travel is more than going to the far wilds of Mongolia to hike 100 miles up a snow covered mountain in search of the fountain of youth. Adventure travel encompasses everything from cycling around a new town to caving, sky diving or BASE jumping off the tallest building in the world. It is travelling to a distant location, immersing yourself in different cultures or undertaking some sort of physical activity. Travelling to a faraway land to watch TV from your 5 star hotel is definitely not classified as adventure travel, but if you wander out of your hotel and lose your guide book, end up on the wrong side of town and have to bargain you way out of your jail… That is definitely an adventure!

Adventure means finding new places, stepping outside the beaten path, looking up from your guidebook and discovering a place that has never been written about.

Adventure travel is a physical pursuit, a cultural experience or engaging with nature. Take this to mean a hike through the Amazon, immersing yourself in the culture of South East Asia or Volunteering to save wild cats in South America.

What is an adventure to one person is not an adventure to another.

The prospect of going to a foreign country and learning a new language, discovering the nuance of a new city or taking on a new sport are all worthy adventures.

To some, travelling in itself is enough of an adventure. To others, travelling solo is the height of adventure. Then there are those to whom travelling solo to an unknown land with only the clothes on their back is just the start of the crazy adventure they want to experience.

While a hardcore adventurer might want to spend their weekend jumping out of planes or battling white water rapids, there are more than a few ways to get your heart beating that don’t involve risking life and limb .

Would you prefer to spend your weekend shopping or pursuing new ways to make your heart race?

Your amazing travel adventure could be navigating the shopping districts of Tokyo, Paris or New York.

There are so many adventures and so little time. What is your adventure? What does your heart yearn for? Pick one and make it happen. Your life will be better for it.