The Essence of Travel: Openness, Surprise, and Change

Carla and I had our 2026 plans all set. After months of dreaming, poring over maps, and sketching out routes, we were ready to begin our seven-month journey through Central and South America this December. I even wrote a blog about it, trying to capture our anticipation - especially the joy we felt knowing how much time we would spend in nature. Patagonia’s towering glaciers, the profound silence of the Atacama Desert, the mystical ascent of Machu Picchu, the untamed beauty of the Amazon, and the remarkable wildlife of the Galápagos - these places had already begun to take root in our imagination. It felt like we were standing on the edge of something vast and magnificent, ready to step into a chapter of our lives that would expand us in every way.

And then, as often happens in life, something shifted. Another door opened. Without warning, an entirely different adventure presented itself, and we felt the unmistakable pull to step through. Instead of heading into the Southlands, we’ve decided to turn east - to Asia. The same seven months, but an entirely different journey: Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Bali, Hong Kong, and Japan. When the opportunity arose, we embraced it with the curiosity and openness that has always guided our travels.

What excites me most about this new direction is the anticipation of genuine culture shock. Not the gentle adjustments of new foods or unfamiliar customs, but the kind of deep disorientation that makes you question everything you thought you knew. Europe, where we’ve often traveled, is wonderfully rich and full of differences, yet it also carries many familiar overlaps. We can slip into its rhythms with relative ease - delighting in what is foreign, while also taking comfort in what is familiar. Asia will be a very different story. The languages, the rituals, the spiritual traditions, even the unspoken choreography of how people move through markets and streets - all will be new territory. That kind of immersion, that stretching beyond what is comfortable, is exactly what energizes and inspires us.

Culture shock, I’ve come to believe, is not a hardship but a gift. It pulls us out of ingrained habits and assumptions. It unsettles us just enough to remind us that our way is not the only way - that human beings express community, spirituality, and daily life in countless forms. It humbles us, and at the same time, it wakes us up. For me, this isn’t just one of the rewards of travel - it’s the very heart of it.

But beyond the destinations themselves, this sudden shift in our plans reminded me of something even more important: travel, like life, is really about openness. Yes, you make plans - especially for a journey as long as seven months. Some structure is necessary. But the plans are not the point. The real invitation is to remain flexible, to leave space for surprise, to say yes when something unexpected appears on the horizon. The adventure doesn’t begin when everything goes according to plan. It begins when you release your grip on the plan and let life surprise you.

And this lesson doesn’t only apply once the trip begins. It starts in the planning itself. The willingness to reimagine, to let go of even carefully made arrangements, is a reminder that adventure is not found in clinging to what we thought should happen, but in leaning fully into what is happening.

Travel teaches me this again and again. Flights are delayed, weather changes, borders close, opportunities appear out of nowhere. A conversation with a stranger alters your direction. A wrong turn becomes the highlight of the day. Again and again, travel shows us that the deeper invitation is not to control every variable but to cultivate an inner posture of openness - to meet change not as an interruption, but as the very essence of the journey.

In this way, travel is a mirror of life itself. Life is never static. It is moving, unfolding, and in constant change. And just as with travel, the richest experiences often come when we are nimble enough to welcome change instead of resisting it.

So yes, our itinerary looks entirely different now. Instead of standing beneath the Andes, we will be gazing up at temple spires in Thailand. Instead of watching penguins waddle across the ice in Patagonia, we will find wonder in the quiet dignity of a tea ceremony in Japan and an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. The landscapes are different, the cultures are different - but the essence of what we’re seeking is unchanged: to be awakened, to be humbled, to remember how vast and varied this world is, and to let that recognition transform us.

And perhaps that is the deeper truth: the destination itself has never really been the point. The point is how we meet the journey - whether with rigidity and expectation, or with curiosity and openness. If there is one principle at the heart of travel, it is change. To travel well is to embrace it. And to live well demands exactly the same.