Do you realise we talk more about things going wrong than about the parts of our holidays where everything was going according to plan?

I do. Every time we have a conversation about our trips, every time we reminisce on the details of our journeys, we always end up talking about the time when the bus broke down in the middle of nowhere between Puno and Cusco in Peru, when I passed out among strangers in a bar in Hanoi, when I got ripped off at the market in Shanghai when a jade ring I bought suddenly turned plastic.

Generally, those events that seemed tragic at the time but hilariously funny now, are like the glue of our memories. We are more likely to remember things that impact us the most, and by having recollections of the bad things, we start to remember the good things, and what made our trips great.

It got me thinking – so what makes the best trips of our lifetime? For me, the best trips are those trips with a bit of mishap, trips that never went according to plan and trips that did go a little wrong; because in these trips, I always learn something.

When the bus broken down in the middle of nowhere, I learned the heart and warmth of a community where everyone lent a hand in providing a solution; when I passed out in a bar in Hanoi, I learned the power of humanity as my fellow travellers (strangers nevertheless) looked after me and ensured that I got back to my hotel okay; and the market in Shanghai taught me that I should always check my purchase.

Further reading: Kindness of Strangers – Confessions of a Dromomaniac | Worldette

What made these things great, was that when I got home, I had lots of entertaining stories to tell.

What makes YOUR best trips?