At home, will travel
FRASER HARVEY HAS A FEW IDEAS FOR EMBRACING A SENSE OF ADVENTURE WHEN YOU CAN’T STRAY FAR FROM YOUR ABODE.
Whenever I ask people what their favourite part of travelling is, they usually respond with something about exotic food and rich experiences, before asking who I am and how I was able to get past security and into the staff room of their workplace. Not important! We all love to visit new places and see the sights, but sometimes that luxury isn’t available to us. In such a situation, it can help to adopt a Holiday Mindset in your own city, even when performing everyday tasks or errands. How? Well, I’m so glad you enquired! POST OFFICES First of all, it’s totally normal to envy a parcel. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Sometimes I like to head down to the post office and ask people in line where they’re sending their package, then in my mind, pretend I’m that very piece of mail being loaded onto a conveyor belt, dropped several times, left out in the rain for a few hours, then finally crammed into a crate with many others to be sent to a faraway land, possibly by sea! How romantic. When the customers have stopped talking to me, I like to move on to the post office staff and ask them about the coolest place they’ve ever sent anything. More often than not they’ll try to make me buy something or instruct me that it’s time to leave, sir, please.
STREET PERFORMANCES No one watches street performances in their hometown, ever. And with good reason: they’re always awful. But strangely, when we find ourselves in an unfamiliar environment, we tend to be more susceptible to standing around and casually observing any old shit. So why not recreate that feeling by actually stopping for local acts and giving them far more time than their ‘show’ deserves? You’ll feel like you’ve really immersed yourself in the local culture, and it’s also a chance to bond with an entirely new set of people who also have nothing to do. I smell friendship!
SUPERMARKETS You can’t underestimate supermarkets, or even regular open-air markets, for their cultural cachet. These places are a wealth of wonder – you can browse around for hours picking things up and asking other shoppers about the meaning of this intriguing ‘Red Spot Special’. Head directly to the international aisle and prepare to be wowed by an eclectic mix of products hailing from even the farthest reaches of New Zealand. Oh là là! You’ll return home with a swag of assorted pickles and sweets that you can introduce to your friends (possibly via Zoom!).
SUDDEN ONSET ILLNESS Nothing screams ‘off the beaten track’ like dysentery. That’s why it’s important to take note of the least safe places to eat in your area and frequent them one by one until Something Happens. Your colleagues will be enthralled by your tales of stoic exploration when you finally return to work a full 10 kilos lighter, and with a newly acquired food allergy, probably.
LOCAL PLACES NAMED AFTER MORE FAMOUS PLACES Hiking in Patagonia? Sign me up! I once trekked through a Patagonia store every day for two weeks, from opening right through till closing time, when I’d hide in a disused broom closet while the staff locked up, only to re-emerge fresh the next morning, ready for another day of climbing over window displays and exploring behind the counter when the manager wasn’t looking. If you’re in Sydney, why not lunch in Hyde Park? Delightful! A quintessentially English experience. Perhaps a ‘new deli’ has opened up nearby? Kinda sounds like India’s enchanting capital city, doesn’t it? Good enough! The only limit is your imagination!