Rough, ready and raring to go
Luxury may have its place, but life is for really living and experiencing, writes Ben Groundwater.
You’re supposed to lust after luxury. That’s the dream. That’s the ideal. When it comes to travel, the ultimate goal is supposed to be the most expensive experiences, the pampering, the comfort, the exclusivity. We’re all supposed to want helicopter rides to private islands, five-star resorts with gold-class day spas, and all the bells and whistles, gilt and finery. And there’s definitely a place for that. As someone who’s been lucky enough to fly business-class a few times, I can tell you that there’s a lot to be said for the pointy end of the travel experience.
But is that as good as it gets? Is that what we should all really be dreaming about, saving for and focusing our attention on?
Not a chance.
The best travel experiences of my life have not been luxurious, or glamorous in any way.
The trips I still dream about, the ones that affected me for the longest time and that I enjoyed the most, have involved no helicopters, butlers, Michelin stars, or infinity pools.
They’ve been rough-and-ready adventures, the types that have involved a bit of hardship, a bit of danger, a bit of time out of my comfort zone.
I spent a month camping in southern Africa, and that was one of the best trips of my life.
My partner and I hired a four-wheel-drive ute with a tent on top and drove through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
We tackled rough, rocky tracks and potholed highways. We stayed in weird, scary campsites and we stayed in beautiful game reserves.
We got up each morning and made coffee over the fire and watched the sun rise, and got ready to tackle the world together: where would we go, what would we see, who would we meet? Everything was up to chance.
I spent a week riding a scooter through the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and that was another of the best trips I’ve had.
Me on the front, gripping the handlebars, working my way through the insanity of Vietnamese traffic.
My partner was on the back, hanging on for her life, while she was yelling directions in my ear.
We got run off the road by trucks several times. We lined up for hours for car ferries to cross rivers. We rode through crazy tropical storms. We drank iced coffee and lay in hammocks by the side of the road. We stayed in dodgy guesthouses in funny little towns where everyone stared at us like we’d just dropped out of the sky.
I spent a month riding trains around India and staying in little guesthouses and hostels. I spent three months doing an ‘‘overlander’’ from Nairobi to Cape Town, camping and cooking my own food the whole way. I backpacked with my brother through Cambodia and Vietnam. I rode the train from Moscow to Beijing. I travelled with friends in