Slow Exploration: My Plan for Cooler, Quieter Getaways That Recharge Big Dreams

Mar 13
4 min read

I am sure that everyone is familiar with the term wanderlust, meaning the desire to travel. I love travelling because it makes me feel limitless. When I am home, I am bounded by the expectations of society, but when I am travelling, there is no fear in succumbing to standards and you get to put on your explorer's hat and be free to learn and absorb every little thing around you.

There are two types of trips - one where the place is new and we are excited to see every single thing, so we cramp 156 attractions into 5 days, while the other one is just taking time to soak into the culture and surroundings, but only visiting 2-3 attractions per day. My style is the latter.

Buildings on a cliff, overlooking the ocean

Santorini, Greece in 2019. Oh Mamma Mia!

Limiting to only a few attractions a day

I am very grateful to have the opportunities to travel to various countries, and with experience, I find that the pace that suits me is visiting 2-3 attractions per day. This is what a typical day during my travels looks like:

8am - Wake Up

10am - Breakfast to go and 1st attraction (Adding in 1-2 nearby side attractions)

12pm - Lunch

2pm - 2nd attraction (Adding in 1-2 nearby side attractions)

3-4pm - Snack or tea time at famous cafes

6pm - Dinner

7pm - Shopping

9pm - Back to accommodation

Of course it also greatly depends on where you are visiting. Certain towns or cities have operation hours up to 5pm, so do check them out before visiting. This type of itinerary works well for me because I love to take my time to understand the history and culture of the city. Also conveniently slotting in shopping after dinner as tourist attractions normally close at 6pm.

A historical landmark with gothic architecture under construction

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona in 2018.

It was still under construction when we visited, but I heard it will be completed this year!

Gathering information from credible sources

At the moment, XHS has been everyone's compulsory site when it comes to planning travel itineraries. I too use this site to my convenience, but I often find certain mentions rather inorganic. There are a few times where I visit the recommended sites and restaurants from XHS and it would be too crowded and below expectations. After learning my lesson, I normally gather preliminary recommendations from XHS, while filtering them later on through recommendations on Google Search and Youtube, the two largest search engines. This way, I would have gathered pros and cons of the attractions and would be able to tailor a better itinerary. Alas, a little touch of ChatGPT to optimize the route to my style and pace, and we have the perfect itinerary.

My preliminary prompt on ChatGPT:

"I am visiting XXX during X to X, flight at X to X. Please provide me an itinerary suitable for 5 friends. We enjoy slow travelling, 2-3 attractions per day. Include the must visits, scenic areas and high street shopping. Budget of XXX per person"

After gathering information from XHS, Google and Youtube, then I would filter out the attractions that we want to visit and those we don't. My secondary prompt on ChatGPT:

"Flitering out XXX, XXX, XXX, add these in instead: XXX, XXX and XXX."

Of course, the accommodations, intercity travelling and restaurants will be slotted in afterwards.

A parliament building overlooking the river

Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest

Absolutely beautiful architecture.

Prioritizing Nature

I have always been a fan of nature and wildlife. When I travel, I always slot in a day for national parks or farms. I find that this helps me stay grounded and also encourages me to move and exercise during my trip. Sometimes, a simple walk or trek in the autumn forest helps to clear my mind temporarily.

For those who know me, you would know that I am also very much in love with the cosmos. If my travels are ideal for stargazing and observatory visits, these would definitely be in my itinerary as well. (Be mindful of the people you travel with and if your interests align!)

Activities and sites I normally look out for:

Animal feeding
Stargazing
Farm visits
Whale watching
National parks
Helicopter rides
Anywhere with the seven wonders or extraterrestrial activity!

A mountain located at the end of a valley with a brook running towards it

Mt Cook in New Zealand.

We took a 1 hour trek just to view this, was definitely worth it.

Choose Cooler Weathers and Climates

Coming from a tropical climate, I very much prefer holiday destinations with four seasons, especially choosing to visit during spring, autumn or winter. A comfortable temperature range for me would be 0-15°C. I also prefer destinations which are not too dry because I really dislike getting static on my fingers. However, outlier cases are always acceptable, like if it was a ski holiday, or visiting the Pyramids in Egypt.

Personally, my favourite article of clothing happens to be outerwear. I love coats and jackets even though my hometown limits me to only linen and cotton clothing. Travelling is a great opportunity for me to try styling these with my current wardrobe, not to mention layering adds so much more character to your personal style!

Snow on mountains stretching throughout the mountain range

Southern Alps, New Zealand

View from a helicopter.

Choosing Underrated Destinations

I can't stress enough how lucky I am to have been to all the famous cities, but if I had a choice, I wouldn't choose some of these cities the second time. During peak seasons, it would be crowded and travel expenses would shoot up immensely. What I normally do is find out when is it best to visit the city, and then choose either the beginning or the last few days of that range.

Here are some places that I would visit for the second time: