The journey or the destination, which matters?

As a fan of quotes, one that I often refer to is “the journey, not the destination matters” by TS Eliot.

While I believe that to be true about ‘life’, the destination definitely matters when thinking about our upcoming adventures as digital nomads.

Recently, I wrote about our decision to head to Bansko in Bulgaria as the first destination on our upcoming digital nomad journey.

If you read that article, you will know we are heading there for Bansko Nomad Fest.

The journey to Bulgaria will take more than one full day of driving and flying from our home in Australia. We will stay in Bansko for one month before moving to another destination.

If I focus only on the journey and not the destination, we could have great flight plans but end up staying in a place that makes us miserable and frustrated.

Trust me, no one wants to experience that…and if you have ever flown before, you will know that those plans do not always count for much.

As we are going to be in Europe, David started researching options and found Trusted Housesitters and Nomador to be two options with lots of housesits listed. For the last few months, he has reviewed options and submitted applications.

We now have three housesits lined up that will provide us with all of the essentials we need and some unusual experience opportunities in three unique destinations.

How to short-list potential destinations

Knowing what the weather conditions are likely to be is also good to know. Give me an average of 24 degrees and a large body of water; my bags are already packed. On the flip side, apparently, some people love the cold and don’t mind months of grey skies and four hours of sunlight a day.

Consider whether a quiet mountain village, a house in the suburbs or a city that never sleeps is more your vibe. I have learned over the years that I like variety, and draw energy from both solitude and crowds, providing neither is for too long at a time.

Introducing friends to destinations

A few years ago, I was fortunate to spend a week in Amsterdam with my youngest child, Amanda. We stayed in a very cute basement apartment that I found on Airbnb. It was on the Singel canal, right in the heart of the city.

We spent our days exploring the city. Walking around the galleries and museums, eating stroopwafels, and having our eyes and noses opened to all that makes Amsterdam unique…(well, maybe not all, Amanda was still in high school at the time).

Of course, we also travelled out of the city to see the windmills and the countryside. Unfortunately, our visit did not align with the tulip season, though that did mean it was not too crowded.

Our host’s home is in a suburb of Rijswijk, not far from The Hague, home to the Peace Palace and a stone’s throw from Delft, famous for its blue and white pottery.

We will be responsible for looking after their home plus their dog, cats, snake and lizards for a month. They have kindly agreed to leave their bicycles for us, so we can explore the area as the locals do, and their car in case we need it.

Exploring new destinations

At the end of our stay in Rijswijk, we have about a week before our next sit commences. We like to keep a buffer between housesits in case one host has a last-minute change of plans and needs us to arrive early or stay a little longer.

One of the great things about travelling in Europe is the option to travel by train. Rail travel is both affordable, efficient and more environmentally friendly than flying. Plus, you can usually book last minute without any problems.

After researching several options of places to stop in the direction of our next housesit, we settled on Ghent, Belgium. Neither of us has been to Belgium before, which scores more points in my book as I love visiting new places.

I have long desired to see the ancient city of Brugges and the cosmopolitan Brussels. We decided on Ghent (or Gent, depending on which direction you are coming from) as it is not so big or busy, is very walkable, and has a large castle and a river. Also, the municipality only allows low-emission vehicles inside the old city zone.

With a tram stop outside the front door, it will be easy to make our way back to the train station to catch the high-speed train to Paris. It is almost 300 km, but the TGV covers the distance in only a couple of hours. We can be there in the time it would take to check in at the airport and produce around 80-90% less CO2 emissions.

Revisiting the same destination again

We were a bit tired by then, and I wrote a blog post after the first couple of days called “10 things I hate about Paris”. Fortunately, it did get better after that, so I am actually excited to be going back.

On that trip, we stayed outside the Boulevard Périphérique and became quite proficient at using the metro. We visited Euro Disney and many of the prime tourist spots across the city.

This time, we will be looking after two precious pussy cats and a small apartment, two minutes walk from the Eiffel Tower. With local market stalls under the metro line beside us and the Jardins du Trocadero and Champ de Mars at our doorstep, we are bound to find this a very different experience from last time.

Destinations with a point of difference

At the time of writing this story, I haven’t worked out exactly how we will get there. This one will likely require a short flight, as the drive would take longer than we have available, and there is no direct fast train option either.

We are housesitting for a fellow while he travels through Iceland and Greenland on a photography trip. The details he has shared about his trip have encouraged us to add those places to our ever-growing list of places to explore.

He has a menagerie of pets that will keep us intrigued and occupied during our three weeks there. The house is near a small lake and there are meant to be many good hiking trails in the area too.

The train will get us to Budakalsz from Budapest, but then we will be on foot. I am curious to experience being in a place without easy access to transportation. I am hopeful that I will relish the serenity of the countryside and the waters of the blue Danube that flow nearby.

I expect we will stop in Budapest on our way there or back for a few days. The last time we were only there for a couple of days. All I really remember is that we went to movies and watched Ice Age 4…in Hungarian

Exotic and mysterious destinations

Following what we expect will be a few weeks of quiet time in the countryside, we are setting our sights on the exotic and mystical destination of Morocco.

The warm waters and golden sunshine of southern Morocco have been calling out to us since we first met the crew that started SunDesk Coworking and Coliving space at a CUAsia (Coworking Unconference) event a few years ago. While we aren’t staying with them this time, we will be just around the corner and are sure to catch up.

Taghazout is a small fishing village that is pretty much full of surf schools and coliving spaces. We will be staying at AdventureKeys, which also includes a 24/7 coworking space, in addition to surf lessons and yoga classes.

We are booked in for a full month in a private room with full board…so we are looking forward to delicious Moroccan food, friendly hospitality and probably several days of very sore muscles…I am sure it will be worth it!

David and I both love the ocean and are keen to learn to ride a surfboard. Our research suggests this is a good place to learn, as there are a wide variety of breaks catering for all levels.

The journey home usually feels faster

We haven’t booked our flights yet, but initial indications suggest it may take us around 48+ hours of travel time, and that is just to Brisbane…I wonder if that train line to Toowoomba will be built by the time we get home?!?!

While I am sure the journey will be an experience, it will be the destination of ‘home’ that I expect I will be desiring by the end. Fortunately, I usually find that the trip home always feels faster than the journey to get somewhere new.

Perhaps that is because the scenery becomes more familiar the closer you are to home, or maybe it is because the anticipation of something unexpected is reduced, so the senses are able to relax.

So, is it the journey or the destination that matters?

Try to make your entire life the journey to enjoy.

When travelling though, try to make the journey as energy efficient as possible. If you have the option to travel slowly, take it.

Spending a month or more in a destination means that you do not take as many flights in a year as you would if you are only spending a week or two in one place.

If there is an option to journey by train rather than fly, take it. Your sanity and the environment will thank you!

Choose destinations that stimulate your senses in a variety of ways. The excitement of the new versus the comfort and pleasure of the familiar.

Avoid choosing the same type of environment over and over again. The beaches are beautiful, but so are the mountains. Cities can be exciting, but a small village can offer more opportunities to connect at a deeper level than you expect.

Our journey will take us from the mountains to the suburbs, to the old city, to the big city, to the farm, to the beach…and back home. I look forward to sharing it with you as we go!

Originally written: 24 May 2022

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