5 reasons to travel slowly

5 reasons to travel slowly

"We should do something," said Kia, blinking into the sun. "For example?" "I think there is game water rafting nearby. Or maybe ziplining." "Yes," I said, leaning back. "Yes, we should." "We should," she repeated, and then let her go on her beach towel with a leisurely yawn.

If our first month was in Vanuatu Allegro, Fiji was more andante, but who can really blame us? The outer islands of Fiji (which also include the sets of Castaway and Blue Lagoon) are among the most beautiful in the world. In fact, the "garden island" Taveuni may be the most picturesque island that I have ever seen.

KIAS suggestion to "do something" arises from a sense of duty that many of us feel on the go: a duty to go out, to see things, to check out points from a list that we have not made. But here is the thing: If you travel slowly, it offers much more advantages than a non -stop, adrenaline -reloading, activity -rich journey - especially with long -term trips like ours. Here are five reasons why you shouldn't feel guilty if you take things slowly.

1. You see more of the country

If you travel across land, you have the opportunity to get air and observe. Regardless of whether you take a bus instead of a plane or spend five instead of three days somewhere, you have the opportunity to experience more. On the way from Sau Bay to Savusavu on Vanua Levu, our bus drove five minutes earlier (without us). ), which does not sound too bad until you take into account that the next bus came five hours later.

Well, we had no choice but to throw off our backpacks and wait for the next bus. In the end we talked to Taina, a locals who also missed the bus. She was on the way home to Labasa for a week, an urgently needed break from her seven-day-die-woche job in the hospitality industry. Because of the misfortune, she had to stay in Savusavu for a night and missed an entire additional day with her son and husband.

alt = “”> Atlas & Boots From a bus you can see more than from an airplane (and they also cost less!)

Taina suggested taking a bus to the next city to see if we could take another bus that drives in the right direction. It didn't work, but it was still a great afternoon and we saw another part of the island that we would not have seen otherwise.

2. You can find the best favorite places

Mom’s Country Kitchen in Savusavu proved to be the best food we had on our trip. It was a tiny Indian bistro that served Rotis and Curry. If the time had been scarce, we would have jumped into a boat directly from the city on the evening of our arrival. We drove back to Viti Levu - Fiji's main island - and when we arrived in Savusavu, there was a boat in the dock.

But we didn't have it in a hurry and Taina told us about a friendly little B&B in the city, in which we would like to check in: another great find that we would have missed. We stayed two nights and spent a day in the charming yacht club before we took the next boat to Viti Levu.

3. They give much less

This is directly related to the one said above. A delicious and filling meal for two people in Mom’s Country Kitchen cost us a total of around $ 12 (£ 4), and the practical small B&B only cost $ 50 (£ 17) per night for a private double room. Our two nights in Savusavu were good within our budget, which means that we would have left more for the more expensive excursions and adventures on the trip.

If you are not in a hurry, it is easier to keep the costs low. You can wait until the cheaper ticket is available, look around for the cheaper hotel or withdraw the slower boat instead of the aircraft. We could have taken a 45-minute flight, but instead we decided for a 12-hour boat trip for a third of the price. It was a more interesting experience and much better for my bank credit.

4. You meet more interesting people

It is a travel cliché that you hit great people on the way, but I have rarely hit someone of interest while I jumped between backpacker meeting points in large cities. Those who travel slowly get a much better insight into the country and its people. Take the Fijians: You are among the warmest and friendliest people we have met, but our previous interaction could have been limited to exchanging "Bulas" on the street. Instead, we slept on the side with them on long boat journeys and got a real sample of their hospitality.

On our last trip, Kia noticed that cockroaches crawled around the walls and forced us to change the position so that it was as far away from the wall as possible. The people around us noticed. One came to her and assured her that she would do nothing to her, another offered her to get some spray from the information switch, a third told her that she could sleep on a table instead of sleeping on the floor. Her concern was deeply lovable.

Alt = “Slow_travel_2 ″> Atlas & Boots We missed our bus, but spent a nice afternoon to talk to locals

5. You avoid burnout for travelers

Our first month in Vanuatu was exciting, but exhausting. When I finished my Padi course (which was packed in three instead of five days), I turned to Kia and said that I felt like a zombie! We had cried so much together in such a short time that we really needed some time to just relax.

Of course, the pace is not comparable to one month of lessons at home, but it is also clear that I couldn't have held it out. We plan to be on the road for a year and have planned some huge adventures during this time. I don't want to decide after six months that I am too exhausted to continue - I will regret it forever.

We are sitting in our hostel room in Nadi. Tomorrow we continue to the Mamanuca Islands. It took us about four days to make a trip that we could have done in three hours, but I am so much happier that we took the time and managed to do more on the way. We are lucky enough to have very little time. I don't want it to stay that way, but in the past few weeks it has just been good - like a vacation on vacation.

Now for the shark.

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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