It is important that we have adventures throughout our lives as they make things interesting and give us memories that we can carry with us forever so I believe that life should contain as many adventures as possible.
While I realise that growing up my life was very different when compared to the majority of people as my family travelled the world because of my dad’s job. I didn’t go to one school for the whole of my school days, which was great as if I didn’t like one I knew I wouldn’t be there very long. But this taught me that life is one big adventure.
My first adventure was when I was 12 and we had moved from a small town near Liverpool to Northern Ireland and I had had to leave my rabbit behind until we had settled in our new home. When we had settled my dad said that I should fly alone to Liverpool, travel to the small town by train, pick up my rabbit and fly back. That was really exciting at the time and I loved the feeling.
So, throughout life I embarked on as many adventures as possible, at 18 I lived in a tent on a beach in Morocco for six months. I went to South Africa at the height of the apartheid period as I didn’t believe that someone would treat people differently because of the colour of their skin. I drove from London to Greece, which took four days, over a road that was called “Death Highway” by truckers that ran across the top of what was then Yugoslavia which was a very enlightening drive to say the least.
I drove from the UK and travelled around Spain and Portugal for over a month and slept on beaches which was great fun.
In Belize I stayed on an island named Cay Caulker, learnt to scuba dive and swam with sharks. In Hawaii while diving I heard whales singing, swam with a pod of Spinner dolphins. In Mexico I kayaked surrounded by a pod of Bottlenose dolphins and released baby turtles into the sea at midnight to set them off on their life journeys.
I took flying lessons, which unfortunately I didn’t finish as I embarked on a backpacking trip around Asia and ended up in Macau and never went home.
Some adventures from Macau
While living in Macau, I visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia where I met a tuk tuk (remorque, as they are called in Cambodia) driver, Mr Che, who took me all over the Angkor Wat complex for a week and told me a lot of history about Cambodia. He was a child soldier during the Khmer Rouge period (1975 to 1978) on the side of the ousted government. A very interesting man indeed.
In Vietnam I travelled from Hanoi to Huế to Ho Chi Min City by train. On the first leg of the journey there was a train crash in front of us and we were stuck on the train for 12 hours until a new engine arrived to move the wrecked train off the railway line. From Huế to Ho Chi Min City I was sitting in a compartment with a Swiss guy and the window in the corridor cracked from top to bottom and on inspection there was a bullet hole in the glass.
In Mumbai, India I met a taxi driver who acted as my guide for four days who was also an interesting person and took me to places that were off the beaten tourist track, while in Beijing another taxi driver acted as my guide for three days.
I have always said that I didn’t want to be an old lady in a rocking chair moaning about all the things that I that I wish I had done, so at least I can say, done that, done that, done that!
These are just a few of my adventures that have helped shape my life. There are far too many to write about here that have taught me a lot about people, cultures and animals, and reinforced my belief that life is about journeys and that are part of the lesson of life as well as being totally enjoyable.
Don’t just sit there, get up and do something!
This photo taken in January 2009 shows Lesley Wells learning to dive in Cay Caulker, Belize, on the northeastern coast of Central America. Photo taken by diving instructor.
