When was your last great adventure? For me, it was in 2017. I had just graduated from high school and my classmates and I wanted to enjoy our newfound freedom before proceeding with a new chapter in our lives, which was either four years at university or jumping straight into the workforce. After much research and deliberation, we decided on visiting two places: Da Nang and Hội An in Vietnam. This trip would end up being an adventure for kids who had never really had one yet.
Upon landing and stepping off the plane, I took in the new world before me. The air was pleasantly different and so was the heat, which was ever present, but not unbearable. Excitement mixed with anxiety lingered in the back of my mind as I wondered what lay ahead. As someone who had not been to many places outside Macau, I began to fully realise at that point that there was a much bigger world beyond the comfort of home. The destination was also much more real and tangible than what a few videos, books and lessons could have ever described, with “adventure” and “exploration” becoming more than just words.
The locations we visited were almost completely accessible by walking or riding a bike, with a prevalence of bicycles available for rent. My nascent bike rides started off as either being too wobbly or going uncontrollably fast to the point of almost crashing, which eventually resulted in a few scratches and a bloody toe just on the second day of the trip.
However, with enough practice, my friends and I were able to go on some of the longest bike rides we had ever been on, with memorable ones being riding along an open road as we headed for a beach further away from where we were staying and even cycling through the rain and on wet roads in search of the next great meal, with each ride starting with a small prayer for safety.
Although we also visited places frequented by tourists, we would also stray off the beaten path, ending up in some memorable locations such as a night market we had not heard about during our pre-trip research and taking a wrong turn while looking for a restaurant only to end up with some of the best and most affordable Phở, which according to Wikipedia is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat, I had ever had. This showed that exploration can certainly lead to many surprises.
Independence and freedom were also lessons that would come about from the trip as it was the first that I had ever taken without the supervision of a teacher, parent or really any adult, and it allowed a sense of being on one’s own. In adolescence, one may seek a feeling of becoming one’s own person and being able to do things on one’s own. A trip may be able to help realise that longing. From my experience, everything from budgeting to making sure that the trip money would last throughout the whole week to getting lost and eventually finding one’s way and even learning about the term “tourist trap” the hard way were all lessons that I would learn from.
Three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I, like many, have been stuck within the confines of Macau, with the furthest I had ever gone ever since being Hac Sa beach. However, as the world seems to be more accessible again, a new adventure may be out there for those who may seek it. With this in mind, I cannot help but think of a quote from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland:
“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.
The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.”
This undated handout photo downloaded from Unsplash shows a bicycle parked somewhere in Hoi An, Vietnam.
