Would You Rather Go On or Off the Beaten Path?

We have found ourselves amid droves of tourists, all excited about having arrived at a destination like the Eiffel Tower, albeit as older lovers. We have found signs, followed them, and come upon six large charcoal ovens near Ely, Nevada. What gives you more satisfaction: on or off the beaten path? 

A Sense of Accomplishment

Either way, arriving at a destination always gives us a feeling of accomplishment. It is an achievement to have finally reached that place so many others rave about. We may have waited so long to save the dollars we needed to get there, sacrificing plenty. On the other hand, think of the risks we had to take to go off-the-beaten path: driving through a dirt road for miles to reach the Arctic Circle on Canada’s Yukon, suffering temperatures well below zero to catch the Northern Lights, or even climbing Mount Everest at the peril of death.

The Feeling of Amazement

More than this sense of accomplishment, we get the undeniable feeling of amazement when we reach a destination. When I got a glimpse of the Roman Colosseum, I marveled at the engineering feat built to today’s standards 2,000 years ago. At the Arctic Circle, I could not explain the feeling any better than with these words I have that capture the moment: “Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.”

The Feeling of Disappointment

Other times, however, I was forced to sigh,” What’s all the fuss about?” When I laid eyes upon the Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium, that tiny statue of a little boy taking a pee into a pond below, I was utterly disappointed; even more so when I found out later it was just a replica! But I didn’t say anything aloud. The huge throng was seriously engaged in taking masterpieces of a souvenir photo.

But the disappointment is even much bigger when I go through all the trouble and/or take many risks to reach somewhere off the beaten path. For example, to get to the Chigu Salt Mountain in Tainan City, Taiwan, we had to ride the expensive but fast bullet train from Taipei in the north and then take the only bus, where the driver, conductor, and passengers didn’t speak any English, to the outskirts of Tainan. This same bus went back only once, late in the afternoon.

Comments on its website like this more than express our disappointment: “Honestly! I had to spend 1 hour and 10 minutes on the bus to get there! And the last bus left at 18:10! What for? for a mountain of "salt" black of air pollution...nothing very amazing there! “

Finding a Saving Grace

We didn't want to wait four more hours for that one bus, so we called for a taxi. The driver, noticing we were hungry (the museum only had coffee), stopped, got out, took something out of the trunk, and gave us the most wonderful cookies we have ever tasted. Had we not gone to the Salt Mountain, we would not have met this extraordinary man! In Brussels, Bill’s saving grace was Belgian beer; mine, Belgian chocolates, and ours, waffles.

The question is not whether I would prefer to go on or off the beaten path. I will keep on doing both and you should, too. It doesn't matter how much expense or preparation we need to get to either. We can never guarantee anything in life. What matters most is to always have the right attitude when we get there. Then you may feel a sense of accomplishment, amazement, or a saving grace.

 

Bill climbing the Salt Mountain

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