by There comes a time in every traveller’s life when the literal and/or metaphorical map fades away, and the true journey officially starts. The journey does not start at the airport gate, nor when we click the camera to capture our first sunset. It starts when things don’t go to plan, when there is no more Google Maps, and when we are unexpectedly…wonderfully lost.
I certainly wasn’t supposed to be in a mountain town with no wifi and no common language. I was supposed to be in the city drinking coffee with a view of the skyline. But it was actually a wrong turn (or perhaps a right turn) that brought me to a place I didn’t know existed (it didn’t have stars on the booking app I was using, and it didn’t have hashtags on social media).
I had shared a meal with strangers, who treated me like family. I had learnt connection does not need translation, and kindness is its own language. I hiked trails that weren’t on the maps, walking with people who communicate through hand gestures and smiles telling stories.
And for the first time in a long time, I was travelling not to see more but to feel more.
The Joy of Getting Lost
When the map ends, your senses are heightened. You see (and now notice) the little things: the smell of pine in the mountain air, the faint chatter of unfamiliar languages, and the sweeping shadows being painted across an unknown street in twilight.
These are the journeys that you did not plan—and the ones that shape you more than any other.
Because real travel is not about checking places off a list. Real travel is about compromising your own list.
What I learnt when I compromised the map:
Expectations limit exploration.
Sometimes getting lost is the best way to find something you didn’t know you were searching for.
Strangers can become stories that you carry with you for life.
The world doesn’t exist on your itinerary; it exists in the excitement of the unplanned.
So, next time you’re travelling, don’t panic when the route disappears. At the end of your map, a new journey begins that no app or plan can prepare you for.
Let it take you.
Have you ever been lost while travelling—and loved it? Let me know your unexpected journey in the comments. Let’s celebrate the journeys that maps can’t find.