What Travel Really Teaches Us When We Leave the Familiar Behind
By Dirk Ebener – September 22, 2026
How do you sum up what 'Travel That Makes Sense' really is?
Travel That Makes Sense begins when we cease seeing travel as a checklist and instead focus on getting to know people, trying new foods, experiencing the local culture, and gathering stories during our journey.
For me, meaningful travel has nothing to do with the number of places I go or the landmarks I see; it occurs when I slow down, get to know a place, meet somebody I wouldn't have met at home, try something new, or leave with an unexpected story.
The book traces my trek through both well-known cities and out-of-the-way places that most tourists miss. But the locations are just the setting. What matters most are the experiences that happen after I arrive, like sharing meals with strangers, tasting unfamiliar foods, running into cultural differences by surprise, making mistakes, changing my plans, and sometimes wondering if I chose the right adventure.
The way in which I travel has been altered by those experiences.
They also formed the basis of Travel That Makes Sense.
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Meaningful Travel Is About What Happens After We Arrive
I have always enjoyed the excitement of reaching a new place. There is a sense of joy about me when I step out of an airport, a train station, or a hotel and notice that all the sights, sounds, and smells are temporarily stranger than I'm used to.
Some cities are ones almost everybody knows. Other times, I am in a country about which friends at home know very little.
The other one can also be quite interesting.
Just because a city is famous doesn't mean the experience will be memorable, and a less-visited place doesn't always guarantee adventure. What usually makes the difference is how willing I am to step outside my comfort zone while traveling.
Sometimes this means skipping a planned afternoon at the hotel. Other times, it means eating at a place where I can't read the menu, sitting at a shared table, or following a tip from someone I just met.
Other times, it just means stopping.
Travel becomes much more interesting when I stay long enough for a place to show me its hidden sides.
The idea is central to Travel That Makes Sense: although the book covers various countries and continents it is not based on ticking off a list of destinations. Instead, it is organised around the experiences that take place in them.
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Street Food Taught Me to Change the Way I Travel
Most of the travel experiences that come back to me clearly are connected with food, in particular with dishes that you find away from fine restaurants and those with standard menus.
At first, street food was a difficulty.
Reading about street food before a trip is one thing; standing in front of a busy food stand in Mexico, Tunisia, Malaysia, or elsewhere and deciding whether to take the plunge is another.
The odours are strange. You might not be able to tell what the ingredients are and there won't be an English menu around.
All the people nearby appear to know precisely what they should do.
You don't.
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Mexico Made the Sidewalk Part of the Experience
In Mexico, street food quickly taught me to stop looking for an experience that matched my expectations.
The food stand doesn't necessarily want to turn into a restaurant; in fact, that's the whole point.
People halt because they know the food; they know what to order, how to order it, which salsa they prefer, and probably how much heat they can tolerate.
I learned to watch.
What do the people want? Which stand is having a steady number of local customers?
Is the food being prepared in front of me? Are the ingredients being moved quickly?
Watching what locals do turned out to be more helpful than searching for a review from another traveler written months ago.
By eating like this you will be right at the centre of local life, not just watching it from behind the window of a restaurant but actually becoming a part of the situation yourself.
***
Tunisia Required a Different Kind of Adjustment
Tunisia offered another lesson.
The flavors, ingredients, aromas, language, and rhythm of eating were different again.
What I had learned elsewhere could help me feel more comfortable regarding uncertainty, but it couldn't tell me exactly how to experience Tunisia.
That distinction matters.
A mistake that experienced travellers can fall into is taking it for granted that our earlier travels qualify us as experts when it comes to the next destination.
It doesn't.
Every place should have the chance to teach us a new thing.
Food is often where that lesson starts, because eating makes us interact with a culture many times each day. We could stay in an international hotel and order familiar food, but doing that over and over keeps us apart from the place we came so far to see.
I want to close that gap and step closer to the places I visit.
***
Malaysia Reminded Me That Not Knowing Can Be Part of the Fun
Malaysia brought yet another combination of flavors plus food traditions.
At times I knew exactly what I was ordering.
I would from time to time have a sensible idea.
At times I depended a great deal on indicating, observing, smiling, and having the confidence that everything would one day make sense.
Usually, it did.
Not knowing what food will show up can feel awkward, especially when traveling alone.
There's no one across the table to help you decide or share the blame if things don't go well.
That uncertainty is in fact one of the aspects of travelling alone which I appreciate most.
You make the decision.
You try it.
And if you order the wrong thing, you learn something.
***
Making Mistakes Has Become Part of My Travel Experience
I have made many mistakes while traveling.
I have misundertood the instructions, ordered food that I hadn't expected, underestimated the distances, miscalculated how long something would take, and found that what seemed perfectly logical when I was planning my trip did not work quite as well when I actually got there.
It doesn't indicate that the trip was a failure.
That is to say, I was traveling.
These days, we often plan our trips so carefully that we try to get rid of any surprises.
We read reviews, look at photos, watch videos, save restaurant lists, map out walks, and check what other travelers say we shouldn't miss.
All those tools can be useful; I use a number of them myself.
That is, I don't want them to tell me precisely how my trip should be.
A great many of the travel experiences that I will never forget occurred when the plans went wrong.
Since the restaurant was closed, I continued walking along the street.
Because the route was changed, I found myself in a different neighbourhood.
Since I didn't understand the menu, I asked a person what they were having for food.
A simple question turned into a conversation.
The discussion soon developed into a tale worth remembering.
The kind of travel I would like to remember is that.
***
The Most Useful Travel Skill May Be Learning to Observe
There are practical methods of becoming more at ease when travelling in places outside your usual environment, but I think these do not call for complicated rules.
I observe the actions of the local people.
When I am at a street-food stand I look at where the people are gathering and the speed at which they use the ingredients. At a café I notice if people order from the counter or if they sit down first. In a market I take the time to observe before I pick anything up. If I am uncertain then I ask.
That mere act of asking has helped me more than anything else. It is surprisingly easy for most people to explain something when you are truly interested.A question concerning food may turn into a discussion of a family recipe. Asking about a neighborhood can result in discovering a place that I never would have come across online.
A conversation with the person sitting next to me can alter the rest of my afternoon.f
They are not methods for obtaining "authentic experiences."c experiences."
These aren't tricks for collecting so-called "authentic experiences."
***
What Would I Tell Someone Nervous About Street Food
A question which I am often asked is if I am concerned about eating street food.
Certainly I think about it.
Being adventurous does not mean you have to leave common sense behind.
I search for vendors who are busy, where food is being prepared fresh, where the ingredients seem to be handled properly, and where local customers are eating. If it doesn't seem right to me, then I go on to another meal.
I likewise think that no one has any need to demonstrate anything by eating something which makes them truly uncomfortable.
Travel should not make every meal a dare, but rather should expand your comfort zone.
Begin slowly. Choose an item that is familiar. Observe how it is prepared. Find out what other people suggest. Then taste a small amount.
Confidence grows through experience.
The error lies in thinking that there are only two options—remaining entirely safe by sticking to the familiar or eating anything that is offered to you.
There is a great deal of excellent territory lying between those two extremes.
***
Why Less-Visited Countries Have Given Me Some of My Best Stories
There's nothing wrong with visiting Paris, London, Rome, New York, or other famous cities. I still go back to popular places because there's always more to explore. But I've also found something special in traveling to places that require a bit more curiosity.
In countries that are less frequently visited I usually have fewer expectations when I get there.
That can be liberating.
I no longer measure what I see against old expectations or race through a list of 'must-see' sights. Instead, I can slow down and discover a place's everyday spirit.
The market becomes interesting.
The bakery becomes interesting.
Even the person preparing lunch becomes an account waiting to be discovered.
A neighborhood in which nothing at all famous took place becomes interesting.
I have been reminded on more than one occasion that it is not necessary to visit a famous landmark in order to have a worthwhile experience.
***
People Have Changed My Trips More Than Places
Looking back over the decades spent traveling, I definitely recall many remarkable landscapes, buildings, hotels, roads, restaurants, and cities.
But the people I meet always seem to take center stage in my memories.
I have the memory of the individual who gave me an explanation.
The one who laughed when I was mistaken.
The cook asked me to have one more thing.
The stranger who joined my day for twenty minutes.
We may never cross paths again, but that person becomes eternally woven into my memory of the place.
You can't really plan for that on an itinerary.
That is why I believe travelers need to leave space in their days. When every hour is scheduled, unexpected conversations feel like interruptions, not opportunities.
I am not interested in travelling that way.
***
Why I Wrote Travel That Makes Sense
The stories in Travel That Makes Sense grew from years of travel journals, observations, experiences, conversations, meals, mistakes, and moments that stayed with me well after I returned home.
Others took place in famous cities.
Similar cases took place in countries and places which receive considerably less attention.
Together, these instances slowly changed my understanding of what makes travel truly meaningful.
This book isn't a manual on how to travel. I don't think there's only one right way to see the world.
Well, I'll tell you about what happened to me.
I am going to tell you what worked, what challenged me, what surprised me, and the lessons I learned when my assumptions didn't match reality.
People are free to decide which aspects of those experiences they want to take away.
One story may encourage someone to try a street-food stand in Mexico. Another might make a traveler curious about Tunisia or Malaysia. Another may convince someone to walk another two blocks beyond the tourist district and see what is there. If just one story inspires someone to try something new, that is more than enough.
***
The Question I Now Ask About All Journeys
I still plan my travels. I research destinations, hotels, transportation, restaurants, neighborhoods, and useful information. Experience has taught me that preparation matters.
That is only the starting point.
The real issue is what I will let take place when I get there.
Shall I leave room for something unexpected?
Will I speak to someone?
Will I taste something new?
Shall I alter my course if something interesting turns up on another street?
Shall I be willing to make a mistake?
I now think those questions matter more than how many attractions I can fit into a day.
***
Key Takeaways
The main idea of Travel That Makes Sense is simple. Destinations give us somewhere to go, but it's our experiences that shape what we remember and bring home.
Eating street food in Mexico, Tunisia, Malaysia, and other places around the world taught me the importance of observing before forming an opinion, asking questions before making assumptions, and accepting that sometimes I won't know what will happen next.
Visiting less popular places taught me that you do not need famous sights to have a memorable trip.
The mistakes I made showed me that a day that isn't perfect can result in a better story than one that has been carefully carried out.
People taught me that certain of the most valuable travel experiences can't be booked in advance.
***
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'Travel That Makes Sense' a traditional travel guide?
On the contrary, the book is based on genuine travel experiences and personal anecdotes rather than destination checklists; although places matter, the emphasis is on the events that happen when you experience them.
Will the book feature well-known destinations?
Yes. My travels include internationally recognized cities as well as less-visited places and countries. Both can produce remarkable experiences when we go beyond simply seeing the expected attractions.
Is street food safe to eat when you are traveling overseas?
There is no absolute guarantee, but experience and common sense can help. I tend to choose busy vendors, places where the food is prepared fresh, establishments that use ingredients they replace often, and spots popular with locals. If something doesn't look or seem right to me, I simply continue walking.
Do I need to be an experienced traveler to travel this way?
No. Curiosity matters more than the number of stamps in a passport. Start with small decisions: try one unfamiliar dish, visit a local market, ask someone for a recommendation, or spend an afternoon without filling every hour.
What if I make a mistake while traveling?
You probably will. I still do. Correct what needs correcting, learn from it, and continue. Some mistakes disappear within minutes; others eventually become the stories you share for years.
Travel Is Ultimately About What We Bring Home
There will always be another destination to visit and another place I have not seen.
That is part of what keeps me traveling.
But I no longer believe the number of destinations is the most interesting measure of a journey.
I think about the person I met unexpectedly. I remember the smell coming from a street-food stand and the moment I decided to stop. I remember being unsure, trying something anyway, getting something wrong, laughing about it, and understanding a little more about a place than I did that morning.
Those moments inspired Travel That Makes Sense.
We leave home excited to see the world. If we give ourselves the chance to really experience it, the earth often gives something back.
And when I return home, what remains with me is rarely only the destination.
It is the people I met, the food I tasted, the culture I experienced, and the stories I was fortunate enough to bring home.
Dirk Ebener is the founder and creator behind the Food Blogger Journey website, and author of “Travel That Makes Sense”, drawing on over 40 years of international travel across more than 60 countries. His global adventures have deepened his understanding of regional cuisines, local customs, and the powerful connection between food and culture. From bustling street markets in Asia to quiet vineyard dinners in Europe, Dirk captures authentic culinary experiences through immersive storytelling. Through Food Blogger Journey, he invites readers to explore the world one dish and step at a time.
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