“Life is more interesting when you take risks.”
– Tom Morgan, founder of The Adventurists
What do you get with one massive conference center, 100 exhibitors, and over 15,000 London-based travellers keen for a holiday (and a serious discount while they’re at it)?
The TNT Travel Show, that’s what.
It’s my first year attending the show and when I arrive at Earl’s Court Exhibition Center early Saturday afternoon, I can barely get past the first stall—Flight Centre’s offer of £20 off all flights has a crowd six-deep blocking the main aisle.
But they’re not the only ones with a good deal on the table—I pass other stalls running specials like buy-one-get-one-free off African tours or 40% off TransMongolian train journeys.
Never has appeasing your wanderlust felt so affordable.
I soon fight past the bloc of bargain-hunters and find my way to Room 1, where I’ve come to hear Tom Morgan, founder of epic travel company The Adventurists, speak. The title of his talk? “No back, no set route, thousands of miles and a completely unsuitable vehicle: Proper adventuring with no itineraries.”
Tom (or Mr. Tom, as he’s often referred to) wastes no time in getting started:
“We live in an unprecedented age of information. Every corner of the planet has been scanned by satellites. What’s the point in actually going there? The magic of discovery is probably gone.
“These days, discovery is reduced to buying a guidebook. It tells you what to expect before you actually get there. Experience is now going to always be disappointing.
“What’s wrong with getting lost? Social pressures creep in to make us safe. Risks are taboo. Adventure travel has become a guided tour. Adventure involves ignoring safety advice, going somewhere you know nothing about, and getting lost.”
As I furiously scribble down notes (all the while doing my best not to let out an ‘amen’ or two), it’s hard to believe that this time last year, I’d never heard of The Adventurists. That but for one fateful weekend in Manchester last March, I might never have won a place on the Rickshaw Run and gone rattling my way across India in a tuk tuk.
What’s even harder to believe is that this time four years ago, I went to Egypt and the French Alps on the very same packaged tours being sold in the travel show. When I think about those trips now, I sometimes wonder if the traveler I was four years ago could have made it through the Rickshaw Run.
That first tour to Egypt (and its many temples and air-conditioned buses) shattered my ideas of where I could go in the world. I came to London expecting to see Europe; I left London itching to see the world.
And I suppose that in itself is an adventure, right?
From then…
I feel the love, Candace. Great blog. x
Thanks, Rebecca! It was my first time at the travel show and I’m really glad I could make it. A perfect day of travel inspiration 🙂 x
Sounds like an incredible company–that opening quote just makes me want to go somewhere completely new and different and difficult!
Thanks, Christine! They really are an awesome company–and you should definitely look into doing one of their adventures, it was such a different way to see a country. I think you’re in Southeast Asia at the moment–they’ve actually just started a Rickshaw Run that goes from Bangkok to Indonesia!
Well said Candace! I haven’t known you for too long but I can already see the change in you from the first time we met in Manchester to the rickshaw run. Cheers to your future travels Candace! 😉
Thanks, Nellie! I think it’s one of those things where you don’t realize you’ve changed until you look back on where you used to be. I’m so excited to be heading back to India–and hopefully our paths in Asia will even cross at some point 🙂
How unfair that we come here expecting to cross destinations from our list, and end up just adding more exotic ones? Or shall I say, how incredibly lucky!
As always, you put that perfectly. It’s a kind of never-ending cycle, isn’t it? The more we see, the more we keep wanting to see. Not a bad problem, though, I don’t think 🙂 Miss you, friend!
I have always had an interest in The Adventurists, do you know what they are up to this year?
Hi Rachel, thanks for the comment! The Adventurists are always up to something fun–they recently launched their 7th adventure, the Ice Run, in Serbia…you can read more about it here.