Friends often ask me, having been to so many places, which one do you like the most? Where is the best spot to watch the sunrise/sunset? Where can you find the most delicious food?
To be honest, I never really keep count, because I always believe that no matter how beautiful a place is, it can’t compare to the people and experiences you encounter. And interactions between people are such subtle things — you never know who you’ll meet or whether you’ll click.
I remember in May when I came to Hualien, on our last night the event organizers arranged for a few of us travel bloggers to stay at a local youth hostel. This hostel was called Hui Lan Wo, and the owner was also a young person, so we got along quite well.
On the night we checked in, the owner asked us about our travel plans. We told him we were leaving the next morning and asked where the best place to watch the sunrise was. He thought for a moment and then suggested joining us. So we got up at 4 a.m., headed to the seaside in Hualien — a place called Pacific Park — to watch the sunrise.
If you ask me if this was the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen, I’d say no. But experiencing it on such a morning, with such a group of people, made this sunrise special.
Actually, what makes us remember a place isn’t just the scenery, but the people we meet there and the stories we experience. Who knows what kind of people and events I’ll encounter on my next journey? But it’s precisely because of the unknown that there’s anticipation, that there are surprises, and because of those surprises, we can feel the joy even more deeply.
And what are your expectations for your next journey?
Text and photos: Dan @ The Story of a Part-Time Travel Journalist