“More travelers are seeking meaningful and immersive experiences rather than just ticking boxes at a rapid pace.”

As I listened to these words from Regal Star of Jasri Bay Hideaway, a small but elegant seaside hotel in east Bali, about the rise of slow travel in the post-pandemic era, I couldn't help but reflect on my own preferred way of exploring the world, and reminisce about the experience of embracing the culture of a place and immersing oneself so deeply that you become a part of it.

I have been a slow traveler myself for many years, beginning from when I traded in a Datsun 1977 pick-up truck for a bicycle and pedaled my way from Ventura, California to Alaska in 1983. This experience allowed me to open my world slowly and explore the United States’ back roads at a rate of only 60 kilometers a day.

I met people daily who were fascinated by my journey. I was invited into people’s homes, enjoyed authentic American hospitality, and cycling at a leisurely pace gave me a new perspective to come to know the local people in a deeper way.

I traveled the United Kingdom and Europe by bicycle and further afield to New Zealand and Australia before moving to Bali over a decade ago. For me, slow travel is intentional, mindful travel – it fills the soul. It transforms how we interact with another culture and get closer to it.

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