Sometimes the Neighborhood Is the Destination

One of the most memorable cafés looked like a deserted barn or warehouse with a completely nondescript door. We walked inside to find old equipment, industrial pieces and a rickety stairwell leading to the second floor. We climbed the stairs, opened another closed door and—voilà—an amazing café.

After enjoying a drink, we wandered farther down the alley and came across an artist at work. Piow was sketching away, and we stopped to talk with him about his art, his time in Bangkok and the neighborhood.

He shared stories about the history of Talat Noi, its connection to Bangkok's early port and the immigrants who helped shape the area. We left with a few pieces of his art and, of course, a photo to remember the encounter.

As we continued wandering, colorful painted elephant sculptures seemed to appear around every corner. We later learned they were part of the Elephant Parade, an art exhibition designed to bring attention to Asian elephant conservation. Another discovery we hadn't planned on finding that day.

And maybe that's the point.

Somewhere along the way, we realized that these weren't simply lucky travel moments. We had started looking for them.

We started leaving room in our trips to wonder:

What's down that street? What's behind that door? Where does that boat go?

And sometimes we actually go find out.

During another stay in Bangkok, we kept noticing long boats racing along the canal behind our hotel.

They would come flying down the canal at high speed, pull into the dock, people would frantically jump on and off, and before you knew it, the boat was pulling away again.

We had to find out what this was—and how to ride it.

So we did.

We walked down an alley, over a bridge, back under a tunnel and eventually found what appeared to be a “station.” We looked for signs. Maybe a ticket booth. Instructions of some kind.

Not much.

Eventually we figured out the name of our dock, chose another stop where we thought we'd get off, got our baht ready—cash only—and waited.

We came to realize that this was a commuter boat used mainly by the locals.

An older man had apparently been watching the two of us trying to figure this all out. He finally came over, pointed to the map and then pointed to us.

We nodded.

He took my hand and walked us to the right place on the dock where we would literally have to jump onto the boat.

When the boat arrived, we climbed aboard and started to sit down. He immediately shook his head and pointed somewhere else.

Apparently, we'd chosen the seats where we were going to get soaked.

We moved.

Eventually we reached our stop and jumped off to explore another part of Bangkok. As the boat started to pull away, I turned around just in time to give him a wai—a gesture of respect and gratitude—for helping two confused travelers find their way.

We never knew his name.

But we remember him.

Sometimes the best lines to follow aren't the ones where people are queued up to see a tourist attraction. Sometimes they're the ones filled with people simply going about their day.

We've found these moments in other cities, too.

While staying in the old town of Ljubljana, Slovenia, we spent hours wandering its streets, crossing bridges, exploring the cobblestone lanes and walking through parts of the university.

One evening, we stumbled upon an outdoor movie night.

There was a ginormous screen, rows of chairs, popcorn and even blankets.

We hadn't planned it. We didn't have tickets or reservations. We just happened to walk by and wondered what was going on.

And who would have guessed what they were showing that night?

JAWS.

In Slovenia.

It turned out they were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the movie, which made this completely unplanned evening even more fun.

We grabbed some popcorn and blankets, found seats and started talking with some of the people around us. We chatted with the hosts who had organized the event and thanked them for creating this free summertime activity for the community.

Then the movie started.

And guess what?

It was in English with Slovenian subtitles.

We stayed for the whole thing.

It wasn't something we had planned to do in Ljubljana. But it's one of those evenings we still talk about.

Markets have become another one of our favorite ways to understand a place.

Farmers markets, flea markets, holiday markets or some random pop-up we happen to find—we're usually interested.

Farmers markets give us a chance to taste local foods, talk to vendors about what they're growing and learn how people actually cook and eat the things they're selling.

But they also give us something else.

We get to watch everyday life happening around us.

One evening in Graz, Austria, we had an amazing pasta dish made with pumpkin seed oil. We'd never really experienced the ingredient that way before, and it was absolutely delicious.

The next day, while wandering through a farmers market, we met a local vendor selling pumpkin seed oil produced on their farm.

Of course we bought a tin to bring home.

That little tin wasn't simply something we purchased in Austria. It was connected to a meal, a conversation and a place—and an attempt to recreate a little of what we'd tasted once we got home.

That's the kind of souvenir we love.

And then there are botanical gardens.

Our love of gardens has taken us on all kinds of little adventures around the world.

While in Düsseldorf, Germany, we spotted a botanical garden on a map near the university. It covered about 20 acres and contained thousands of varieties of plants from different climates.

That was really all we needed to know.

We jumped on the U-Bahn from our hotel and headed over.

Because it was also a university teaching and research facility, the gardens were free to enter and filled with exhibits and people willing to share information about what we were seeing.

We ended up spending more than four hours wandering through the gardens and learning about plants from the area.

Was it one of the major sights we had traveled to Germany to see?

No.

But that's exactly why we loved it.

Sometimes you just have to go find out.

We still make itineraries. We still have reservations. And there are absolutely famous places around the world that we can't wait to see.

But we've learned not to schedule every minute of a trip.

Because when there's a little room left in the day, something interesting usually happens.

A nondescript door becomes an incredible café.

A commuter boat becomes an adventure across Bangkok.

A walk through Ljubljana turns into popcorn, blankets and Jaws.

A pasta dinner leads to a conversation with a farmer the next morning.

A little symbol on a map turns into four hours wandering through a garden.

None of those experiences would necessarily make a list of the “Top 10 Things You Must Do.”

Maybe that's why we remember them.

We've learned to pay attention to the little questions that pop into our heads when we're traveling.

What's behind that door?

Where does that boat go?

Why are all those people gathering over there?

What's down that street?

We don't always know what we'll find.

But more and more, we've learned to go find out.

Because sometimes the place you weren't planning to visit becomes the story you can't wait to tell.

And sometimes, the neighborhood really is the destination.

Explore beyond the highlights. Live beyond the itinerary.