If you’re travelling alone, a first-time explorer and just wanting to take the stress out of planning things yourself, a group tour is the obvious choice when trotting around the globe.
However, for some reason, I’ve always been apprehensive about hopping onto the group tour bandwagon.
Perhaps it’s the image of a tourist conga line trailing behind a guide with a colourful stick in the air, or maybe it’s my longtime fear of team sports, and therefore group activities, that makes me hesitate.
But during my 13-day Wanderlands group tour around Bali and Lombok, there was not one part that made me cringe, cloister or follow a bedazzled flag pole.
Here are a few reasons why my time with Wanderlands wasn’t just another tiki trip – and why I would do it all over again and again and again.
No touristy cliches
One of the biggest fears a lot of travellers have these days is being put in the bracket of “tourist”. Ironic, I know. But when seeing the world, you want to feel a part of it, connected with it – not just someone snapping a few photos and grabbing a souvenir t-shirt on the way out.
Here’s where Wanderlands got it really right.
Our guide never dragged us around the sites, shouting instructions like we were toddlers. There were no matching branded shirts or screeching megaphones leading the way. The tour, if anything, felt like a bunch of friends exploring new places and creating a few core memories while doing so. It was an organic experience with a little bit of planning behind it.
Learning new skills
Yes, most travel tours are going to include a landmark visit, walking tour or team-building exercise. But can they teach you how to surf?
On our first day of the trip, we were thrown into the deep end (pun intended) and taken to Kuta beach, Bali. There, we were greeted by our local surf instructors, a couple of boards and the great Indian ocean stretching beyond us.
Learning new skills is a daunting experience for anyone, but when doing it with others, the knowledge that you’re in it together makes it a little less intimidating. Besides, there’s no better way to connect, bond and laugh together than by bailing on a surfboard and making a fool of yourself.
Now, not only have I left Bali with new friends and new experiences, but I can stand up on a surfboard – kind of.
The importance of playtime
To really understand and connect with a place, you need to spend time with its people. And if you want to fall in love with a place? Spend time with its children.
The most visceral experience I had during my trip around Indonesia was visiting a local school in Ubud, where we spent an hour and a half with the local kids.
We played tag, drew pictures and picked flowers. We showed off our pirouette skills while skipping around the classroom like ballerinas. I taught them some English and they taught me something a little more profound: you don’t need to speak the same language, like the same things or share the same stories to connect.
But laughter and a game of duck, duck, goose will do the trick.
Complete cultural immersion
Travel has evolved beyond just collecting Instagram photos and passport stamps. Today, people are increasingly interested in immersing themselves in the customs, religions and histories of the places they visit. But there’s a big difference between cultural learning and cultural immersion.
Wanderlands gave us the latter.
On our tour, we explored Sade Village in Lombok, the heart of the Sasak Tribe. Nestled in the Pujut region, this charming village is dotted with traditional straw-roofed huts and stalls brimming with woven treasures, seemingly untouched by the outside world.
Believed to have been established around 1,500 years ago, Sade have preserved their unique way of life across generations and continue to thrive despite the ever-changing world around them.
Learning about a community so deep-rooted in Lombok’s history and culture, and so different to my own, was a special way to experience Indonesia. I saw her past, I saw her present. And her future? I could paint a picture with my experiences at Sade.
But it’s the image of a simple life that lingered long after I left the village. The beauty of an uncomplicated existence. Isn’t that what we all want? It took immersing myself in another culture to realise that, really, we’re not all that different.
– Author: Meghan Watts
