As a Los Angeles native and professional traveler, I know that traveling to LAX is rarely fun. But even I was tested in the summer of 2023 after being canceled by an Uber and then a Lyft when I needed to be at the airport in an hour and a half.
Trying not to vomit for fear of missing my flight, I drove to the familiar parking lot next to the In-N-Out in Sepulveda. I checked in using an app, photographed the location so my father and nephew could later retrieve my car, and galloped to the airport bus. At the terminal, the woman who checked my bag said I arrived on time, with 11 minutes to spare. I tried to think in terms of pass/fail: I did it. I would get on the plane to Loreto, Baja California, to go diving.
After traveling to over 100 countries and working on dozens of cruise ships for three companies, I have not only experienced quick runs to the airport, but also hurricanes, medical emergencies, and helicopter evacuations. I'm used to perpetual horror stories about flight delays, astronomical ticket prices, and other challenges. What keeps me going (even more than the opportunities to, say, swim with stingless jellyfish on Kakaban Island, Indonesia, or see a 380-foot Buddha statue near Monywa, Myanmar) is that nothing compares to the magic of the unexpected connections that travel can make. bring.
On a trip to Israel, after my luggage was lost in transit, a fellow traveler joining my group tour arranged to receive desperately needed daily contact lenses in the mail. One new friend shared a dress and another her curling iron.
Help from strangers has gone beyond the practical. To reinvent myself after my divorce, I challenged myself to complete 50 challenges around the world before I turned 50. Following that challenge in Kenya, I met Maasai warriors sharing their jumping warrior dance. In exchange, with the permission of their boss, I taught them how to do Hula-Hoop. With each destination I visited and community I encountered, I felt little parts of me that had gone numb over the past few years reconnect. The world felt smaller and friendlier.
Some of my favorite encounters have happened by chance. At a restaurant in Upolu, Samoa, when I asked my waiter a few words in the local language, he translated a song for me. The next day I headed to the smaller island of Manono and as I walked I saw elementary school kids at recess. Their teacher encouraged them to greet me, speak to me in English, and sing. They were excited when I was able to join in because they happened to sing the song I had learned at the restaurant the day before.
Yes, traveling is almost always chaotic. It's impossible to plan for every possible setback, although I've learned tricks that make it easier. Although I arrived in Israel with stops in Germany, Spain, and Italy, my lost luggage inspired a discussion with other travelers about the items we couldn't live without (for Toni it was makeup; for Kaitlyn, special socks). I realized that my contacts should always go in my carry-on along with my passport and my Kindle.
I book my one-way flights for flexibility. On return trips, I often choose a different airline depending on which is the most direct route and whether I want to get to LAX after the worst rush hour traffic, or I could fly to the quieter Burbank airport. I use packing lists and remind myself that if I forget something, there will be a store. (Even in the “vast expanse of nowhere” on the way to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, I found Costco's Kirkland brand in small, small-town stores.)
But ultimately, navigating the logistical labyrinth of transportation, hotel and language issues is a symbolic toll for the thrill of joining people for foods, songs, fashion and conversations I would never otherwise experience.
Perhaps my favorite insight into travel comes from the stamp Palau adds to visitors' passports. It is a contract, a promise they are asked to make to “act in an ecologically and culturally responsible manner on the island, for the good of the children of Palau and future generations of Palauans.”
I hope more destinations adopt something like this as a reminder to care for other people's homes like we do our own. The opportunity to travel and be a guest in other countries has changed my life, and no challenge or inconvenience can distract me from that.
Lisa Niver is the author of the award-winning memoir “Brave: A breakup, six continents, and feeling brave after fifty”, travel television presenter and writer. @LisaNiver
