{"id":24274,"date":"2017-12-27T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=24274"},"modified":"2025-03-07T21:04:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T10:04:53","slug":"facing-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/facing-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the best travels happen when you face your fears"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know what fear eats for breakfast? It eats procrastination and avoidance. It loves it, it frequently gets second helpings. You know what makes fear go on a diet? Action. And travel is all about action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a naturally brave person; I think travel taught me how to be brave. When you actually do something you didn\u2019t think you could, you get an incredible adrenaline rush. That elation brings on a boost in confidence, and you are more likely to conquer your fears in the future, as they won\u2019t seem as scary.\u00a0 After all, a comfort zone is not a place to live all the time.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been traveling for a long time, and consistently the experiences I remember most fondly and continuously retell are the ones I had to overcome some major fear in order to do. Fears come in all shapes and sizes when you travel: communication, weather, traffic, heights, eating something gross, falling, bugs, and getting lost. I\u2019ve faced all of these fears before and here are a few of the tactics I developed to face them when I travel, ultimately leading to my most memorable travel moments.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s power in numbers<\/h2>\n

One is a lonely number, and it is really good at talking you out of things. But when you travel with a group, you have the power of a group to help in decision making and support. When my niece and I traveled with Intrepid in New Zealand<\/a><\/strong>, she really wanted to bungee jump and I agreed to go with her for support. I didn\u2019t really want to go, in fact it was the last thing I wanted to do and had passed up bungee jumping up on previous occasions. But I could tell she just needed a little support, so I agreed.<\/p>\n

\"group

My niece and I with our friendly Intrepid group<\/p><\/div>\n

The morning we were supposed to jump our nerves were in full swing and we were thinking about ways we could back out.\u00a0 However our Intrepid Travel group was so supportive and kept us focused as we drove to Rotarua. A guy in our group had bungee jumped before so he was full of tips such as \u201cDon\u2019t look down when you go to the edge!\u201d His confidence and tips made us both feel better.<\/p>\n

As we were on the platform and they were putting our gear on, we had an immediate cheering from our Intrepid group! They all watched with cameras ready to record the jump and shouted encouragement to us. Sometimes you just need a cheering section to fall over a ledge.<\/p>\n

My niece deemed that bungee jumping day the best day of the entire trip, and maybe of her life thanks to the feeling of accomplishment after we jumped (I wrote more about it here<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\"New

Another beautiful day in New Zealand’s North Island with Intrepid Travel<\/p><\/div>\n

READ MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR’S MAGICAL TRIP TO NEW ZEALAND WITH INTREPID TRAVEL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A good tour guide may be the push you need<\/h2>\n

I was roped in as my guide, Tim, walked me gingerly over to the edge of the waterfall to look.\u00a0 My heart jumped, my knees buckled, and I clammed up. Just hours earlier I was joking around with him while learning how to rappel. But now the thought of rappelling down this 80-foot waterfall suddenly seemed like a really horrible idea.<\/p>\n

As we geared up with our rappelling ropes I had second thoughts, I wondered if there were other ways down, I needed an \u2018undo\u2019 button quick. Tim told me the only other way down was with him \u2013 but one way or another I was going to make it down that waterfall safely.<\/p>\n

A good guide is talented at reading people, and determining their eagerness, fears, and abilities in a very short time. He knew I could do it, and he knew deep down I wanted to do it. He looked at me and got quite serious and said, “You\u2019ll be ok, you know how to do this, it\u2019s safe”. I felt a little better, but then he said the magic words, \u201cJust don\u2019t think\u201d and with that I went over the side doing one of the scariest and most exhilarating things in all my travels!\"waterfall\"\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a partner in crime<\/h2>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do it if you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell if you do it, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, let\u2019s do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

That was how one of my other nieces and I ended up facing our food-eating fears in Ho Chi Minh City.\u00a0 We had agreed to something neither one of would do individually, but together it seemed to somehow make sense. We watched as the waitress brought out a perfect looking egg in a little holder. It was served with a little saucer of lime juice, salt, and pepper.<\/p>\n

We were about to try h\u1ed9t v\u1ecbt l\u1ed9n, a popular snack in Vietnam. It\u2019s a fertilized duck egg that is partway incubated; otherwise known as a half-hatched duck egg.\u00a0 Yes, it has a beak and feathers, and that\u2019s where the fear factor came in.<\/p>\n

\"hot<\/p>\n

I believe if other cultures eat something regularly then I should be able to at least try it. So we both \u2018egged\u2019 each other on and now we had two eggs in front of us. I looked over at my niece Evie and I thought she might cry; or maybe it was me that was ready to cry thinking about the beak and feathers. But we took the first bites and waited a moment before realizing it wasn’t bad. We finished both eggs and it gave us a better understanding of the food culture, and the best story of our Vietnam trip!<\/p>\n

LOVE REGULAR VIETNAMESE FOOD? CHECK OUT INTREPID’S 12-DAY FOODIE TOUR THERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fear of not having a second chance<\/h2>\n

I really don\u2019t want to do this, but when will I ever get back to Antarctica<\/a>? This dilemma was weighing on me heavily. I was so nice, warm, and cozy on the ship… why would anyone want to go outside and jump in the water and be surrounded by icebergs?!<\/p>\n

\"polarYet as people were starting to prepare to go ashore for their polar plunge, I felt this pang of missing out. I wondered if I was making a mistake by not doing it. It\u2019s not like I could just skip it this time and do it the next time I came back \u2013 Antarctica is typically a trip you only do once!<\/p>\n

Before I knew it I was getting into my swimsuit and putting my polar jacket over my beachwear. Yes, I was really going to do this because it\u2019s Antarctica, and there would be no second chances for a polar plunge there. It ended up being a highlight of my Antarctica trip<\/a><\/strong> for sure, and the good news is that since I did it once, I never have to prove that I can get in freezing cold water again!<\/p>\n

\"polarFace your own fears and you’ll see how soon it becomes sort of normal.\u00a0Each hurdle you overcome gives you a confidence boost for the next travel challenge.<\/p>\n

Suddenly you find yourself saying yes to all kinds of travel adventures. And saying yes is always the most rewarding way to travel!<\/p>\n

Looking for an adventure of your own for the new year? Check out Intrepid Travel’s range of top trips.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

(All images c\/o Sherry Ott.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know what fear eats for breakfast? It eats procrastination and avoidance. It loves it, it frequently gets second helpings. You know what makes fear go on a diet? Action. 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