17 Travel Discoveries: How New Environments Reveal Hidden Passions
Travel has the power to unlock hidden passions and transform lives in unexpected ways. This article explores how new environments can reveal dormant interests and talents, from ocean diving to urban farming. Drawing on insights from seasoned travelers and experts, it uncovers the profound impact of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and embracing new experiences.
- Diving Into Ocean Passion Abroad
- Powder Chasing Ignites Snowboarding Fervor
- Austrian Alps Spark Photography Journey
- Local Cuisine Unveils Cultural Connections
- Nigerian Mission Inspires Preventive Healthcare
- Budapest Baths Reveal Hydrotherapy’s Healing Power
- Prague Architecture Fuels Computational Geometry Interest
- Global Barbecue Traditions Inspire Culinary Innovation
- Budapest Arcade Unlocks Competitive Pinball Passion
- Bangkok Stay Cultivates Urban Farming Enthusiasm
- Filipino Storytelling Enhances Language Teaching Methods
- Japanese Pottery Transforms Creative Work Approach
- Solo Japan Trip Kindles Language Learning
- Nature Exploration Sparks Biking Passion
- Peruvian Trek Ignites Hiking Enthusiasm
- Foreign Streets Awaken Photography Passion
- Travel Simplifies Communication Strategies
Diving Into Ocean Passion Abroad
Being born and raised in London, UK, I never really ventured to the beach growing up because the UK isn’t known for great beaches or good weather. Having done gap years in Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of Okinawa among others, I fell in love with the ocean. Snorkelling, completing my diving certification, and even taking official free-diving lessons allowed me to enjoy the ocean to the fullest capacity. I plan on getting my advanced diving certification and then my shipwreck cert after that! I never would have learned how much I love the ocean had I stayed in the UK.
Michelle O’Donnell
Travel Writer, BritAdventures.com
Powder Chasing Ignites Snowboarding Fervor
I never imagined I’d become so passionate about snowboarding in deep powder until I started traveling. Once I realized it wasn’t actually that hard, or as expensive as I thought, to spend an entire season at a winter resort, a whole new world opened up for me. I spent a season in Madarao, Japan, where the resort had endless freeride options right within its boundaries. The following year, I went to Gudauri in Georgia, where I dove into backcountry and splitboarding. Being in those different environments pushed me beyond what I thought was possible and showed me that chasing powder could become a real passion, not just a week-long vacation activity.
Maria Stoyanova
Founder, Sofia Expats
Austrian Alps Spark Photography Journey
When I first traveled to Austria, I expected a holiday filled with mountains, nature, and sports. What I found there, however, was something I could never have predicted: a passion for photography and film. It started innocently enough. I looked out the window of my apartment and saw the Alps in the early morning, covered in mist, while the sun slowly broke through. I tried to capture it with my phone, but the result was disappointing. The image didn’t come close to what I felt in that moment. That’s when my curiosity was sparked. How could I truly capture what I was seeing and experiencing?
A few days later, I got the chance to use a DSLR camera. I barely knew how it worked, but with every click, I learned more. By experimenting with shutter speed, aperture, and focus, I discovered that I wasn’t just documenting reality; I was telling a story. A mountain stream could turn into a smooth, silky ribbon of water. A flower could be isolated in sharp focus against a blurred background. I became fascinated by what was possible and started to see my surroundings in a completely new way.
Gradually, my interest expanded into film. Some moments simply demanded motion and sound. The rustling of the wind, the clinking of cowbells, the play of shadows across the mountain slopes — those could only be captured on video. I began shooting short clips, at first just for myself, and later editing them together to share.
What Austria gave me was more than a hobby. It taught me patience, attention, and appreciation for detail. Sometimes I would wait half an hour for the light to fall just right, or for the wind to calm so the surface of a lake would become perfectly still. That was new for me, because in everyday life I was always rushing. Photography and film forced me to pause, to look, and to truly enjoy the moment.
Back home in the Netherlands, I realized how valuable this new passion had become. Every photo, every clip became an anchor to a memory, a feeling I never wanted to lose. Austria gave me the push and the inspiration to discover a side of myself I never knew existed. What began with a single disappointing photo grew into something that has enriched my life in a lasting way.
Arjan Post
Owner, Ostbacher Stern
Local Cuisine Unveils Cultural Connections
During my travels, I discovered a newfound zeal for the food culture of local places — and not just eating, but learning about the history and traditions of every dish. I typically stuck to what was familiar when at home, but in a completely different place, I found I was curious in ways I never anticipated. Dining with locals, exploring open-air markets, and even taking part in local cooking classes showed me just how ingrained the idea of food is within someone’s identity, their history, and their community. It was an eye-opening experience, and it changed how I conceptualize travel — I now view cuisine as one of the most authentic entry points to a culture, and if I had not departed from my comfort zone, I never would have fully appreciated it that way.
Vaarrun Bhurria
Marketing Coordinator, Destination Big Bear
Nigerian Mission Inspires Preventive Healthcare
When I started my medical missions back to Nigeria when I was young, I realized that my heart’s desire was in preventive health education for the underserved population. In rural clinics where there were minimal resources, I noticed that many of the chronic conditions that later overwhelmed American emergency rooms could be prevented by simple lifestyle changes. The process of instructing people on the basics of nutrition and exercise, and early symptoms of diabetes and hypertension, opened my eyes to the effectiveness of prevention.
This experience totally changed my attitude towards men’s health practice as I now pay a lot of attention to educating patients on the basics of sleep hygiene, stress management, and nutrition instead of simply addressing the symptoms of low testosterone levels. In the previous month, I had to spend an additional 30 minutes talking to a 42-year-old truck driver who was complaining that his abnormal sleep pattern was ruining his testosterone levels. We worked out an effective sleeping plan that would not interfere with his job, and he became much livelier even before we started to change his hormone therapy.
Raphael Akobundu
Nurse Practitioner, Huddle Men’s Health
Budapest Baths Reveal Hydrotherapy’s Healing Power
During my Eastern European backpacking adventure, I developed my interest in hydrotherapy. The old thermal bathhouses in Budapest became my daily destination for hours of steaming, soaking, and plunging, which left me with a better state of mind than I had experienced in months. I never believed that sitting quietly in hot water could provide such healing effects until I experienced it in Budapest. The experience in that space with fellow bathers who followed the same ritual helped me understand that wellness does not need to be complex.
The experience transformed my understanding of relaxation methods. The practice involved regular physical and sensory experiences with water and heat rather than using expensive creams or meditation guidance. The basic concept of my business emerged from my discovery that water combined with heat and rest can become a special experience.
Damien Zouaoui
Co-Founder, Oakwell Beer Spa
Prague Architecture Fuels Computational Geometry Interest
I did not imagine that, strolling down the small Princes-streets of Prague, I should start the passion of computational geometry. As I grew up in Romania I would be buried in standard algorithms and data-structures but there was still something strange about seeing those middle-ages architectural constructions which got me thinking of a different front of the spatial problem-solving problem.
When working remotely, during three months in Prague, most of my mornings were spent coding and afternoons sitting outdoors visiting the Gothic and Baroque buildings. The complex geometric composition of the cathedral windows made me contemplate the Voronoi diagram and how ancient architects instinctually applied mathematics that we today contemplate in computer graphics and machine learning.
That experience took my view of algorithm design entirely in a different direction. I began to notice applications on the streets — how cobblestones were influenced to form step-proof paths, how the market Jews would dispose of their stalls so as to get the most use out of them. These notes had a direct impact on the way I went ahead to teach more complex algorithms, which is to break and sweat them down to visual, intuitively understandable pieces.
Lack of proximity to the familiar places compelled me to form the links with which I could not have established myself in my normal workspace. At times to notice a pattern you physically have to get outside of your space and perhaps something has always been there, but lost to routine.
Mircea Dima
CTO / Software Engineer, AlgoCademy
Global Barbecue Traditions Inspire Culinary Innovation
Traveling has shown me barbecue is as much about creativity as it is about flavor. In Mexico, I saw cooks dig out basic pits lined with rocks heated up from the coals to slow-roast whole pieces of meat, and in Europe, I watched butchers use the last bits of scraps, and smoke as preservation not just for flavor. It was in those moments I came to realize that barbecue is not just about place; it’s about survival, creativity, and pride.
The way I look at competition and the way I run my business has evolved with that vision. When I look at a new grill or rub, I’m thinking about the ingenuity behind it. Does this product help someone have a cooking experience with pride, even if they only have a backyard and patio, not a pit? Can a sauce enhance simple cuts of meat like the old world did hundreds of years ago?
Travel didn’t show me just different flavors; it showed me that great barbecue is about altering your environment to give acknowledgment of tradition and values. Passion is not something you just find at home; it’s something you experience when food and culture entwine.
Barbecue is not about smoke; it’s stories. And travel is where stories originate.
Brian Gunterman
CEO & Founder, DDR BBQ Supply
Budapest Arcade Unlocks Competitive Pinball Passion
I was introduced to competitive pinball after experiencing a nightmare server migration in Budapest. The gaming infrastructure of my client was bleeding data packets, and despite 16 consecutive hours of debugging, I had to get out of my hotel room. I discovered a hidden arcade of 30 vintage machines down the stairs. I was drawn to the Black Knight from 1979, as the timing is essentially the same as what I used in server management. Each flipper action has to be coordinated in the same microsecond as adjusting our server tick rates.
The locals explained to me that people who play pinball at an elite level calculate ball physics in a similar way that I study network latency traces. Three weeks later, I had learned Medieval Madness and had reached 3.2 million points applying the same logic I apply to load balancing. The transfer of pattern recognition skills went straight back to my work on the server. I now own six machines and compete on a monthly basis. My response time in cases of emergency shutdowns was 40 percent faster since pinball can train the brain to calculate several variables at the same time and always have flawless timing under pressure.
Michael Pedrotti
Founder, GhostCap
Bangkok Stay Cultivates Urban Farming Enthusiasm
During my few-month stay with a remote Bangkok development group forming a far south outpost, I had an unexpected experience while managing a team there: urban farming. The hotel I was staying at was very close to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, and I kept a constant eye on the amazing vertical gardens built into the concrete environment of the city.
I had been so engrossed in India, back home, with the optimization of websites and deadlines to meet customer demands that I never gave any thought to how food systems worked. However, as I strolled through the streets of Bangkok, observing rooftop gardens that could serve whole communities and seeing tech-savvy farmers trying to control their crops with IoT sensors, something occurred to me.
I began to visit urban farms in Southeast Asia as part of that project. In Singapore, I got a chance to meet engineers who had forsaken careers in tech to develop automated growing systems. Their enthusiasm reminded me of why I fell in love with technology in the first place: to solve actual problems that would not be insignificant.
I am currently keeping a small hydroponic farm in my apartment and am a writer on trends in agricultural technology. Project management made me understand systems thinking, yet traveling provided me with the understanding that these principles can be extended to areas outside of software development. You need space sometimes away from your daily life to identify what actually fulfills you beyond your career status.
Rahul Jaiswal
Project Manager, Geeks Programming
Filipino Storytelling Enhances Language Teaching Methods
During a trip to the Philippines, I had the chance to teach Spanish in rural areas and noticed how students lit up when lessons connected to their oral traditions. Telling stories not only helped them remember vocabulary but also connected grammar with something meaningful. That experience sparked my interest in blending cinematic and narrative elements into curricula, making language more alive and culturally relevant.
Carmen Jordan Fernandez
Academic Director, The Spanish Council of Singapore
Japanese Pottery Transforms Creative Work Approach
My interest in ceramics began after visiting rural Japan, where I spent time watching a fifth-generation potter create tea bowls by hand. The studio presented only traditional techniques and endless dedication and skill which had evolved through generations. I spent a week at the studio where I learned to work with clay while spending most of my time listening instead of speaking.
The experience transformed my entire perspective about creative work. I brought back a new approach to client work by creating dedicated time for deep creative work instead of rushing through tasks. The results became better than expected. The dedication to craftsmanship operates as a performance-enhancing factor rather than an expensive indulgence.
Vincent Carrié
CEO, Purple Media
Solo Japan Trip Kindles Language Learning
My passion for learning new languages started on a solo trip to Japan. I only knew a few basic phrases, and communication was a real struggle at first. This forced me to step out of my comfort zone and really try to connect with people.
I started using language apps every day and practiced with anyone who was willing. It was slow progress, but every new word felt like a small victory. The experience was humbling and rewarding. When I returned home, I immediately signed up for a Japanese class.
It showed me that learning a language isn’t just about memorizing words, but about opening your mind to a different way of thinking.
JoAnne Loftus
President and Owner, Archival Designs
Nature Exploration Sparks Biking Passion
One of my major passions has been biking, which I discovered when I started traveling to explore nature. It influenced me so greatly that I still bike regularly while also helping others with their biking journey as a coach whenever I can.
I used to be comfortable indoors even when I initially got into fitness, focusing on indoor gym workouts and treadmills. As I started to become more social, I decided to start going out more, after which staying indoors felt boring and my progress was plateauing.
I initially started by replacing my treadmill sessions with outdoor walks in nature. As I got more comfortable interacting with nature and other people on my walks, I started solo traveling whenever I could to explore more of nature and new cultures.
Soon enough, I decided to start exploring biking trails so I could see more of nature and meet other cyclists interested in exploring nature. This developed my social habits and skills, made me more confident and comfortable in my own skin while also greatly developing my fitness levels and endurance.
Outdoor and social activities also help boost your mood and satisfaction with your work, ensuring you don’t get burnt out or isolated.
Shailen Vandeyar
Cycling Coach & CEO, Biking Bro
Peruvian Trek Ignites Hiking Enthusiasm
I discovered my love for hiking while exploring the mountains of Peru. Back home, I was never an outdoorsy person. My idea of a good weekend was binge-watching a new show. But the challenge of trekking to Machu Picchu changed my perspective.
The physical exhaustion was real, but the views and the sense of accomplishment were incredible. I felt a connection to nature that I had never experienced before. Now, I seek out trails near my home every chance I get.
That trip taught me the importance of pushing my physical limits and spending time away from screens.
Paul Eidner
Chief Operating Officer, InboxAlly
Foreign Streets Awaken Photography Passion
While traveling, I discovered a passion for street photography that I never would have found at home. Being in new cities with vibrant markets, unexpected street art, and constantly changing light pushed me to notice details I normally overlooked. Capturing those moments became a way to connect with the culture and energy of each place.
The different environment opened my eyes because everything felt fresh and unfamiliar. Without the routines of home, I was more curious and observant, noticing small interactions and unique textures that told stories. Carrying a camera encouraged me to slow down and engage with my surroundings on a deeper level.
This passion has stayed with me long after returning home. It changed how I see everyday life, making me more aware of the beauty in ordinary scenes and inspiring a creative outlet that continues to grow.
Luke Hickman
Chief Marketing Officer, Bird Digital Marketing Agency UK
Travel Simplifies Communication Strategies
Through my travels, I have seen firsthand how communication works without formal media or reliable internet, where people recite short phrases repeatedly in informal trading and public spaces until these phrases are popularly agreed to be true. This travel experience, outside of tactical planning for blockchain and Web3 initiatives, reflects back to me that simplicity wins over sophistication.
I now conduct micro-experiments in 20-30 focused groups, assess responses within 72 hours, and only “scale” things that show positive results. This approach will increase the client take-up rate by approximately 40% and limit wasteful spending.
Travel demonstrates that efficient communication has nothing to do with sophisticated platforms, but rather relies on simple communication, delivered consistently.
Suvrangsou Das
Global PR Strategist & CEO, EasyPR LLC
