What was your most exciting travel adventure?

I use the word "awesome" to describe something that has the ability to fill me with awe; something that humbles me due to the pure majesty it exhibits. The feeling of being awestruck is increasingly rare in our big cities and posh holiday resorts. With employees of large hotel chains catering to our every whim, many of us fail to experience nature while on vacation.

My definition of an exciting travel adventure isn't based on a single extraordinary event. To me, such an adventure is one that connects me to nature and clears my head of city fumes. Camping in the Rocky Mountains epitomizes such an event.

Our tent lay beneath the tallest pine that I had ever seen. Untouched forests seemed to stretch to the edge of the sky. In such true wilderness, we expected to encounter all types of wildlife. Yet our days at the foot of Castle Mountain were quiet; only squirrels and birds seemed to be curious enough to approach us. Although we never did see wolves or moose on that trip, the sunrises there were what amazed us. Each morning in the silence that came with the dawn, Castle Mountain would turn a brilliant orange.

Waking up to the scent of pine needles is indescribable. Falling asleep beneath a canopy of sheer blackness and Orion’s Belt cannot be compared to anything else in the world. With sheer cliffs, naked mountain tops, and wildflowers around every bend; a trip to this mountain chain is unforgettable.

I was 8; I was going to Pakistan with my family. I knew nothing about anything there at the time. I clearly had absolutely no idea what I was in for. The first week I spent there, I was warmly greeted by uncles and aunts; they were all strangers to me.
I was shocked by so much in Pakistan. There weren’t any seatbelts and no age limits for who could sit at the front, and there was clearly no limit to how many people could sit in the car at a time. Cows would roam freely on the streets and everyone found it completely normal, while I stood there staring.
My cousins laughed at me because I didn’t know the language they spoke, and common house lizards would freak me out.
When my uncle got married, I got to see a traditional celebration. Everything from the clothes, food and decorations were amazing, and nothing like I’d ever seen before.
Just like that, four months passed. I was on a connecting flight from Pakistan to London. Randomly, there were flight cancellations and panicking. Everyone was confused, until a live news broadcast informed us that a plane had crashed in to buildings in New York.
We had to stay with relatives in London for a week.
That horrific day became known as 9/11. I knew I was going to remember that trip for a long time, because here I am, nine years later and telling the story of my most exciting trip.

Giant Hawaiian waves crashed along the beach, calling for me to ride them. I looked longingly at my 2 hour rental surfboard, threw on a shirt over my bathing suit, and dove into the salty water.

Paddling out into the ocean, I glanced back at shore and saw little people specks laying on the sand and drinking chilling drinks. It was heaven. I saw a wave coming my way and I frantically turned around and started kicking. I was going to get it, I was up, and then …down! “Alright,” I told myself “I’ll get it, I can be one of those pro surfers!” I tried over and over again and failed again and again.

I was still having fun, but I decided to go back to shore. I was in a great mood, and I showered up and was about to go out to dinner with my family when I felt the hot burning behind my legs and realized I couldn’t move them. I saw that the entire backside of my legs has been burnt to a crisp in those few hours of surfing.

Needless to say, we had not yet picked a restaurant, and we spent an hour looking. Of all days to be picky, we had to pick the day my legs turned to hot chilli tomatoes.

My pulse races as the air pressure sharply drops. Every muscle in my body ignites in blistering flames as I focus on placing one foot in front of the other. The thick, brown clouds of smog make breathing become a challenge. The rough stones at my feet threaten to erode as they’re ancient like their country. However, I continue the grueling ascension, keeping my mind centred on my goal. Step by step, I approach the summit with determination.

Colorful knick-knacks distract my eyes as indigenous vendors wait to bargain with gullible tourists. I quickly pass them, hiding from their aggressive transactions. As I move faster, my legs grow weaker. But, I tune out the discomfort by gazing at the sea of bamboo trees stretching over rolling hills towards the horizon. The view from this artificial wonder is worth the climb.

The last stretch feels like a death sentence. All I can do is clear my head of all thought and persist until the end. One by one, the footsteps blur together until the ache attacking my lower body becomes unbearable. Just as I feel like breaking down and giving up, I look at my surroundings. A grin sweeps across my face as I’ve realized that I’ve reached the top of the man-made world. Tears pour down my face in a mix of pain and elation. Smiling and laughing, the realization hits me that I just successfully climbed the Great Wall of China.

As I took a weary step onto the sidewalk, I felt a strong breeze blow by me from both sides. I looked up and witnessed what seemed to be hundreds of busy people in grey suits and black suitcases hurrying by. Where could I have possibly found myself? Nowhere other than the busy streets of Tokyo of course!

The infrastructure, the people, the environment, the food – all these factors about my exhilarating adventure to the uncharted territory of Tokyo was what made it so amazing and fresh to me. The infrastructure and innovations in Tokyo were enough to blow one out of their seats. With their automatically warmed toilet seats and music playing functions, what was not to love about astounding Tokyo? The climax of my multifaceted trip lay in my encounter with the Tokyo Tower.

With its mighty stature of 1091 feet, I was frightened out of my wits to go on it, let alone get to the top and look down at the view. But I knew that I had to face my fear and not miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. Getting to the top of the tower was mind-blowing and made me feel so euphoric and joyous.

They say that experiences and adventures make us who we are, well I am certain beyond any shadow of doubt that this adventure made me who I am today. Undecided of where you want to take your next trip? I definitely recommend Tokyo!

You never have to go far for an adventure. That's why I love them. I've been all over the world and yet the most exciting travel adventure for me was barely leaving Vancouver.

Going to camp fyrefly was the best adventure of my life. It was like one of these cheesy coming-of-age stories where something really dramatic happens to a person and then their life is changed forever. But that's exactly what it was.

Camp Fyrefly is a queer youth leadership camp that I went to, and I was more comfortable than I had ever been. By the end of the camp, everyone was family and it was here that I realized that I really truly did have a place. Because like everyone else at the camp I had gone through hard times for my sexual orientation or maybe what gender I was. But for a few days at least I had a community, and from that experience it helped me come out as gay.

I made so many amazing friends who I love very much and we made so many jokes and there are still jokes that some of us talk about. The adventure was over, I had finally found a safe place for other youth like me, I was finally not alone. Finally, I had found myself.

Last year, I went on a school trip to Washington D.C., leaving homework to friends who stayed behind. The night before our flight, I was so antsy with anticipation that I couldn’t sleep a wink! After I woke, the next few hours were blurred into a general sweetness until I finally realized that we had arrived.

“Is this what it’s like to live in the moment?” I thought, the following morning. Wide eyed with amazement, our group admired the grand architecture strewn across the city. Perhaps, there was something I would forget, if possible. Each morning, I always dreaded receiving the mysterious bagged lunch. Unfortunately, by noon I was so hungry that I had to eat it. Inside, I found chips that tasted like fish oil, a waxy apple, and a terribly soggy sandwich. The bread retained so much moisture that it looked and felt the same as the thinly sliced miscellaneous meat product squished between. Oh well, at least it was free.

On the night tour, I saw all the monuments light up to the sky’s pale backdrop, it was breathtaking. We visited many museums and memorials. I was overcome with joy when I got to see Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers in the Smithsonians, but the most memorable place was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was there that the pages of history I read suddenly sprung to life and it seemed unreal. Retuning to Calgary, it felt like an entire lifetime had been packed into six short days.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts as we are experiencing a little bit of turbulence. We will be landing shortly..."

A little bit of turbulence seemed to shake the whole airplane so that it shook and groaned. A flash of light followed by another shake. I look around as people around me grip their armrests as if it was the end of the world. I saw another flash of lights and I feel a sudden lurch downwards. Then it all stops.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We just passed through a rain cloud but we are now safe and just about to land..." An applause fills the cabin. The captain seemed to sigh with relief, "Welcome to London."

It isn't everyday that you go on vacation and the weather decides to hit you hard. That my family and I experienced what it was like to fly through a rain cloud and get struck by lightning twice. It was a pretty humbling experience. When we landed at the airport, we found out that the day that we landed just happened to be the record rainfall in all of the UK in over 100 years!!

I remember waking, not getting enough sleep at all. I just arrived in Venice, and my jet lag was still... lagging. I slowly got up, dreading the light that penetrated through the window. When I got ready and dressed and all that, I realized I was in Europe, with 20 of my classmates. It was then that I knew this was going to be quite a ride. We went to Padova, Venice, Verona, Assissi, even saw the bodies of some Popes, Rome, Sorrento, Athens. It was crazy. We sped through traffic, saw dead bodies, had the best hot chocolate ever, and ate the most amazing bougatsa. If I could go through that again, I definitely would.

Years ago, when I was in grade three, my parents decided to take my brother and me to Arizona, and then we would go to Disneyland after. Once we got to LAX, we drove straight to Arizona, with a few stays overnight in hotels. We stayed in Arizona for a week, after driving for about four days. Our family who lived there showed us a good time, and we had a great time.
The day we were leaving, everyone was up early watching the news. I was really confused, so I decided to watch it for a while to see what was going on. Looking at the T.V. screen, I was horrified to see a building falling over. My parents explained to me that terrorists were bombing the World Trade Center in New York. Flights were being cancelled everywhere and there were other targets as well. This was on September 11th.
That day, we were driving back to L.A. to go to Disneyland. We had a great day in Disneyland, and forgot all about 9-11. The next day, we found out that all international flights had been cancelled, so we could not fly home, and Disneyland was closed for fear of being a target. We had no choice but to go to LAX, and wait. We waited for six hours, hanging out with some old friends that we had found in the airport. Finally, we found out we could fly to Seattle, where my grandpa would pick us up and drive us home at midnight. Finally, we were home, safe and sound.
Although all of this was going on, I still had a good vacation. But, at the time, I was quite scared, especially on the plane ride home, and I was anxious to get back to the safety of Canada. This was definitely a good trip, but one of the scariest experiences I have ever had.