Life Changing Experiences?
Jul 24, 2011 | 3:14 pm
#47
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Dublin,Ireland
Posts: 1,301
My parents brought us to Amanpuri when it first opened and I can honestly say that was life changing for me, in a small but significant way.
I was bowled over by what was, to me, a new way of running a hotel. The Thai cultural influences in the resort, the inclusion of many cultural activities, the personalised but real service, it was clear that they were going to be different. I felt this again and again from Amandari to Amanjiwo and beyond. At Amanjiwo in particular during its soft opening and first Christmas/New Year I felt they had elevated the cultural thing to another level and none of my family have forgotten the personal attention we received from Francois and Olivia Richli at that time with private tours from Toni Tack.
How has it changed me many years later? Well, Im discussing private family matters here! Im also organising our next family trip to south east asia for later this year with an age group from 76 down to 15 and believe me their demands are high and quite diverse, needless to say I will get my way and quite a few amanresorts will be involved!
Life changing in a very small way.
I was bowled over by what was, to me, a new way of running a hotel. The Thai cultural influences in the resort, the inclusion of many cultural activities, the personalised but real service, it was clear that they were going to be different. I felt this again and again from Amandari to Amanjiwo and beyond. At Amanjiwo in particular during its soft opening and first Christmas/New Year I felt they had elevated the cultural thing to another level and none of my family have forgotten the personal attention we received from Francois and Olivia Richli at that time with private tours from Toni Tack.
How has it changed me many years later? Well, Im discussing private family matters here! Im also organising our next family trip to south east asia for later this year with an age group from 76 down to 15 and believe me their demands are high and quite diverse, needless to say I will get my way and quite a few amanresorts will be involved!
Life changing in a very small way.
Jul 24, 2011 | 3:33 pm
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,871
did amanpuri open during xmas/nye?
its nice aman's more consistent pricing means no huge holiday premiums like FS for example.
and while clearly some holidays in some areas would be more negative than positive, there have been reports of great experiences at amans here during xmas/nye.
on bali there is also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyepi
of course whenever there are huge premiums, only those who can afford them are there.
its nice aman's more consistent pricing means no huge holiday premiums like FS for example.
and while clearly some holidays in some areas would be more negative than positive, there have been reports of great experiences at amans here during xmas/nye.
on bali there is also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyepi
of course whenever there are huge premiums, only those who can afford them are there.
Jul 24, 2011 | 9:08 pm
#49
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: santa monica, ca
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 201
I tend to agree with most posters on this thread. A building can not really change your life in a meaningful way.
But maybe staying in one of those luxury tented camps with the right company might connect you with nature and get you on a higher plane somehow. It is probably worth a try.
But maybe staying in one of those luxury tented camps with the right company might connect you with nature and get you on a higher plane somehow. It is probably worth a try.
Jul 25, 2011 | 7:32 am
#50
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
but did you meet interesting people?
Ah, I had missed this aspect, but of course, memorable hotel stays have often involved meeting interesting people - many of whom have become firm friends over the years.
Our great friends from the US came from an impromptu meeting at The Oberoi Bali, way back in the early 1980s when The Oberoi was the only/best option on the island. We shared a transfer from the airport, then we got talking over breakfast the next day and the rest is history. Another good friend was discovered at Amanpuri in 1989. I looked up from my place at the pool as she and her husband arrived, garlanded with flowers and on a show-around, and our eyes met and we got talking. We are still great friends. And, I could go on - so many extraordinary people that I met at hotels. Life changing? Definitely.
Our great friends from the US came from an impromptu meeting at The Oberoi Bali, way back in the early 1980s when The Oberoi was the only/best option on the island. We shared a transfer from the airport, then we got talking over breakfast the next day and the rest is history. Another good friend was discovered at Amanpuri in 1989. I looked up from my place at the pool as she and her husband arrived, garlanded with flowers and on a show-around, and our eyes met and we got talking. We are still great friends. And, I could go on - so many extraordinary people that I met at hotels. Life changing? Definitely.
Jul 25, 2011 | 2:26 pm
#51
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: CPT
Programs: BA BD SA
Posts: 4,467
- I accept that you made friends for life. But you are obviously a lovely, gregarious person - has that not happened to you far more often in other circumstances? Was it the hotel that afforded the "life changing experience" or was it merely the coincidental backdrop?
- The people you met in those circumstances: were they not actually pretty much "in the same mould" as you - people with the same tastes and interests as you - and hence "life enhancing" rather than really "life changing"?
Not trying to be argumentative - just trying to explore what "life changing experience" means in the context of this thread. Maybe I'm wanting it to be more like Kage's "epiphanies". Some flash of light... a deep insight... an realisation or awakening of some sort.
Making life-long friends is obviously fantastic. I even rate brief, but meaningful, interactions with strangers as among the great boons of travel. But they have never seemed to me to be specific to the hotel where they happened.
Jul 25, 2011 | 2:47 pm
#52
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,871
you dont really run into the people you can run into at luxury hotels on the street... unless you live in prime real estate in a handful of top cities.
every person has their own definition of life changing.
i should clarify re my own since i said this earlier >
personally, i dont believe i could have a "life changing" experience as mainly discussed here. but clearly changes in relationships and professional situations, or moves, can be a change in one's life.
uclabruin82 raises a great point about the specificity needed to best answer the question - below this post.
at virgin limited's 9 room lodge >
every person has their own definition of life changing.
i should clarify re my own since i said this earlier >
two other thoughts getting into more detail on 'travel companions' mentioned by others >
- meeting people (famous or interesting)
- special interest travel (can be luxury, whether group or private)
ive actually experienced both of those. not life changing yet. but certainly interesting/amazing experiences.
- meeting people (famous or interesting)
- special interest travel (can be luxury, whether group or private)
ive actually experienced both of those. not life changing yet. but certainly interesting/amazing experiences.
uclabruin82 raises a great point about the specificity needed to best answer the question - below this post.
at virgin limited's 9 room lodge >
guests included europeans and americans as well as -- im not saying whether one of those "nationalities" or another -- a famous participant in verbier festival, who spoke with the guests at their end of the table at their first meal. pretty cool. i really enjoyed the communal dining.
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Feb 28, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Jul 25, 2011 | 5:20 pm
#53
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,098
Not sure if I missed this somewhere in the thread, but shouldn't a lot of it depend on where you have/have not been in the past?
For instance, growing up in the states, I had been to many cities in the americas and europe. However, the first time I landed in Hong Kong and viewed the harbor from my room at the IC, that was life changing for me. I have been back many times, and now stay at the FS, and even then the IC wasn't the best hotel, but having never been to asia, it was like something I could not have imagined. Not just the hotel/view but the energy in the city was amazing. My grandparents who grew up in Europe felt the same way when they went to Shanghai/Beijing
I have friends who have felt that way in Jerusalem, SE asia and death valley.
If I were looking for a life changing experience, I would think about where is the farthest place from my every day existence. Which is also why I plan on going to Africa next year for my 30th...
For instance, growing up in the states, I had been to many cities in the americas and europe. However, the first time I landed in Hong Kong and viewed the harbor from my room at the IC, that was life changing for me. I have been back many times, and now stay at the FS, and even then the IC wasn't the best hotel, but having never been to asia, it was like something I could not have imagined. Not just the hotel/view but the energy in the city was amazing. My grandparents who grew up in Europe felt the same way when they went to Shanghai/Beijing
I have friends who have felt that way in Jerusalem, SE asia and death valley.
If I were looking for a life changing experience, I would think about where is the farthest place from my every day existence. Which is also why I plan on going to Africa next year for my 30th...
Jul 26, 2011 | 10:00 am
#54
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
Yes, but... may I play devil's advocate for a moment?
- I accept that you made friends for life. But you are obviously a lovely, gregarious person - has that not happened to you far more often in other circumstances? Was it the hotel that afforded the "life changing experience" or was it merely the coincidental backdrop?
- The people you met in those circumstances: were they not actually pretty much "in the same mould" as you - people with the same tastes and interests as you - and hence "life enhancing" rather than really "life changing"?
Not trying to be argumentative - just trying to explore what "life changing experience" means in the context of this thread. Maybe I'm wanting it to be more like Kage's "epiphanies". Some flash of light... a deep insight... an realisation or awakening of some sort.
Making life-long friends is obviously fantastic. I even rate brief, but meaningful, interactions with strangers as among the great boons of travel. But they have never seemed to me to be specific to the hotel where they happened.
- I accept that you made friends for life. But you are obviously a lovely, gregarious person - has that not happened to you far more often in other circumstances? Was it the hotel that afforded the "life changing experience" or was it merely the coincidental backdrop?
- The people you met in those circumstances: were they not actually pretty much "in the same mould" as you - people with the same tastes and interests as you - and hence "life enhancing" rather than really "life changing"?
Not trying to be argumentative - just trying to explore what "life changing experience" means in the context of this thread. Maybe I'm wanting it to be more like Kage's "epiphanies". Some flash of light... a deep insight... an realisation or awakening of some sort.
Making life-long friends is obviously fantastic. I even rate brief, but meaningful, interactions with strangers as among the great boons of travel. But they have never seemed to me to be specific to the hotel where they happened.
Feb 28, 2013 | 2:16 pm
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,871
plus in other threads >
In 1990, when we first stayed at Amandari, Ubud was basically one little street, a few cafes, a handful of losmen, and a fancy art gallery selling paintings for about $100. Amandari was hosting a group of Canadian cyclists and a very well known rock star. And Mr and Mrs Pausanias.
It was sheer chance that we stayed there...I recalled an advertisement in Conde Nast Traveler for this new place, Aman something, so we called them from the airport, took a taxi and our world changed, hotel-wise.
It was sheer chance that we stayed there...I recalled an advertisement in Conde Nast Traveler for this new place, Aman something, so we called them from the airport, took a taxi and our world changed, hotel-wise.
plus this in singita sweni report >
http://www.hotelpassion.info/2012/02...eni-lodge.html
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. N Mandela
...But I realized that my own outlook and worldviews had evolved...had radically altered my beliefs...believed I was seeing things as they were. That too, of course, was an illusion. I still felt an inner conflict between my head and my heart...In my language there is a saying: 'Ndiwelimilambo enamagama' (I have crossed famous rivers). It means that one has traveled a great distance that one has had wide experience and gained some wisdow from it...I had, since 1934, crossed many important rivers in my own land...But I had many rivers yet to cross.
http://www.departures.com/articles/w...-san-francisco
returned with his senses heightened, keen-eyed and alert. It is, after all, one of the chief benefits of travel: the dislocated familiarity that comes with returning home only to find, with a mixture of pleasure and disappointment, that things are exactly as we left them, and thereby to know that we are the ones who have changed.
Traveling has always been about throwing myself into the unknown—an expansive intake of experience, a bracing and heightened exposure. At the bottom of my wanderlust is the hope that, freed of the ordinary, alert and alive to even the tiniest things, what I find in that other place will be revelatory enough to change me.
The day after our interview, [Philip] Glass was due to hop a plane to Guatemala, to walk through the jungle and visit a recently discovered archaeological site, uninhabited for the last thousand years. ("The opposite of sitting at home and writing an opera," as he puts it.) Is he seeking inspiration? Opera subjects? A dramatic change of scenery? "I'm just going to look," says Glass, who has taken similar trips all over the world as part of his musical and intellectual explorations. "To look at buildings and places where people lived. People like us. And yet it won't look like anything we've seen before, because this was a life radically different from anything that we know." He pauses. "Something to ponder, isn't it?"
Originally Posted by Jeremy Irons
Travel is an adventure, trying to somehow get inside and imbibe a different way of life, a different cultural heritage. I think you do that by sitting and watching and listening and walking and just letting it work its magic on you.
The wonder of travel lies equally with adventure and misadventure—there is nothing like getting thoroughly lost in a riddling country or culture that is not your own. But it is hard these days, with our ultra-planned excursions, fixers and 4G service, to get properly disoriented...Proust once wrote, "The only true voyage of discovery...would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another." That heightened sense isn't developed so much by traveling the world as by remembering to focus on where we stand. And the wonder of unexpected encounters, the anticipation of what might lie around the next corner
I think a lot of Cambodian villagers would be schocked [sic] to see how most of us live. Seeing things like this is a vital part of travel and it is a highly traditional way of life. And I guess many Cambodians feel how lucky they are to be alive considering what happened there in what is still recent history.
Amanjiwo may be the most magical place we've ever been short of Singita Boulders Lodge. You will love it, especially if you have any appreciation of a spiritual feel. Neither of us are spiritual in the least, but Amanjiwo (and to a less extent, Amandari in Ubud) really struck us in the most spiritual way. It was pure magic and total escape for us. I also highly recommend the bicycle ride through the local countryside. While I normally despise riding a bike, my husband loves it--and it turned out to be quite a highlight of our visit (aside from the Temple and the resort, itself). Seeing the local villagers and the cleanliness of their living, despite the meager means, was spectacular, and everyone was so friendly and inviting. Local children were clearly interested in the strange pale people coming through and followed us at various times throughout much of our ride.
if I hadn't had the Aman guides in Bhutan, I probably would never have been able to watch the nuns making intricate altar decorations from dough in a convent outside Thimphu.
In my brash student days I used to think "independent travel" was per se a sign of sophistication. But now, within reason, I don't much mind either way. I still wouldn't get on a tour bus, but the reality is there's a limit to how authentic my experience can be, however I travel. If it makes me think, however it does that, then it has delivered on the promise, as far as I am concerned.
In my brash student days I used to think "independent travel" was per se a sign of sophistication. But now, within reason, I don't much mind either way. I still wouldn't get on a tour bus, but the reality is there's a limit to how authentic my experience can be, however I travel. If it makes me think, however it does that, then it has delivered on the promise, as far as I am concerned.
Travel is more than having a destination in mind. It is discovering a place in your heart you’ve never been before.
what is truly important
question your assumptions
inspire you
great adventure
find yourself
what is true beauty
life lesson
question your assumptions
inspire you
great adventure
find yourself
what is true beauty
life lesson
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; May 18, 2016 at 10:39 am
Feb 28, 2013 | 2:18 pm
#56
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,871
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
classcoffee.com/combo/combo_docs/combo_unit1/travels_crichton.RTF
classcoffee.com/combo/combo_docs/combo_unit1/travels_crichton.RTF
Originally Posted by Michael Crichton
I hadn't traveled with the intention of learning about anything except myself. And the real point of all this travel was not what I had come to believe or disbelieve about the wider world, but what I had learned about myself.
When I look back on my travels, I see an almost obsessive desire for experiences that would increase my self-awareness. I needed new experiences to keep shaking myself up.
From my parents I learned to perceive new experiences as fun and invigorating, and not as frightening.
I see my travels as a strategy for solving problems...Whenever things got bad, whenever my life really wasn't working, I'd get on a plane and go far away. Not to escape my problems so much as to get perspective...this strategy worked. I returned to my life with a new sense of balance...to get to the point, to stop spinning my wheels, to know what I wanted to do and how...focused and effective...because I had gone away and found out something about myself. Something I needed to know.
My own sense is that the acquisition of self-knowledge has been made more difficult by the modern world...The natural world, the traditional source of self-awareness, is increasingly absent...Cut off from direct experience, cut off from our own feelings and ...sensations, we...adopt a viewpoint or perspective that is handed to us, and is not our own.
Unaccustomed to direct experience, we can come to fear it. We don't want to read a book or see a museum show until we've read the reviews so that we know what to think. We lose the confidence to perceive for ourselves. We want to know the meaning of an experience before we have it.
I liked to travel, because it got me out of my routines and my familiar patterns. The more traveling I did...kept adding things I liked to have...traveling became a lot less fun...loaded down with all this stuff that I felt I had to take...made a new routine instead of escaping...I wasn't getting away...I decided I would...carry nothing...on the plane in a state of panic - none of my familiar stuff! What was I going to do?...read the magazines that were on the plane. I talked to people. I stared out the window. I thought about things. It turned out I didn't need any of that stuff I thought I needed...I felt a lot more alive without it.
[excerpt story quoted in post linked here]
Sometimes it's better just to sit and watch. It's surprising what you can learn that way.
From my point of view, these scientists are exactly like the New Guinea tribesmen who refuse to believe the metal birds in the sky contain people. How can you argue with them? Unless they're willing to go to the airport and see for themselves, no discussion is really possible. And, of course, if they do go to the airport, no discussion is necessary. So, in the end, find out for yourself.
I've come to take a rather simple-minded view of all this. There's a natural human resistance to change. We all fall into patterns and habits that eventually constrict our lives, but which we have difficulty breaking anyway. Rilke described the problem in this simple way: "Whoever you are: some evening take a step out of your bouse, which you know so well. Enormous space is near."
When I look back on my travels, I see an almost obsessive desire for experiences that would increase my self-awareness. I needed new experiences to keep shaking myself up.
From my parents I learned to perceive new experiences as fun and invigorating, and not as frightening.
I see my travels as a strategy for solving problems...Whenever things got bad, whenever my life really wasn't working, I'd get on a plane and go far away. Not to escape my problems so much as to get perspective...this strategy worked. I returned to my life with a new sense of balance...to get to the point, to stop spinning my wheels, to know what I wanted to do and how...focused and effective...because I had gone away and found out something about myself. Something I needed to know.
My own sense is that the acquisition of self-knowledge has been made more difficult by the modern world...The natural world, the traditional source of self-awareness, is increasingly absent...Cut off from direct experience, cut off from our own feelings and ...sensations, we...adopt a viewpoint or perspective that is handed to us, and is not our own.
Unaccustomed to direct experience, we can come to fear it. We don't want to read a book or see a museum show until we've read the reviews so that we know what to think. We lose the confidence to perceive for ourselves. We want to know the meaning of an experience before we have it.
I liked to travel, because it got me out of my routines and my familiar patterns. The more traveling I did...kept adding things I liked to have...traveling became a lot less fun...loaded down with all this stuff that I felt I had to take...made a new routine instead of escaping...I wasn't getting away...I decided I would...carry nothing...on the plane in a state of panic - none of my familiar stuff! What was I going to do?...read the magazines that were on the plane. I talked to people. I stared out the window. I thought about things. It turned out I didn't need any of that stuff I thought I needed...I felt a lot more alive without it.
[excerpt story quoted in post linked here]
Sometimes it's better just to sit and watch. It's surprising what you can learn that way.
From my point of view, these scientists are exactly like the New Guinea tribesmen who refuse to believe the metal birds in the sky contain people. How can you argue with them? Unless they're willing to go to the airport and see for themselves, no discussion is really possible. And, of course, if they do go to the airport, no discussion is necessary. So, in the end, find out for yourself.
I've come to take a rather simple-minded view of all this. There's a natural human resistance to change. We all fall into patterns and habits that eventually constrict our lives, but which we have difficulty breaking anyway. Rilke described the problem in this simple way: "Whoever you are: some evening take a step out of your bouse, which you know so well. Enormous space is near."
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; May 18, 2016 at 10:36 am