* Featured Experiments
1. Aesthetic Travel DIFFICULTY
HypothesisTurn your travels into an aesthetic journey.
ApparatusVaries according to your preferred medium, but could include paper and pencil, paints, a portable easel, a camera or a digital recording device.
Method
Turn a typical holiday into an aesthetic journey by creating an artistic record of your trip in a systematic but novel way. For instance, in every new town you visit, photograph the fire station or a letter box; write a poem in every main square; draw, paint or photograph the view from your hotel window, the contents of the minibar or what you have for breakfast. If you are musically inclined, consider composing or recording a musical piece incorporating the typical sounds that surround you.
HypothesisSpend 24 hours in an airport without getting on a plane.
ApparatusTransport to the airport of your choice, money, books, nutritious
snacks. (No passport required.)
Method
Enjoy the comfortable airport lounges, the different washing facilities, the shops and the various eateries. Watch people skip through to the departure lounge and let your eyes glaze over as you peruse the ever-changing departures board.
HypothesisDiscover your own or a foreign town by following alternating
travel directions.
ApparatusThe ability to tell your left from your right.
Method
Leave your home on foot. Take the first road on the right, then the next on the left, then the next on the right, then the next on the left, and so on. Carry on until something - a no-man's-land, a building or a stretch of water - blocks your path and you can go no further.
HypothesisStep back in time and experience travel from another era.
ApparatusYou will need to acquire the use of an outmoded form of transportation.
Note: while this form of travel may inspire the wearing of period costume, it is strictly optional.
Method
Travel by an outdated or obsolete form of transport. Suggestions include a hackney carriage, penny-farthing, galley, sedan chair
or hot-air balloon.
HypothesisLet Ariadne lead you through the labyrinth of a new city.
Apparatus'Ariadne', ie a friend, a friend of a friend or an Ariadne chosen
at random from a phone directory.
Note: it's not necessary that s/he be called 'Ariadne' - Shane, Chuck, Heiko or Marmaduke will do just as well. Method 1) Find a telephone.
2) Contact 'Ariadne'.
3) Ask for her list of 10 favourite places in the city (or as many as she is wiling to share). Note: these do not have to be sites of tourist interest, but simply places that are meaningful to her.
4) Plot these places on a city map and draw a line between them. This is your Ariadne's Thread.
5) Follow it.
Note: it's not necessary that s/he be called 'Ariadne' - Shane, Chuck, Heiko or Marmaduke will do just as well. Method 1) Find a telephone.
2) Contact 'Ariadne'.
3) Ask for her list of 10 favourite places in the city (or as many as she is wiling to share). Note: these do not have to be sites of tourist interest, but simply places that are meaningful to her.
4) Plot these places on a city map and draw a line between them. This is your Ariadne's Thread.
5) Follow it.
HypothesisUse travel to find yourself: escape from the constraints of reason
by travelling automatically (ie without thinking), and see where your subconscious takes you.
ApparatusAn id,1 self-awareness and a superego to help you fi nd the way
back home. Some training in reaching meditative states could also help.
Method
Create a stream of consciousness by following your subconscious urges, free from the censoring voice of reason. Afterwards, look back on your journey - where you went, what you did - and analyse it for psychological insights.
Note: this experiment is ideally practised in an entirely unknown location where you're unable to censor your movements. Ensure that your mind is as free of expectations as possible by not reading guidebooks or relevant literature beforehand. Achieving a meditative state could also be helpful; alternatively, practising this experiment when extremely tired, under the effects of hypnosis or - if you are a sleepwalker - while asleep could also have interesting results.
Note: this experiment is ideally practised in an entirely unknown location where you're unable to censor your movements. Ensure that your mind is as free of expectations as possible by not reading guidebooks or relevant literature beforehand. Achieving a meditative state could also be helpful; alternatively, practising this experiment when extremely tired, under the effects of hypnosis or - if you are a sleepwalker - while asleep could also have interesting results.
HypothesisEnjoy all the benefits and experiences of a backpacking holiday
without leaving home.
ApparatusA backpackers hostel, a guidebook and/or map, a backpacking
outfit (eg socks and sandals, thermal jacket, beaded necklaces from Bali, a camera).
Method
Ask a friend to drop you at the airport. From there, catch the cheapest form of transport back into town, then make your way to a backpacking hostel of your choice and check in. Spend your time eating backpacker meals (pizza, falafel, takeaway curry) and doing backpacker activities with other backpackers - sightseeing, beer drinking, surfing the Net in Internet cafés, having meaningful discussions and even romantic liaisons with fun and attractive people you've just met. Watch your budget, and be sure to take photographs of yourself with your new friends. When you've had enough, make your way back to the airport and ask someone to collect you to take you back home.
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HypothesisFind the area's best drinking spots (and drinks) by following the
advice of a local expert.
ApparatusDutch courage; a map and a friendly face may also be of use.
Method
Go to your favourite pub and order your favourite drink. Ask the barperson where their favourite pub is and what they drink there. Go there and order their recommended drink, and then repeat the exercise with whoever serves you, and so on.
Note: participants would be well advised not to attempt this experiment on an empty stomach, nor to repeat it ad nauseam.
Note: participants would be well advised not to attempt this experiment on an empty stomach, nor to repeat it ad nauseam.
HypothesisExplore and experience a new place without seeing it.
ApparatusA friend to guide you and a blindfolding mechanism of some
kind.
MethodSpend 24 hours blindfolded in a new location.
HypothesisAvoid the potential disappointments of travel by deliberately
including them in your trip.
ApparatusNothing!
Method
1) Visit a destination that has nothing to recommend it, with not enough time or money and where you don't understand the language. Don't take a guidebook and, if possible, don't take a suitcase.
Or
2) Visit a well-known tourist trap and attempt to survive the experience without spending a dollar.
Or
2) Visit a well-known tourist trap and attempt to survive the experience without spending a dollar.
HypothesisInfiltrate a city and the lives of its inhabitants by navigating its
bureaucratic system.
ApparatusRed tape; a briefcase and a hurried air of self-importance could
also help.
Method
Take a tour of places known for their administrative function rather than their tourist interest: waiting rooms, social services offices, town halls, police stations. Avail yourself of the facilities (photocopiers, brochures and magazines, for example) and sample the gastronomic delights on offer (coffee machine, water cooler etc).
HypothesisRoll the dice and explore the world with chance as your guide.
ApparatusA pair of dice.
MethodInsert the name of your home town into the index of a world atlas (if it's not there already). Throw the dice, then count that number of lines down from the name of your town. The line that your finger lands on is your destination. See also Micro Chance Travel (p93) and Coin Flip Travel (p95).
HypothesisVisit ordered yet random points on the earth's surface.
ApparatusA hand-held global positioning system (GPS) device, a detailed map, a compass, a digital camera, a waterproof notebook, a pencil, food and drink, and spare batteries.
Method
1) Find a point where a whole number of degrees latitude (eg 35°S) meets a whole number of degrees longitude (eg 117°E).
2) Travel to it.
3) Document and photograph what you find there.
4) Submit the results to the Degrees Confluence Project website(www.confluence.org).
2) Travel to it.
3) Document and photograph what you find there.
4) Submit the results to the Degrees Confluence Project website(www.confluence.org).
HypothesisDo the opposite of what you think a traveller should do.
ApparatusA camera. If you're feeling particularly ingenious, try making a
pinhole camera.
MethodVaries, but could include travelling to a famous landmark and taking a photograph with your back to the sight; alternatively, photograph some tourists practising classical tourism (see the boxed text The Classic Shot, p104). Other ways of practising
Counter Tourism might be to take the opposite approach to instruction. If your guidebook advises you to avoid something, deliberately seek it out.
HypothesisIt's a dog's world - see it through their eyes.
ApparatusA dog.
Method
1) Find a dog.
2) Let it take you for a walk.
2) Let it take you for a walk.
HypothesisExplore another person's world and road test the idea that the
grass is always greener.
ApparatusWilling friends.
Method
1) Meet up with friends at a café on a Saturday morning.
2) Write your name and address on a piece of paper and attach it to your house keys. Put the keys in an envelope.
3) Mix up all the envelopes and randomly redistribute them among your friends.
4) Spend the weekend at the address in the envelope you are given. If possible, keep the social engagements and appointments made by the usual occupant.
2) Write your name and address on a piece of paper and attach it to your house keys. Put the keys in an envelope.
3) Mix up all the envelopes and randomly redistribute them among your friends.
4) Spend the weekend at the address in the envelope you are given. If possible, keep the social engagements and appointments made by the usual occupant.
HypothesisDiscover a city while looking for love.
ApparatusA partner (lover or friend) and a destination.
Method
Arrange to take a holiday with your partner. Travel there separately by different means and don't arrange a meeting time or place. Now look for each other...
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HypothesisDiscover an unknown part of the city by travelling to the grid
reference K2 on a map.
ApparatusA grid-referenced map or atlas, transportation and a sense of
adventure.
Method
1) Open a map or atlas at random.
2) Find the grid-reference K2 on the page in front of you.
3) Journey to that location and undertake a methodical exploration of the cultural, gastronomic and aesthetic delights that you find there.
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2) Find the grid-reference K2 on the page in front of you.
3) Journey to that location and undertake a methodical exploration of the cultural, gastronomic and aesthetic delights that you find there.
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HypothesisPut your marital commitment to the test before the honeymoon
is over.
ApparatusA wife, husband or equivalent to whom you are willing to pledge your lifelong commitment. The willingness of the aforementioned partner to partake in this experimental journey is highly recommended.
Method
1) Find true love.
2) Propose to the partner of your choice.
3) Get married!
4) Take an Experimental Honeymoon.
Note: the preceding steps are not ranked in order of difficulty.
2) Propose to the partner of your choice.
3) Get married!
4) Take an Experimental Honeymoon.
Note: the preceding steps are not ranked in order of difficulty.
HypothesisLet yourself be guided by the collective unconscious.
ApparatusA group of friends, a real or virtual piece of paper and a pencil.
Method
The first person writes down the name of a destination on a piece of paper. They then fold it over and pass it to the second person, who writes down an activity, folds it over and passes it on. Repeat until everyone has written something down. Possible categories include dress code, budget, duration of travel and theme. When everyone has added a category to the piece of paper, unfold it and see what outing the group has created. Note: arty types might like to draw pictures instead of words, as the name of this experiment comes from the Surrealist practice of using this method to draw a picture: one person draws the head, another draws the upper body, and so on until the feet. The resulting portrait is an 'exquisite corpse'.
HypothesisDiscover a town by night.
ApparatusTransport to your destination and lots of stamina.
Method
Travel to your chosen destination, arriving in the evening. Spend the night exploring the town and its surroundings until the sun
rises, then return home.
Note: while this experiment offers a good excuse to explore a city's nightlife, it doesn't have to be the focus of your trip - thinking laterally may yield more interesting results.
Note: while this experiment offers a good excuse to explore a city's nightlife, it doesn't have to be the focus of your trip - thinking laterally may yield more interesting results.
HypothesisTest normal standards of social behaviour and etiquette by
drawing attention to yourself in an outlandish and potentially absurd manner.
ApparatusSome form of strange prop or costume, eg a horse's head.
Method
Don your costume and venture into society. Gauge people's reactions: do they engage with you, laugh at you or turn away and pretend they haven't seen you? See Slight-Hitch Travel(p204) for suggestions that combine this form of travel with hitchhiking.
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HypothesisExplore a city through the eyes of a chess piece.
ApparatusA mobile phone and a black or white T-shirt (costume optional).
Method
1) Assemble players.
2) Find a city grid to use as a board.
3) Nominate the 'controllers' and assign the remaining positions.
4) Play chess.
Note: the chess game is played by having two controllers at a home base playing a normal game of chess. Using mobile phones, the controllers text or call each of the live players and inform them of their next 'move'.
2) Find a city grid to use as a board.
3) Nominate the 'controllers' and assign the remaining positions.
4) Play chess.
Note: the chess game is played by having two controllers at a home base playing a normal game of chess. Using mobile phones, the controllers text or call each of the live players and inform them of their next 'move'.
HypothesisTravel around the world via a bookshelf.
ApparatusYou will need a bookshelf containing books, plus a pen and
paper to keep track of your journey.
Method
Choose a book from the bookshelf and commence reading. Continue reading until a foreign country is mentioned in the text. Then choose a second book that's somehow related to that country and begin reading again. Repeat until you have either returned to your point of origin or have completed one circumnavigation of the globe.
HypothesisExplore a city via the lyrics of a famous song that pays tribute to it, using the words as both itinerary and travel guide.
ApparatusA collection of timeless musical paeans to particular cities, a handy transcription of their lyrics, and some frequent-flyer miles.
Method
Compile a list of classic songs about specific cities ( 'New York, New York', 'I Love Paris', 'Chicago' etc). Pick one of the songs at random and travel to the city in question, re-creating the various places, scenes or moods described in the song.
HypothesisSee the world through the eyes of a mascot.
ApparatusA mascot of your choice and a camera.
Method
Pick a personal mascot and take it on your travels with you, eg a stuffed toy, pet rock or garden gnome. Take its picture
outside famous landmarks and record its other experiences with a camera. On your return home, consider making a photo album of your mascot's travels. Show it to your friends. The album should look like you were never there.
HypothesisExplore a city by using the Monopoly board as a map.
ApparatusA Monopoly board to your chosen city, a pair of dice, tokens etc.
Note: some aficionados like to play this game 'live', using mobile phones to communicate positions to other players. Method Visit the streets, stations, jail, car park, water and electricity companies of your chosen city by throwing the dice and following the official rules of the game.
Note: some aficionados like to play this game 'live', using mobile phones to communicate positions to other players. Method Visit the streets, stations, jail, car park, water and electricity companies of your chosen city by throwing the dice and following the official rules of the game.
HypothesisIndulge (or relieve) your nostalgia for a place once visited by seeking it out in your own home town.
ApparatusA sense of nostalgia or homesickness; a map or guidebook may also be useful.
Method
1) Decide where you'd like to be and what you'd like to be doing (eg eating kimchi in Seoul, dancing the tango in Buenos Aires, hiking in Ecuador), then try to do it in your home town.
Or
2) Apply a foreign map or guidebook to your own town, choose a destination (eg the art gallery), see what you find there and compare it with the description in your guidebook. (If streets etc don't match perfectly, improvise.)
Or
2) Apply a foreign map or guidebook to your own town, choose a destination (eg the art gallery), see what you find there and compare it with the description in your guidebook. (If streets etc don't match perfectly, improvise.)
HypothesisUndertake a journey inspired by a work of literature, art, cinema or music.
ApparatusA list of inspiring works of art with suitably far-flung titles.
Method
Compile a list of literature, art, music or cinema with a travel theme. For example, A Passage to India, The Burghers of Calais,
'One Night in Bangkok' and Leningrad Cowboys go America. The title will ideally contain a specific location, but it doesn't have to; for instance, Serge Gainsbourg's cult pop tune 'Sea, Sex and Sun' is presumably evocative enough to inspire some interesting adventures.
HypothesisDiscover a city with a group of strangers all wearing an easily identifiable token.
ApparatusInternet access, a cunning plan, a liking for red carnations, charisma!
Note: red carnations can be exchanged for any other common denominator: red hats, Viking helmets, ballet tutus, safety glasses etc. Method Post a notice on an Internet travel forum requesting a rendezvous with travellers at a certain time and place. Nominate an activity to undertake as a group, eg pulling faces at the guards at Buckingham Palace, tap-dancing down the Champs-Élysées etc. Ask everyone to wear the same easily identifiable token. Consider taking a photograph of yourself with your fellow travellers and try to recruit new members as you go.
Note: red carnations can be exchanged for any other common denominator: red hats, Viking helmets, ballet tutus, safety glasses etc. Method Post a notice on an Internet travel forum requesting a rendezvous with travellers at a certain time and place. Nominate an activity to undertake as a group, eg pulling faces at the guards at Buckingham Palace, tap-dancing down the Champs-Élysées etc. Ask everyone to wear the same easily identifiable token. Consider taking a photograph of yourself with your fellow travellers and try to recruit new members as you go.
HypothesisExplore the working life of the city and learn about the locals by renting yourself out to help with daily chores.
ApparatusPaints or pens to make a sign, a sales pitch and a device to draw attention to yourself (eg loudspeaker, red flashing light).
Method
Stand in the main square or plaza with a sign advertising yourself as a tourist 'for rent'. If you have time, consider handing out a flyer that lists your possible duties. Avoid dark alleys, backstreets etc which could lead to confusion over your, ahem,'job description'.
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HypothesisSee how far your thumb will take you.
ApparatusA large piece of card (approximately 20cm x 50cm), a thick black pen and a destination.
Method
Go to your nearest motorway (or similar) with a backpack and a large piece of card. Write the name of a faraway destination on your sign, eg Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Timbuktu, Humpty Doo. Avoid excessive detail (Flat 7, 255 Northolm Rd, down the road from the post offi ce, Essex, UK) Stand by the side of the road, stick your thumb out and wait...
Note: if travelling internationally, be sure to research the local hitchhiking signal - standing with your thumb out is not universally understood.
Note: if travelling internationally, be sure to research the local hitchhiking signal - standing with your thumb out is not universally understood.
HypothesisExperience the contrasting benefits and experiences of fast and slow methods of travel.
ApparatusA destination and access to fast and slow forms of transport. Fast forms of transport include space rockets, jet planes and high-tech Rollerblades. Slow forms include bicycles, moon boots (especially if worn while walking on sand) and stubborn animals such as donkeys and goats.
Note: speed is relative. Method Choose a faraway destination and travel there using the quickest form of transport you can find. For the return journey, do the reverse and choose transport that is as slow as possible.
Note: speed is relative. Method Choose a faraway destination and travel there using the quickest form of transport you can find. For the return journey, do the reverse and choose transport that is as slow as possible.
HypothesisTravel a synchronised path with your friends and discover whether parallel lines ever meet.
ApparatusTwo or more participants, a notebook and camera.
Method
A participant travels around a chosen location using a 10-stage set of common directions, taking notes and photographs to record their experiences at each stage. Where directions don't match the environs, improvise.
1) The first stage is your starting point.
2) Walk in any direction for 50 to 100 paces, and then turn 180 degrees.
3) Continue walking in that direction until you see something blue.
4) Make a left turn and walk 50 to 70 paces.
5) Walk in any direction until you see something that either is or looks like the number 7 or 11.
6) Take the first left, and continue walking until you find somewhere to sit.
7) Choose any direction and walk for 25 to 50 paces.
8) Continue walking until you see an unusual colour, shape or texture. Turn 180 degrees.
9) Keep walking in any direction until you see an archway or an unusual architectural feature.
10) Head for home, but continue looking for something that catches your eye.
1) The first stage is your starting point.
2) Walk in any direction for 50 to 100 paces, and then turn 180 degrees.
3) Continue walking in that direction until you see something blue.
4) Make a left turn and walk 50 to 70 paces.
5) Walk in any direction until you see something that either is or looks like the number 7 or 11.
6) Take the first left, and continue walking until you find somewhere to sit.
7) Choose any direction and walk for 25 to 50 paces.
8) Continue walking until you see an unusual colour, shape or texture. Turn 180 degrees.
9) Keep walking in any direction until you see an archway or an unusual architectural feature.
10) Head for home, but continue looking for something that catches your eye.
HypothesisCreate an itinerary by drawing on a map.
ApparatusA map and a pencil.1 You may also need transport, such as a bicycle or car.
Method
Using a pencil or GPS device, superimpose a drawing on a map, which will then form your itinerary. You can draw anything you like, eg your name, a shape or something more complex. Your line can be as long or as short as you like.
HypothesisHave a budget day-spa experience at the house of a friend.
ApparatusA friend who has a bathroom or, better yet, a spa. (Scandinavian types would be well advised to seek out a sauna.)
Method
Citing an invented burst water pipe or lack of hot water, invite yourself to take a bath at the house of one of your friends. Take
along all the equipment you would use in a spa: soap, shampoo, towel, bathrobe, relaxing music, candles, seaweed scrub, champagne etc. Consider receiving guests. Feel free to sing.
HypothesisFollow in someone else's footsteps.
ApparatusA trench coat, a camera and a newspaper with holes cut out for your eyes.
Method
Follow some friends when they go on holiday and don't let them out of your sight. Take photographs of them using a telephoto lens. On their return home, consider welcoming them with a slideshow of their holiday. Joël Henry suggests that unless you are a professional detective, you may find it easier to simply pick someone at random from a crowd and follow them to see where you end up.
Note: this experiment can also be applied to day trips and short outings.
Note: this experiment can also be applied to day trips and short outings.
HypothesisTake a gamble on a trip.
ApparatusFour people, one dice, a poker face.
Method
Trip Poker is a travel game for four or more people. Your itinerary in this instance is created by rolling a dice, but you can easily adapt the rules to a game of poker.
1) The person who rolls the highest number wins the first round and gets to choose the destination. The destination should lie within a specified distance of where the game is being played, eg 500km.
2) The winner of the second roll decides the date of the weekend away.
3) The winner of the third roll determines the type of accommodation, eg hotel, camping, in the car, at someone's house, under the stars, no accommodation - and no sleep!
4) The person who loses the last roll of the dice pays for the weekend.
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HypothesisUse the number 12 to compose a travel itinerary.
ApparatusA map, timetable or travel plan that relates to the number 12.
Method
Twelve is a tremendously flexible number, able to accommodate a variety of Experimental Travel forms. Examples include the following:
1) Take a train that leaves at 12.12 and get off at the 12th stop. 2) Walk or swim along the 12th line of latitude. 3) Undertake a tour of hotels, only staying in room number 12. 4) Begin a round-the-world trip with only 12 units of currency in your pocket (eg £12, $12 or £12). 5) Journey along motorway or highway number 12.
1) Take a train that leaves at 12.12 and get off at the 12th stop. 2) Walk or swim along the 12th line of latitude. 3) Undertake a tour of hotels, only staying in room number 12. 4) Begin a round-the-world trip with only 12 units of currency in your pocket (eg £12, $12 or £12). 5) Journey along motorway or highway number 12.
HypothesisExplore what lies at the end of the line.
ApparatusA form of transport, eg train, ferry, car.
Method
Take a suburban train out of the city and travel to the end of the line. If no train is available, choose another form of transport. If possible, find accommodation to stay the night and explore the area that you find yourself in.
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HypothesisStick a Yellow Arrow in a place that holds meaning to you.
ApparatusA Yellow Arrow, a mobile phone, digital camera and internet access.
Method
Choose a meaningful spot and stick your arrow there. SMS its code and your message to the numbers given on the arrow. Take a photo of your arrow and post it to the Yellow Arrow website.
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