The Lost Art of Travel
During the pandemic, we took the time to re-evaluate the vision, mission, and values of Chickenfeet Travels. What merged was a simple and powerful truth: the values we stand for spell ART—Authenticity, Respect, and Transformative. This isn’t just wordplay, it’s our philosophy. It’s what we believe travel is meant to be: an art form, crafted with care, shaped by stories and driven by connection.
What we have lost
I started backpacking in 2007 when we still relied on backpacker word-of-mouth and accidentally getting lost because we didn’t have Google Maps. We sent emails to our families from shared computers. And we met people. Not “for the ‘Gram,” but because human beings are wired for connection.
“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human.” - Aristotle
Since the boom of smartphones and social media, something fundamental shifted. We’ve strayed far from what our natural instinct used to be for travelling to foreign and exotic places. With all the information available online, planning a trip for yourself is easier. Finding the best avocado on toast is straightforward. Figuring out how to navigate to a faraway waterfall is a piece of cake. Booking an airport taxi is two clicks away.
But ease has come at a cost. The art of getting lost, of asking strangers for directions and stories, of stumbling upon magic—not because you were told to go there, but because you went anyway—that’s being lost.
connection - sitting in guesthouse lobbies or at bars and restaurants to meet people (tourists and locals) to genuinely meet and share dialogue about where you're coming from, where you’re going, and share in the excitement for each others’ experiences and crazy stories;
courage - going places…well, just because. Now, we follow blogs, guidebooks, and Yelp reviews rather than “taking a risk” and following our own gut and our minds;
trust in strangers - which is really ironic because as social media seemingly brings the world together, most individuals have never felt more alienated than ever
Travel now often looks like ticking off Instagram-famous destinations, notching up “must-sees,” and capturing it all with the right filters. But real travel—transformative travel—has never been about the itinerary. It’s about the interactions. We don’t travel to see waterfalls. We travel to hear the stories that live near them.
Art of Travel
If I had to make a guideline, this would be it:
Follow your Curiosity. The only question you regret are the ones you didn’t ask. Approach life with an open mind and an open heart and people will meet you with the same kindness. Adventure is a mindset.
Disconnect to reconnect with nature and yourself. I think it is really funny how we all take photos these days “for the memories” but from what I can tell, we don’t sit around and tell stories of our travels any more. And when we do share, it is to gather information for ourselves, rather than listening for the sake of listening and gaining perspective.
Make local friends - the beautiful landscapes attract us to places but what we really remember, when these magical moments are the people we meet along the way.
Pay to Play - we need to pay fairly and think about the logistics of who, how, and how much it takes to establish somewhere as the next tourism destination
If you are not actively being part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Re: plastic. I don’t know how many times I have sat amongst tourists who just point their fingers at the local people and their garbage problem. But when you ask them to do one simple thing, buy a water filter for $50 which makes 200+ liters of water, they say it is too expensive. In general, the local people are usually drinking spring water or decanting from a refillable gallon bottle. I saw it, right when the borders opened up May 2022, Bali was clean. The rivers running through Denpasar and Sunset Road were clear, there wasn’t a lingering metallic smell in the air. And by mid-June, as the tourists came pouring back in to party and relax and sight-see, we could all see where the problem stems from.
Get lost - If you are lucky enough to have a lot of time to explore, just wander. If you meet someone and hear about something really great, those are the breadcrumbs for you to follow. Most people don’t, out of fear or some variation of lack mentality. But when you do follow your gut, magic is found on the otherside of fear.
Sometimes you need to abandon your next plan when it feels right to stay - i am in the school of thought where sometimes, we are called the places and once again, we are handed a choice of staying for the magic to happen or to head back into the ratrace. If circumstances allow, you must follow that gut feeling; and in the moment, you cannot, head home and make a plan to return as soon as possible.
The Point Is…travel isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you show up. Adventure is a mindset. And if you’re here reading this, maybe, just maybe, you still believe in the lost art of travel too.
What are you waiting for?
When you book with Chicken Feet, the only difference is that instead of researching while you are on holiday or hoping for the best, we’ve have already put in the time and energy to nurture relationships that you can drop into for your an experience you will be telling all your friends and family.
TL;DR: “The Lost Art of Travel” explores how modern tourism has traded depth for convenience. It reflects on a time before smartphones and social media when travel was defined by curiosity, human connection, and getting lost. Jin shares a personal philosophy and framework for rediscovering meaningful travel—one rooted in courage, slowness, and listening. It’s a reminder that adventure is a mindset, and the best travel moments are co-created with people and place, not dictated by algorithms.
