Strolling During The Witching Hours
What I learnt from exploring cities during the small hours before morning
Travel is something that everyone should do and experience at least a few times in their lives. And when I mean travel, I don’t mean to go to the same place where you were taken as a kid or just one place that you liked and repeatedly go back too. I mean, travel outside of your comfort zone’s, experienced a different culture to yours, a different part of the world and see how others live. Open your mind, heart and eyes to the vast world that we all get to live in and share.
That is something that I really like doing and experiencing myself. When I go aboard, even if it’s for a few days, week or more, I like to see how others live. I want to see past the tourist traps, the image the place portrays and I want to experience the real vibe of the city, it’s hidden characters and the grittiness of it all. What am I seeing that others aren’t? Am I seeing things that I am looking for? Or once you strip away one layer or two, you see the real city or town that you visited. What is the place offering that I can’t find anywhere else.
A random thought popped into my mind one night in a city I was staying in. It was something that I have did completely on the fly and since then continue to do in every city that I have the pleasure of visiting. Now, I’m not reinventing anything here or stating a huge announcement. No. All I done was... go for a walk.
That’s it. I went for a midnight stroll and took only my key card, cash and my phone with me. I walked around cities into the witching hours to find what is said, done and what others don’t see when everyone else is asleep.
No WiFi. No bill pay 4G or mobile data. Armed with only my natural sense of curiosity and my two feet I walked out of my hotel room to the elevator and got down to the lobby of the hotel. I would walk out the entrance and see where my gut tells me to go. Left or right? Who cares? I Just walked.
You want to know what excitement is? It’s walking out into a city you never been in before and allowing it just to speak to you. It will guide you were to go and what to see. The world is your compass. Use it.
Away from everything. Explore the place you will call home for the next few days. Go through the back streets and see what is hiding there. Go to a small restaurant run by a family and not a corporation. Eat their food and give them a tip. Take a walk to get lost around the place and use your own navigation system in yourself to find where you were. Don’t rely on the phone.
Let your survival technique kick in. This is a jungle, a place to explore. So, explore.
I have done this a few times so far on the trips I have been on. Just one night depending on the schedule for the next day, I’ll just go out late and see where I go and hope for the best. There is no science to it. It’s very simple and straight forward. I want to see what a place is like, especially at night, when all the shops are closed, the tourists attractions are done for the day and there’s 12 hours until the sun comes up again.
I have done this is in Milan, Palermo, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Seoul, Busan, London, Lisbon, Barcelona, etc etc.
You learn quite a lot when you are by yourself. When you rely on you alone to guide the journey, trust your gut and not get lost in the process. The last thing you need is to be lost and be mad at the reason you are there in the first place: You.
I learnt that patience is key in walking around by yourself and also courage too. You have no idea if you walking down a good area or bad. Sometimes it’s just a roll of the dice. You learn to trust you instincts and that inner compass that we all process. There’s a freedom of going to places on your own and also being on your own.
You see quite a lot at night, especially the night activities that some people get into. Drinking, dating, partying and looking for places to go. Groups walk together and couples clinging to each other. Some are in good moods, some are in bad moods. Heartbreaks and some mistakes are seen during these midnight strolls. Drunken talk, hailing for taxi’s, waiting in line for food and wanting to desperately get home to either sleep or sleep with the person your with. People watching is an interesting hobby especially when you are just dropping by for a night and seeing how people socialise.
Breaking news; Its the same everywhere.
Taken notes, photos and even just ones just for the memory bank, I have grown to love this tradition that I have seemed to have taken upon myself once I travel. Even if its in my own country and I’m staying the weekend. I’m out and about making the most of it. A ritual that I oddly enjoy.
I don’t know how to end this because I’m not sure what I’m trying to say either. It’s not like I’m going out to look for anything in particular. I’m not into drinking as I am 12 years sober, so I’m not looking to party. I’m sober doing all these exploring. I don’t know what I’m chasing but I feel it’s something always ahead of me, within grasp or just around the corner.
Always one step head of me while I’m too busy being in awe of the places I find myself in.
Maybe one day I’ll catch it, or maybe I’ll always be strolling and exploring in order to get it.
Onto the next trip, the next destination and the midnight stroll that will lead me into the witching hours.
Slán Go Fóill
-Marc Sean
If you found this article of mine enjoyable and you like my writing, please consider subscribing/following my work. Just below is one of my latest article’s, check it out and let me know your thoughts.
Beautifully written!