From routine to adventure
Words & photography by Pete Rudd
Updated August 2026
Plodding along in a fairly normal, mundane routine, I often found myself craving something different. I wanted to change my life, but I wasn’t quite sure what needed changing.
For a long time, I convinced myself it was my career or financial situation.
I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Then a good friend suggested we take a month out and travel through India.
At the time, I had no idea just how different backpacking would be from a hotel package holiday. I certainly wasn’t prepared for how much that first trip would change my outlook on life.
It was the beginning of how travelling changed my life.
My first real adventure
Turning up in India with almost no planning or itinerary was probably one of our first of many mistakes.
Looking back, though, I’m incredibly glad we did it that way.
It shaped the way I still travel today.
I’ve learnt that if you don’t plan every minute of a trip, you leave room for the unexpected. You can change direction, follow a recommendation from someone you meet, stay somewhere an extra night or simply see where the road takes you.
And for me, that’s a huge part of the fun.
Travel has a way of pulling you out of your routine and comfort zone and giving you the freedom to see where the adventure takes you.
What Travel Has Taught Me
Over the years, travelling has taught me far more than I ever expected.
It’s good to step outside your comfort zone
Some of the best experiences I’ve had have started with doing something that initially made me uncomfortable.
It made me fall in love with photography
This is probably the biggest one.
Travel opened my eyes to photography. I became fascinated by the people, landscapes, light and little moments happening around me.
What started as a way of documenting my travels eventually became my career.
Try things you never thought you could
Travel has a funny way of making you realise you’re capable of much more than you thought.
Whether it’s hiking somewhere you’ve never been, riding a motorbike through unfamiliar roads or simply saying yes to something completely unexpected.
Sometimes you just have to give it a go.
Learn to rely on yourself
Travelling, particularly when you’re somewhere completely unfamiliar, teaches you to figure things out.
You become more comfortable making decisions, solving problems and trusting yourself.
Appreciate the small things
Travel has made me appreciate the things that are easily overlooked.
A good coffee. A conversation with a stranger. Watching the sunrise. Finding a quiet road with nobody else around.
You don’t always need something spectacular to make a memory.
Be open to meeting people
Some of the best memories I’ve made have involved people I had never met before—and probably wouldn’t have met if I’d stayed at home.
You never know who you’ll meet when you leave yourself open to it.
Become more aware of the beauty around you
Travel completely changed the way I look at the world.
It made me notice light, architecture, landscapes, people and those tiny moments that might otherwise pass by unnoticed.
And perhaps that’s another reason I fell in love with photography.
You really don’t need that much
Packing for a two-month adventure taught me something surprisingly simple:
You don’t need a lot of stuff.
When everything you own has to fit into a backpack, you quickly realise how little you actually need to be happy.
You Are Not a Tree
You are not a tree. You are not bound
to the ground you walk on.
You have wings and dreams and a heart full of wonder.
So pick up your feet and go.
Spread kindness like a wildflower wherever you go.
Fall in love with the life you live, and always leave people better than you found them.
— Drewniverses
Travel, Photography & Everything In Between
I think that’s ultimately what travel has given me.
It hasn’t just given me photographs or passport stamps. It’s changed the way I see things.
It taught me to slow down, look around and appreciate where I am rather than constantly thinking about where I’m going next.
And somewhere along the way, that way of looking at the world became the foundation of my photography.
If you’d like to see where some of those adventures have taken me, you can read my Mae Hong Son Loop – 5 Day Motorbike Adventure.
A few final thoughts
If you’re thinking about taking your first big trip, my advice is simple:
Go.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. You don’t need the perfect itinerary, the perfect camera or the perfect plan.
Sometimes the best stories start when the plan goes completely wrong.
And if you ever need help planning your next adventure, or just want to chat travel and photography, feel free to get in touch.
Pete
