The Summer of Escape: Martin's Paradoxical Reality

Boredom, the great enemy of all men. The feeling that grips you, as if a vice has been clamped around your skull and twisted. The haunting voice of existential dread resonates in your head, “What’s my purpose? What am I doing with my life? Why do I exist?”. The void stares back into you.

Boredom is the bane of existence. The demon that whispers lies into your ear, seducing you to join its army of sloth and despair. It lures us with false promises; a better job, a more meaningful relationship, more money, fame and glory. But it is an illusion. As soon as we achieve our goal, we realise that the absence of boredom was simply replaced with a new objective, one which will also eventually be replaced until there is nothing left but an empty void to contemplate our emptiness in.

The only cure for boredom is adventure. A voyage through uncharted territory, where we can test ourselves against the elements and challenge our physical limits. Or an intellectual journey into the unknown, where we can feed our minds on new discoveries and widen our horizons beyond what has been accepted and deemed normal by society.

I often wonder why everyone doesn’t seek out new adventures and embark on quests to discover new lands or marvel at the vastness of space. Perhaps it is laziness or lack of courage that prevents us from following our wildest dreams? Or perhaps it is fear that holds us back? Fear of failure? Fear of not being good enough? Fear of dying before achieving anything?

But whatever the case may be, some never venture further than their own hometowns or cities, never leaving their comfort zone. Their lives are reduced to a series of dull routines which they repeat day after day; wake up - check phone - go to work - eat - sleep - repeat. They lack purpose and meaning in their lives and even though they know that they are wasting decades of their short lives on meaningless jobs or unfulfilling relationships, they continue doing so because it is easier than questioning how fulfilling their life truly is or making a change for the better.

And then there are those who do venture out into unknown territories, who break free from their chains and set sail for new shores. These people are either chasing something they don’t have or running away from something they can’t deal with anymore. Their journeys aren’t always smooth sailing - they might meet storms or pirates on their way or encounter perilous cliffs along the way - but they have courage in them to face any obstacle with determination and strength, knowing that even though they might fail along the way, it is better than living a life without any meaning or value whatsoever. And no matter how hard things get along their way, they keep going because they know that once they reach land again - whether it’s reaching a new personal record at the gym or climbing yet another mountain - there would be peace in their hearts and smiles on their faces because this pursuit gives them meaning and value in their lives. They’ve reached land again! They’ve had an adventure!

And then I came across an advertisement for “A trip around France”: 7 days in southern France for two people sharing a room at an all-inclusive resort for only $100 per person per day! Now this was an adventure! An adventure worthy of my efforts! My mind raced through all sorts of possibilities: visiting new cities like Nice or Marseille; visiting famous landmarks like the Eiffel tower; swimming in the Mediterranean Sea; eating French food; getting drunk every night till I pass out... And most importantly: GETTING AWAY FROM THE BOREDOM IN MY LIFE! It was too enticing to resist! So I immediately signed up for it!

I couldn't wait to see what this adventure would bring me so I hopped onto a train straight away with my girlfriend at the time (we broke up soon after). We met up at Gare du Nord station where we got onto an overnight train heading towards Montpellier via Paris Nord/Austerlitz station (the train was delayed by 3 hours because some sort of incident had happened). When we finally arrived at Perpignan station early in the morning on day 1 (it took us nearly 20 hours to reach there!), we were both exhausted from travelling over 20 hours by train (we couldn't afford flights), but nevertheless excited about getting our first taste of French culture which awaited us outside the station.... Then reality hit me like a tonne of bricks...