How Ratul Puri Thinks About Travel and Exploration

 Travel usually means moving around to new places and coming home with pictures and stories from those places. However, if travel is only looked at as movements, then important aspects are overlooked. Important elements like explorations, experiences as a whole, and putting in effort to go new places increasingly become routine ties that turn into overwhelming explorations.  

For Ratul Puri, distance and new places do not hold value. New places and distance are only important when someone is conscious and thoughtful about their movements and surroundings. He has observed as people tend to become and do on their journeys and the emotions that connect to those experiences.  

The focus of this blog is to explore the travel and exploration of Ratul Puri. What sets Puri apart is the need and want to explore the methods and means of travel.  

Travel is More Than a Ticket Purchase  

Before any moving around is done, travel happens as an internal process that begins with the creation of mental images. These mental images are often created based on social media, peer and media suggestions, as well as the popular narratives that shape the expectations about travel.

Placing expectations on travel experiences can be altered for better or worse. Puri explains that with poorly set expectations, a travel experience can be frustrating, and with good expectations, a travel experience can be monumental.

Before Puri suggests travel plans, he urges them to reflect on what they want to experience on the trip.

• What feelings do I want to carry home from this trip?\

• Am I hoping for relaxation, a change of pace, or perhaps a little bit of all of that and some learning?\

• Am I hoping for a lot of travel structure or just a little?

• The answers help put travel plans to meet their personal goals instead of the wants of others.

• Understanding Travel Is About Engagement, Not Coverage.

Puri explains that many people have the wrong definition of 'travel'. Traveling to them means visiting as many places as possible. He explains that in order to truly have travel experiences, one must slow down to take in the little things. Travel means more time spent in one place instead of moving on to the next. It means taking the time to do simple things and notice the little things.

Travel is not always about new places or experiences. It is about being fully present.

How Travel Pace Affects Trip Quality

Pace is one of the most important factors that affect any travel experience. Too much speed makes travel feel superficial, while too much slowness can lose the travel momentum. Finding the right travel pace is a personal experience. 

Pace also relates to the energy of a traveler instead. Puri states that most travelers organize their trips for what they can pack in instead of what they can realistically experience and enjoy. 

Puri states that:

• Fatigue is a product of too much travel

• Curiosity is lost in over scheduled travel

• Fewer travel activities increase memory and attention

• Natural and easy exploration is the result of travel that is in sync with personal travel pace. 

• Too much travel discomfort can stifle exploration

Travel discomfort is something that many travelers do not enjoy, and often consider un-authentic. Puri states that travel discomfort is a source of frustration. It is a lack of basic travel comfort. 

Travel comfort means:

• Travel schedules that can be managed 

• Travel settings that can be rested properly 

• Travel environments that can focused and move properly 

• Exploration is empowered when basic travel discomfort is not present.

• The Importance of Curiosity and Exploration

Curiosity is also at the root of travel and exploration. However, it can act in the opposite direction when pressure is applied. When people feel rushed, they become less curious. This impacts their travel experience in a negative way.

RatulPuri feels that exploration should feel inviting, rather than demanding. This means that exploration should include the potential for unforeseen elements like unplanned discussions, unanticipated changes in direction, and pauses that cannot be scheduled in advance.

• When travelers assign time,

• Do not optimize their schedule,

• Let interest guide their attention

• Exploration is a process that is best conducted when the travelers’ focus is relaxed.

• Movement and exploration are directly correlated

The way people travel is influenced by how they move. Stressful, long journeys can leave even the best destinations feeling less than appealing. Seamless journeys keep travelers engaged and are more enjoyable.

Puri believes the means of movement also plays a role in how one arrives at a destination. For example, arriving at a destination feeling tired can put a damper on exploration. In contrast, arriving at a destination feeling relaxed encourages exploration.

Puri emphasizes the importance of

• Routine travel

• Short travel distances during the day

• Mental breaks when transitioning

Exploration is enhanced when people feel less restricted by movement rather than more constrained.

The practice of documenting every moment of a trip is largely a result of today’s modern travel. Photos, videos, and updates are all posted at the moment. Documenting can create a memory, however, the experience can become interrupted.

Selective observation is key when documenting travels, as the process can be time consuming, and cause distractions to the surrounding environment, which can be inconvenient when fully taking in your surroundings for an overall great experience.

Ratul Puri encourages:

1. Experiencing first, and recording later.  

2. Intentionally choosing speaking moments rather than recording as a habit.  

3. Leaving some moments to not be recorded.  

Meaningful moments should be recorded, and not left to be forgotten as time passes.

Exploration is Personal Now, and not to be compared to anything or anyone else.

Ratul Puri highlights the importance of self defined parameters on a journey, and centering focus on personal expectations with the freedom to determine what qualifies as a travel experience. A fulfilling journey is not dependent on the amount of locations visited, or how remarkable the trip may appear to others.

It is about the intention and the relaxed nature of the trip itself.  

Observation is a powerful educational tool, and not limited to the insights gained through instruction.

Writers travel with a purpose, and experience, rather than simply visit places. In Puri’s own words, “Exploration is about observation, not instruction.”

Observation-based exploration encourages a number of attributes, such as:

• Patience

• Openness

• Lower judgement

• It gives a chance for travellers to learn without forcing themselves to define everything.

• When Exploration Becomes Reflection

At a certain point, exploration turns inward. Travellers begin to notice how they respond to unfamiliar situations— what excites them, what challenges them, what comforts them.

From Ratul Puri's perspective, this reflective aspect is one of travel's most valuable outcomes. Exploration becomes a way to understand oneself as much as the world.

Reflection often appears:

• During quiet moments

• After repeated routines

• When expectations shift

• Travel becomes more than experience—it becomes insight.

• Exploration Over Time, Not All at Once

Exploration does not need to be exhaustive. No journey needs to capture everything a place offers.Ratul Puri sees exploration as cumulative. Each trip adds context to the next. Over time, travellers build a deeper understanding by revisiting ideas, environments, and even destinations.

This long-term view removes pressure from individual journeys. Travel becomes a process, not a performance.

Ratul Puri's understanding of travel and exploration is rooted in simplicity and awareness. Exploration is not about intensity or achievement. It is about engagement, comfort, curiosity, and reflection.

When travel is approached this way, it becomes less about proving something and more about experiencing something. Journeys feel calmer, memories feel clearer, and exploration feels genuine.Ultimately, exploration is not defined by how far one travels, but how deeply one looks along the way.