Curious Journeys

“Curiosity is a curious thing.”

We are innately curious beings, we like to explore and experience new things. Discovering the curious is what Curious Journeys is all about.

The corporate environment was instrumental in my professional development for some 30 years. This experience has stood me in good stead by giving me the confidence to start Curious Journeys. Whilst the corporate world was interesting, challenging and educational, the most fulfilling time for me has been the past 5 years. A yearning for exploration has culminated in a platform that allows me to share my passion through story telling and curating journeys for discerning, adventurous and curious travellers.

The timing to start this venture was perfect! Technology had evolved in a way which enabled business to be conducted from social media platforms. Even though I had no experience of the digital platforms, the direction forward was clear. I had the content, the know-how could be learnt and with determination and sheer hard work, I waded through the myriad of technical challenges to forge a way to present my story.

Through the many years of exploring and photographing, I had collected imagery of destinations. The opportunity staring me in face was ripe, the message was clear: This is the medium to use to share the imagery and knowledge I had the privilege of garnering through all the adventures. Hence the birth of Curious Journeys – the focus of the business being the discovery of curiosities and experiencing them with other inquisitors. The world is a veritable treasure for the curious and, India I’ve discovered, is its trove. What I have discovered is that everyone has a story to tell and that there is meaning and depth to every story and it is from those lessons that I draw my inspiration.

Any venture that we undertake is challenging. It requires commitment, dedication and constant hard work. It is through our hands that the deliverable of our undertaking is moulded and formed and it is our responsibility to nurture the endeavour to enable it to flourish and grow.

Of course, this process does not come without trials and tribulations, but the success lies in our attitude to manage those trials with maturity and a graceful spirit.

Because of my curiosity and exploring life while travelling, I have been exposed to different countries, people and cultures which has instilled a sense of hope and courage in me. The thing that has made the biggest impression on me is the role of women in the structure of different societies and cultures.

In a village in India, I was ambling around and as travellers do, a communication (you cannot call it a conversation because of language barriers) was struck between myself and a village woman. She invited me in for a chai and chapati. It was while sitting in a smoke filled make-shift kitchen in a very humble house in a village in India, sipping chai (tea), where a humble village woman was preparing chapati for my enjoyment. I discovered the majestic beauty of being feminine.

I realised that the meaning of femininity is strength in humility, wisdom in simplicity, power in gentleness, value in being mundane and the ability to listen and to be soft spoken. This is the true nature of feminine power. The picture was clear, this mother, the matriarch of the family is in control. In her silence she manages her home and her children and the effect thereof ripples down and creates a stable and well adjusted community. I learnt more about the essence of what it is to be a woman of character and substance from a visit in a home in a country far from my own, in a culture so vastly different to mine, than I did in the lecture halls and boardrooms of my past career.

Launching Curious Journeys onto the social media platforms was, to say the least, a daunting task. The business model I set out to follow is “Everything to be executed on a computer or a hand held device by myself”. The first two years of the business was all about finding the niche market and presenting interesting journeys curated with the assistance of local partners in the various destinations. It was going well and then the world came to a standstill. The questions on everybody’s lips was “what now?” I had to come up with a way to keep Curious Journeys relevant.

One of my passions is textiles and in India the hand woven textile industry is a natural cultural practice. Having spent many hours watching the artisans performing their craft and understanding the difficulty of the their trade in general, the decision was made to pivot the focus of Curious Journeys. During the quiet period of Covid, artisans in India were supported by Curious Journeys buying their product and making these products available online to its audience. This new venture required a different set of processes and discipline. I had no knowledge of on-line retail business, but once again with perseverance and tenacity, hours and hours of work, making mistakes and just not giving up, the project succeeded.

Travel affords us an opportunity to closely experience new places, new adventures and the natural wonders which connects us with interesting and different cultures. It gives us the ability to become familiar with the value systems of others and in doing that we tend to appreciate our own situations and lifestyles. I will continue to focus my effort on presenting the curious and fascinating features of places for travellers to explore with purpose and meaning. It is a pertinent feature of Curious Journeys to encourage travellers to travel with a sense of respect for the culture and the environment of the area being explored.

If you would like to be part of my world and to learn about exotic and curious places to explore, please follow me on:

E-mail: mich@curiousjourneys.co.za
Telephone: +27 82 567 6933
Website: https://www.curiousjourneys.co.za
Blog: https://www.curiousjournal.co.za
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/mich.curiousjourneys
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curious_journeys/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-immelman-224244194/