Why is there so much fuss about giving an experience instead of an object?

If you need an idea for a really, really special and unforgettable gift for a loved one, choose an experience instead of just more stuff. Why? It has already been proven many times that experiences make us happier than objects, and that this happiness lasts longer.

To help you become everyone’s favorite gift-giver, read our list of 52 experience gift ideas, so you have at least one for every week next year. How thoughtful of us (and you)!

1. Opera/theater/show tickets (for the best seats, of course).

2. VIP concert tickets.

3. Plane tickets. Not really creative, but plane tickets are always a good idea.

4. A day at a spa center. Or, even better, at a warm outdoor swimming pool when it’s winter outside. Raise the stakes by bringing a flask of hot tea and rum.

5. A massage, preferably accompanied by a glass of wine or a cup of hot chocolate.

6. A thought-provoking book.

7. A book full of travel challenges.

8. Wine tasting. Beer tasting. Whisky tasting. Chocolate tasting.

9. A drawing/guitar/piano class.

10. A surprise trip (read How to plan the perfect surprise trip).

11. Bungee jumping.

12. Paragliding – a tandem flight.

13. A paragliding course (a whole new level where you can fly without an instructor).

14. Skydiving, diving, free diving

15. A day at a board games club.

16. A visit to an escape room.

17. A visit to a soundproof (anechoing) room – this is a hard task as there are just few anechoing chambers (absorbing every single sound and providing 99.9% silence) in the world, and they usually open only on specific days. They say that if you stay in an anechoing chamber for a while, you will start to actually hear your heartbeat.

18. A ‘coupon’ promising the recipient one day of your life together to do whatever they like.

19. Stargazing with a cup of hot chocolate.

20. A night at a Bedouin camp (for this particular idea you will need to already be in a country with Bedouins). If you are there anyway, use the chance to organize a great surprise by booking the night secretly, kidnapping your friend and taking them to the desert.

21. Glamping. Or champing (camping in a church) if you feel like scandalizing the religious society.

22. A dinner at a restaurant with such exotic cuisine that you can’t pronounce any item on the menu and you have to helplessly point to dishes to order them.

23. A whole day at a theme park.

24. A balloon flight.

25. A day on a yacht/boat with lots of champagne and a playlist with your favorite music.

26. A day snowshoeing in the mountains.

27. A cocktail night at a rooftop bar.

28. A night picnic.

29. A visit to a haunted/abandoned house.

30. A language course. Or step up your game by arranging a language course that takes place abroad.

31. A professional photo shoot.

32. If the person’s birthday occurs during a cold month, take them to a beach destination for a change. Or take them to a snow-capped mountain if they have never seen snow.

33. A party train ride. Book a whole compartment for the two of you, or for a bunch of friends. Bring goodies and drinks for everyone and let the party begin.

34. A hike in the mountain. Hide a box with a tiny cake and a bottle of champagne in your backpack. When you reach the peak, pop open the champagne and light the candles on top of the cake (you will probably have to buy non-extinguishable candles, because mountain peaks are windy places).

35. A night in a floating bungalow.

36. A dinner themed around the country of your most recent trip together.

37. Reunite the birthday person with an old friend who has been living abroad/faraway for years. Secretly arrange the friend’s arrival and, under the guise of a casual coffee with you, make the surprise meeting happen.

38. A membership for a museum, aquarium or a science center that lines up with the person’s interests.

39. A personal horoscope (if the person is into astrology). Substitute with a personal guided meditation, a human design, a personal coaching session or anything that will suit your friend’s soul.

40. A dance lesson.

41. Horse riding at sunset along the beach.

42. A subscription to yoga classes or any other sporty activity that will keep them healthy.

43. Anything homemade, because a homemade cake or herb-infused vodka is much greater than the product itself; it shows that you put time, effort and intent into creating it.

44. A luxury first night for a budget traveler. If you have a friend who spends most of their life on the road in crappy hostels and low-grade shared rooms, you can give them a ‘voucher’ for a first night in a luxury hotel for their next trip. After 26 hours of flying and interrupted dozes in airports, they will be more than thankful for a fluffy, cloud-like pillow and a real mattress in a soundproof hotel room.

45. Premium membership for their favorite app or online subscription. This could be Spotify, Calm or whatever service they love but would never splurge on.

46. Make one of their dreams come true. Has your friend always wanted to publish a book? To record their own song? Help them make their hobby a little bit more tangible by paying for the record or the publishing service.

47. Laughter. Have any of your friends been under the weather recently? Think of a way to make them laugh a bit: buy them tickets for a stand-up comedy show, take them to a comedy movie, or just organize a meetup with a mutual friend who is known to be light-hearted and always full of creative jokes.

48. A list of 52 challenges to complete during the next year. Make them fun and creative, and remember that some of them should be goofy and silly because that’s what friends are for! Thus, your gift won’t be forgotten for an entire year (and probably much longer). Browse through our Inspiration section to get some ideas.

49. A fixed sum of money with a catch. A 100-dollar note with a different kind of note, like: “On May 17, wherever you are, you have to spend this money on something unconventional, something you wouldn’t normally do. Spoil yourself, get adventurous or do whatever you feel like in the moment”.

50. A surprise party. OK, this is a classic. But if you haven’t done it yet, it’s almost always a cool idea.

51. A test drive of a fancy sports car.

52. A short video you secretly shot for this special person during your travels. Use a basic free video editor to make it shine a bit, then give it to the person on a memory stick wrapped in a ribbon.

53. Personal gift with print 🙂

I would also add a luxury pen to create memories. Or rather to preserve memories :)

Pin it now because you never know when you are going to need a list of good gift ideas:

Creativity is very important and a big plus in many ways.
For example, see who are creative agencies and what they do. You can inspire on the website hd-room.com 🙂

The post Best gifts that are actually unforgettable experiences appeared first on 203Challenges.

Big adventures are inspiring and they are great for impressing strangers in bars, but they happen quite rarely and the gap between them can make your life feel empty and uneventful. Plus, sometimes you just can’t take a day off from work even when you’re itching to get out and do something fun.

But all hope is not lost! There are several options that you’ve probably failed to notice in your despair.

After all, on a normal working day you’re free:

• in the morning;
• during your lunch break;
• after work (including the evening).

Here are 12 ideas for mini trips and adventures that you can squeeze into these breaks. They’re exciting, Instagram-worthy (because we all crave that killer shot that gets 100+ likes) and will help your free spirit survive until the weekend comes.

#1 Organize a sunrise picnic

A sunrise picnic by the lake | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

A picnic can be so much more than eating an alfresco meal on a blanket. Simply changing the time of your picnic can completely change the experience. Leave home an hour or so before sunrise, take a flask of coffee and breakfast in a basket, then drive somewhere beautiful to greet the new day.

>>> Try more creative picnic ideas.

#2 Head outside for your morning workout

Outdoor yoga routine | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Yoga, tai chi or downhill biking – whatever your sporting passion is, try it somewhere new and exciting. Why practice your morning meditation in your living room when you can do it in a forest or a quiet park?

#3 Go ‘forest bathing’ like the Japanese

Go forest bathing | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) – the practice of walking in the forest to improve your health. The Swedes have a somewhat similar tradition called gökotta, which involves heading to a forest before sunrise to listen to the first birdsong of the morning. It’s much more exciting to tell your colleagues you practiced shinrin-yoku or gökotta instead of simply saying “I went to the park this morning.”

#4 Walk to work

Swap your daily commute for a walk to combine a healthy lifestyle, physical activity and a peaceful rebellion against big city’s pollution. It’s no coincidence that there’s a Walk to Work Day – use it as inspiration!

#5 Do something unusual in your lunch break

If you stop thinking of your lunch break as just a meal time, you’ll be able to come up with tons of amazing activities that you can squeeze into your day. If you’re struggling for inspiration, read this list of unusual lunch break ideas.

#6 Hop on your bike and ride to the nearest peak

Cycle for the sunset | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

All the sweat and pain of climbing a hill on two wheels is worth it when there’s a jaw-dropping view at the top. Take a bottle of wine and share it with your fellow mini-adventurers on a summer’s day; you can enjoy the sunlight long after work is over.

Psst. We’ve compiled a cycling playlist here.

#7 Dine on a lake shore

Dine on a lake shore | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Instead of having dinner at home or at a restaurant, grab your favorite takeaway and head to the nearest lake. Reservoirs, river banks, city ponds and fountains will also suffice if your neighborhood is lacking in lakes. Of course, lakeside meals are often interrupted by lakeside birds, so keep some crumbs at hand for your feathered friends.

#8 Book a table at a restaurant in another city

Indulging in a scrumptious meal is always a special event, no matter whether you’re abroad or at home. To make this weekday night even more special, research a good restaurant in a neighboring city and head there. Don’t forget to try the dessert of the day!

#9 Go stargazing

A blanket, a friend and a half-hour drive out of the city are the only three ingredients you need for a memorable night under the stars. If it’s August and you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can plan to see the Perseids meteor shower.

#10 Sleep in a hotel in your own city

Choose a cozy boutique hotel in your own city and treat yourself to a midweek vacation. Take advantage of all the services: the spa center, the gourmet restaurant, the rooftop bar…

#11 Go midweek camping somewhere close to your city

Go midweek camping | © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Midweek camping is so unexpectedly refreshing that once you’ve tried it, you may wonder why you’ve wasted all those years sleeping under a ceiling. It’s much easier than it sounds; you don’t need a day off and you don’t need to drive for miles. Simply read our guide: How to organize a midweek nature escape in 10 easy steps.

#12 Go on a night hike

Provided you have an acceptable mountain/hill close to where you live and there’s a trail you know like the back of your hand, you have no excuse not to put your headlamp on and head on a refreshing hike under the moonlight. Choose a night with a full moon for an extra special experience.

Featured image: © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges.com

Like these ideas? Pin them so you always have them at hand:

The post 12 midweek mini trip ideas for when you can’t take a day off appeared first on 203Challenges.

Long post alert: This story will take you 14 minutes to read but I promise you’ll laugh, cry and cringe. You can, however, skip to the practicalities at the end if you want to.

When summer hits, you know it’s going to be hot. But sometimes it’s hot and you live in an apartment with no AC and every time you get back from work, you feel like you’re entering a giant blast furnace. You start sweating as soon as you thrust the key into the keyhole. Then you open the door and you’re knocked down by an even more potent heatwave from inside. It’s at this moment that you say to yourself “Enough’s enough!”.

In short, this sweaty scenario was exactly why I decided to evacuate myself from my home for a week this August, swapping my bed for a hammock in the forest. I’m not talking about a vacation here, just a normal working week in which I began every day (well, kind of every day) by jumping out of my hammock, making a campside coffee then heading to work in my inner-city office.

By the moonlight | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Day 1 (Sunday): First hammocking

As fearless and crazy as this idea might look at first sight, I have to admit that only the latter is accurate. The truth is that I love the forest but I hate bugs. Bugs are not my friends.

The solution: I bought a portable hammock with a mosquito net from a Chinese online store. Judging its comfort and glamor, I can only compare it to a canopy bed (prices start from only $20 if you’re interested). Besides being lighter than a tent, in many countries a hammock like this can be hung in national parks and other places where camping is forbidden (anyway, if you choose to stay in remote places like these, you know what NOT to do: don’t leave your trash, don’t pick rare flowers, don’t hunt for endangered animals etc.).

So, Day 1. I set off from the city to a nearby village with Lucho – my fearless travel and life partner and personal aviation mechanic (you never know when you’re gonna need one). The full moon was as bright as a street lamp and we didn’t even need to turn our headlamps on. After 30 minutes of walking, we found a perfect piece of forest to settle down in for the night. A short while before midnight, we were having dinner under the light of the moon and the stars (oh, how romantic, you should try it!) when we heard a piercing bird call that sounded like the blood-curdling screams of a damsel in distress. That gave us the heebie-jeebies and we were forced to gulp down two shots of vodka to regain courage. Then we tucked in our sleeping bags and watched the pine tops reaching each other somewhere high above us.

The light of the full moon woke us up a few times, but it could’ve been worse if we were, let’s say, werewolves. Thank god we’re not. Despite the interruptions, the gentle whiff of pine needles on the breeze proved that sleeping in the forest was actually a genius decision!

Sunrise | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Day 2 (Monday): Lunar eclipse… almost

I spent the whole day following the weather forecast with my other fearless hiking and sleeping-in-the-forest-on-weekdays partner, Eva. The weatherman predicted heavy rain, a natural phenomenon very much at odds with our plan to scale a near 2,290-m (7500-ft) mountain peak and watch the partial lunar eclipse from there. Late in the afternoon, it started raining cats and dogs in the city, while the live cameras from the peak showed nothing better than chin-deep mud. “Let’s leave this for the weekend when we’ll watch the Perseids, too,” said Eva wisely. So we ended up peeking at the eclipse from our apartment windows, just like all the other boring city people around us.

©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Day 3 (Tuesday): Pause for a night sleeping in the blast furnace

Day 4 (Wednesday): Sleeping alone in the forest

For a third day in a row I came home thinking I’d be lazy and sleep in my bed, but things escalated. When I opened the door of my apartment a burst of scorching air burned me down and only a small pile of ashes fell on the doorstep. You imagined it. I had no choice.

10:30 pm. I took my hammock, a sleeping bag and breakfast for the next day and headed for another village close to my city. I gulped my shots of vodka early that night as this time I was going to be all by myself. It was going to be my first solo hammock night in the forest. A piece of cake! What could go wrong?!

Once I had arrived in the village, a pack of stray dogs started chasing me, which, let’s face it, was not a promising start to the night. After getting rid of the dogs, I entered the woods and 30 minutes later I found a perfect spot to hang my hammock. The air was pine-fresh and a brook was babbling somewhere nearby. What an idyll!

My hammock in the forest | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

I fell asleep almost immediately. Then, I woke up almost immediately. My sick mind was dreaming that a psychopath was leaning over me (let me remind you: I was a woman sleeping alone in the forest). As I mentioned, I’m not fearless at all, and there are worse things out there than bugs. I looked around – there was nobody, so I tamed my palpitations and fell asleep again almost immediately. Once again I woke up almost immediately after I had dreamt about another psycho. And this, my dear wannabe solo-hammocking enthusiasts, continued for the whole night! I had only one dream that didn’t involve a psycho, but it was just as terrifying: a fox took away my sandals and I had to walk barefoot back to the village.

In spite of the pines, the babbling river and the refreshing whiff of the wind, I had just endured the worst al fresco night of my life so far.

Morning coffee | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

However, I want to clarify that the night was not all psychos and sandal-loving foxes. For the first time I had the chance to really appreciate the net of the hammock. When I woke up for the last time in the morning, I saw that a forest spider had illegally used my hammock net as a base for his web. I imagined how, if it hadn’t been for the hammock net, I’d have woken up entangled in cobwebs from head to toe, with a giant spider staring directly into my eyes. Don’t judge me. I’ve seen too many thrillers in my life.

Now I’d like to take a moment to share my thoughts on meeting other people in the forest. The scariest of all encounters you can have in a dark forest at night is not a bear, a wolf or even a flock of hungry mosquitoes – it’s another human. What would a normal person be doing in the dark, more than an hour away from the nearest village? He must be a psychopath. Except for you, you are slightly adventurous but completely normal on the whole. Yet, sometimes people don’t get it and the roles swap. Especially when a father and son walk their puppy in the wood above their village at 6 in the morning and you jump out of the bushes with messy hair and bloodshot eyes because you haven’t drunk your coffee yet. Oh well, in this case you are the psycho and you can be sure that the father has squeezed the phone in his pocket ready to call 911 or, if necessary, is prepared to knock you down and drown you in the river.

Morning coffee and planning | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Day 5 (Thursday): Pause for another night sleeping in the blast furnace

Day 6 (Friday): The Perseids and sleeping on a mountain peak

I don’t want a fox to lick my nose while I sleep. I just don’t. Everybody has their irrational fears, and that’s (one of) mine. I’d bought a hammock with a net and now I was forced to sleep in a meadow (try to hang your hammock in a treeless meadow!). But being a part of a group of four (I’ve already mentioned Eva and Lucho, plus Ilko) dedicated to sleeping in the fresh air and watching the Perseid meteor shower, I decided to keep my fears to myself and daringly lie under the stars, stuffed in my sleeping bag and zipped up to the top, with only the tip of my nose poking out.

Earlier this evening, we’d hiked for more than an hour up in the mountains and had chosen a peak (1300 m/4200 ft) with a magnificent view of the surrounding area. We saw tens of blinking villages down in the valley, while the shooting stars above us were doing what they do best – they were leaving their bright trails in the sky while we were ticking off wishes from our lists. We ate dinner with no light other than the moon, laughed and ate home-grown tomatoes… And I slept like a log for the first time in a week.

For the record, no fox licked my face that night.

Day 7 (Saturday): Thunderstorm = sleeping in the blast furnace (again!)

Next days: all summer hammocking

After the first experimental nights, I’m sure sleeping in a hammock will turn into a summer tradition around these parts. Maybe it’ll go beyond summer, too. Has anyone come up with a winter hammock yet?!

Sunrise | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Q&A: Practicalities

– How do you get there?

– This challenge was completed around Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and my destinations were the villages of Zheleznitsa, Simeonovo, and Yarlovo, between 5 and 50 km (3 and 30 mi) away form the city. I used both my car and public transportation to get to the villages, then relied on my own two feet to find a sleeping spot in the forest. Regardless of where you live, you can create your own hammock map with suitable locations around your home.

– Do you shower at all?

– In general or during this adventure? Yes, I take a shower at home before I head to the office. But even if I can’t make it, I have a bathroom in the office, so this is not an issue. Anyway, sleeping in the forest is more refreshing that you’d expect.

– How early do you wake up for work?

– It depends on a bunch of factors, but I usually wake up at 6 am, make some coffee and breakfast and get to the city before the morning rush hour. It’s a well-known fact that you sleep better in the forest (unless you dream about psychos 20 times per night).

– What’s in your backpack?

– A sleeping bag, a mat, a hammock with a mosquito net, gas stove + coffee, breakfast (I usually take a few tomatoes, bread and cheese), vodka (a shot before bed to pay homage to an old tradition), water, headlamp, cup, a long-sleeve blouse (I sleep with my shorts only) and a camera.

This was one of the 5 travel challenges for August 2017, inspired by the book “203 Travel Challenges”.

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The post How I swapped my bed for a hammock this summer (and kept on going to work) appeared first on 203Challenges.

Here’s the inspiring story of Lexis Noelle and her little converted blue-bus “Lola”:

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– Who is Lexis Noelle and what does she dream of?

– My name is Lexis Noelle, I am a 19-year-old girl from New York with a strong desire to travel and explore new places. I was never the college/bookwork type so after I graduated High school I went to my mom and told her I need to do something that I’m going to love doing and sitting in school was not it. She knew who I was and what I loved so we decided since I love camping and exploring new places, why not get something that would make traveling a lot easier and fun to do! And that is where “Lola” came along. My biggest accomplishment so far was being invited by “Girl Camper“ (Janine Pettit) to be in the Rhinebeck NY, “Country Living Fair”. For years I had the “Country Living Magazine” delivered to my house and I remember flipping through the pages and looking at all the awesome décor and content they had. I never thought that “Lola” and I would be a part of the fair! Going to the fair really made me realize what I accomplished and it made me look at things so differently. Talking to women/men about why I bought a bus instead of just going to a dealer and buying a brand new camper, and what she is capable of made them look at my idea in a totally different way than they could imagine. It was a 3-day fair with a lot of questions, a lot of answers, and a lot of pictures. It was an experience I will never forget.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– Who is Lola and how (and when) did she come into your life?

– “Lola” is a 1989 Canadian blue-bird short bus that my mother and I turned into a “glamper” on wheels. I was looking around for something that would suit my needs, and would be practical for me to handle driving. After months of looking for the perfect vehicle I was giving up hope on finding the right one. I stopped looking for little bit and went online one day just to see if maybe something came up, and there she was. A light pastel little blue vintage bus with endless possibilities. I contacted the seller and he was a few blocks away from my house in the same town!!! My mother and I hopped in the car, went to his house, took her for a test drive, and the rest is history. She was mine.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– How long did it take to renovate and furnish your bus?

– My mother and I did the conversion together, being that she already had her own bus conversion. She knew how to lay a floor and do all the stuff I didn’t know how to do. She helped me with the layout and the “hard” parts and told me the rest was up to me to decorate and make my own. The conversion took about 3 months of sleepless nights, late night shopping runs, and a lot of laughs.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– What was the hardest part?

– The hardest part was choosing how I wanted my layout. What would be most practical for me, and utilizing the most space I could.

– What was the fun part?
– The fun part was definitely the decorating! I had tons of ideas and seeing those ideas come to life was amazing.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– What are the perks of living a bus life?

– The perks of living a “bus life” is escaping the everyday norm that a lot of people have a hard time separating from. Living a “bus life” means you can literally take your little home on wheels anywhere and always have a place to hangout, cook, sleep, shower, go to the bathroom in. The feeling of being able to open your back door and having a different view of wherever you go, whether it is mountains, a lake, a sunset, a beach is something you cannot even put a price on.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– What was one thing you hadn’t realized about living in a bus before you actually did it?

– Right now I am currently part time “bus life” working to save more money to be comfortable hitting the road full time in “Lola”. I travel on my weekends off and my vacation days, always with a plan to see or explore something new.

– How do you find living with so little stuff?

– One thing about “bus life” is that you seriously realize how much you don’t need. There is no better feeling than having only what you really need and not having the burden of clutter on your shoulders.

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– What’s the trip that has changed you the most?

– My trip to Rhinebeck NY has been my favorite, seeing and meeting so many people and encouraging them to think outside the box gave me such an amazing feeling. Also watching them take a inside tour of “Lola” and seeing their reactions to how a short bus can fit a kitchen, bathroom, dining room and a full sized bed and still have a ton of space to move around freely completely shocked them.

– Many people dream of breaking the routine and start living in a van or converted bus. What would you tell them?

– I would tell those people if it is something they really would love to do, then they should 100% go for it. Make sure that the vehicle you want is going to suit your needs and comfort the best, watch a ton of Youtube videos on others living this lifestyle and most important have fun with it!

Photo courtesy of Adventuring with Lola

– What’s one inspiring thing you’d share with us?

– I am beyond happy that I have “Lola” and that she came out to be exactly what I wanted. I can’t thank my mother enough for pushing me to accomplish this goal, and always motivating me to go beyond my comfort zone .

– One challenge for everyone reading this?

– Go somewhere that you’ve always drove past, biked past or even walked past and always wanted to stop and see and take pictures of but never took the time out to do

*

Follow Adventuring with Lola on Facebook and Instagram.

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The post This cute bus to camper makeover will inspire you to follow your dreams appeared first on 203Challenges.

I hate cooking when camping. I really do. For me, a day off in nature is worth it if I don’t have to cut, fry, boil or bake. But as often happens in life, when you announce in public that you hate something, in a matter of months you’re eagerly swearing by it, only vaguely remembering all the negativity you felt towards it.

So, now that I have actually started cooking when camping, I’m happy to share my favorite recipes with you. These are in my camping cookbook for one reason only – because all of them require no more than 10 minutes to prepare.

Sausage and vegetables in a pan

Sausage and vegetable meal ready in 10 minutes | Dan Edwards/Unsplash

Before you leave, cut raw sausages, onions, peppers and other seasonal vegetables, season with some oil, pepper and salt, then put everything into a disposable metal tray. Wrap in foil and keep in a cooler until it’s time to throw it on the fire.

French toast

Nothing is better than the sweet smell of coffee and French toast in the morning

Yeah, I know I said I hate frying, but the mere thought of the sweet smell of French toast with my morning coffee is so mouthwatering, that I have surrendered to it.

Tip: I beat the eggs and milk in advance and take them in a bottle or a mason jar. The first person to wake up is responsible for preparing the toast in the morning.

Cheese and cured meat

If there is something I love for a light dinner, it’s a mix of cheese and cured meat served with some fresh fruit and crackers or bread. If you cut everything in advance and pack it in a box, the preparation time drops to two seconds (opening the lid of the box).

Tabouleh salad

Tabouleh salad is filling and fresh (and quick!)

A favorite Middle Eastern treat, Tabouleh salad is ready in five minutes. You need to soak the couscous in warm or tepid water for five minutes and then mix it with chopped parsley, tomatoes, onions (peppers or mint are optional). Season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and vinegar. The couscous makes this salad filling yet fresh.

Canned bean salad

This camping classic doesn’t require a cooler. Just choose your favorite beans from a can (black, red, cannellini, chickpeas) and add spring onions, basil, olive oil, salt, fresh red pepper and lemon. (Fanfare!) You haven’t even touched a pot or a pan!

Spring potatoes and mushrooms in foil

Wrap the washed spring potatoes and mushrooms in tin foil (two or three potatoes with two or three mushrooms in a pack). Add oil, salt and pepper, or if you want something more fancy – thyme, rosemary or raisins. Put the foil packs on the grill or on embers (not over the direct fire) to stew in their delicious sauces.

Banana boats

#smores banana style. Just stuff a banana with choc and marshmallows and grill! Yummmm!!! *just learned the official name #bananaBoats !

A post shared by Camilla Luddington (@camillaluddington) on May 24, 2015 at 9:22pm PDT

Dessert is here! Without peeling the bananas, make a deep cut along their long side without entirely cutting them in two. Fill the gap with chocolate, nuts, coconut, caramel sauce, honey and other fruits… Combine your favorite flavors for a perfect dessert.

Pin it to your camping or recipes board:

The post 7 easy camping recipes ready in under 10 minutes appeared first on 203Challenges.

Sleeping under the stars is the best way to get new energy and ideas for work. You can do it after you finish work and go back to the office the next day on time. If you find the idea adventurous and absurd – it’s only because not everybody does it. But I guarantee you will have а broad grin spread across your face the next morning. I live in a busy capital and I practice this weekday escaping every summer.  

THIS MIDWEEK ESCAPE IDEA IS PERFECT FOR:

> seasons: summer, late spring, early autumn

> types of travelers: couples, friends, solo

How to do it in 10 easy steps

Here is our usual scenario: 

#1 Choose the closest mountain, forest, hill, camping site or another wild location you love. It’s important to choose a place that is within a reasonable distance from your office (personally I prefer it to be no more than an hour drive away). 

#2 After work on a summer Tuesday take the bus to the the closest wild place where you can put up a tent. If there is no public transportation, go by car or by bike.

#3 Set up the tent before dusk. It’s proven that sleeping in a tent gets your biological clock back to normal.

#4 For a boost of courage and to keep bears at bay, take a vodka/whisky shot or whatever medicine you have against bears.

#5 Start a fire and grill some sausages. Alternatively, take a look at my favorite camping recipes ready for under 10 minutes. 

#6 [Optional] Some locals from the near village come to visit, you have a drink together and they leave, and you go to sleep in you bed under the stars.

#7 Get up at 7 am, have breakfast and pack your stuff. If you have a Sherpa around, give them your bags. If not, carry them yourself, awaiting better times.

What a glorious place to be on a weekday morning!

#8 Take the bus back to the city and take a quick shower.

#9 Enter the office on time, a broad grin on your face.

#10  Everything works out even better if you happen to have a shower at your workplace. If you happen to be camping near a waterfall, you can take your morning shower there. 🙂

Here you can read a detailed story of how I swapped my bed for a hammock last summer (all done on weekdays).

All photos: © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges

The post How to organize a midweek nature escape in 10 easy steps appeared first on 203Challenges.

What research says about sleeping in a tent

Research shows that camping for a whole week reboots a person’s biological clock. The modern way of life interferes with normal sleep because of the continuous exposure to artificial light and the body’s decreased access to sunlight. All animal species on Earth have developed biological cycles connected to the sunrise and the sunset.

Scientists have found that the widespread use of electric light after 1930 impacted on our internal physiological clocks, which allows us to stay awake till much later than evolution planned for. A group of volunteers in a research study at the University of Colorado Boulder were taken camping for a week, without being allowed to use flashlights or any electronic devices. At night the only light came from the campfire. As a result, the time the volunteers went to sleep and woke up synchronized with the sunrise and the sunset and for these seven days they managed to reboot their biological clocks.

How to make camping more interesting

Bring candles to create an even more memorable atmosphere (if there is wind and it blows them out, dig small holes in the sand/soil to put the candles in). Use a flashlight to make a theater of shadows.

For seasoned travelers

Option 1: Spend the night under the stars in only a sleeping bag (especially appropriate for summer on the beach). Option 2: Sleep in a tent on a weekday evening, then go to work on time the next day (see detailed instructions how to swap your bed for a hammock on a weekday).

Featured image: © Maria Angelova/ 203challenges

The post How sleeping in a tent gets your biological clock back to normal appeared first on 203Challenges.