Authentic Travels I Iuliana Marchian

For a long time, Facebook was where I shared my writing.

But over the years, I started feeling that some experiences simply don't belong inside an algorithm-driven feed. They need more space; more context; more silence. They deserve to be read slowly, not skimmed between ads and endless scrolling.

That's why last year I created the Authentic Travels publication on Substack.

It isn't a travel blog, and it isn't a self-help newsletter.

It's a place where I explore how movement, places, cultures, and the environments we choose shape who we become - not through dramatic breakthroughs, but through the quiet accumulation of lived experience.

If you're new there, here's what you'll find.

- Letters on the Road are longer reflective essays written from places that leave a lasting imprint. They're not about destinations or itineraries, but about what changes when you spend enough time somewhere to let the place work on you.

- Field Recordings are exactly what they sound like: observations collected in the field. They capture the character of a place: its rhythm, atmosphere, contradictions, details, and the subtle ways different environments influence the people who move through them.

- Notes on the Road are shorter reflections. Small observations from everyday life, moments of presence, movement, sensory awareness, and the quiet integration that often happens between the larger stories.

Together, these three forms of writing explore the same question from different angles: "How do places shape us, and how can intentional travel become a practice of living more consciously, more freely, and more authentically?"

If that question resonates with you, I'd love to have you there.

https://authentictravels.substack.com/

P.S. I'm not leaving Facebook. I'll still be here sometimes, but much of my longer writing has found a new home on Substack. I wanted a space where ideas could breathe without having to compete with algorithms, engagement tricks, or the pressure to make every thought fit into a few seconds of attention.

Authentic Travels | Iuliana Marchian | Substack Notes and reflections on intentional DIY travel as a lived practice of reconnection to self, autonomy, and inner integration. Click to read Authentic Travels, by Iuliana Marchian, a Substack publication.

Summer holidays are something many of us look forward to all year. But have you ever noticed how quickly that feeling disappears once you're back home?

I don't think it's because the holiday was too short. I think it's because we often spend our holidays following someone else's rhythm instead of making room for our own - A guide. A schedule. A group. A list of places we "have to" see.

What if even part of your trip reflected what you genuinely needed?

A slower morning. A quiet café. A walk by the sea. A little more space to breathe. - Those small choices are often the ones we remember long after the holiday ends.

If this idea resonates with you, I've joined the Slow Tides Beach Bundle, where you'll find my free guide A Different Way to Go from Feeling Confused to Finding Your Voice and Direction Using an Intentional Day Trip Near Your Hometown, together with many other thoughtful resources.

🔗 Get it here: https://zylvie.com/michelelefler/p/slowtides26?r=authentictravels

Finding your own way doesn't happen only in life; it happens in travel first.

Some places don't let you stay passive. They ask you to observe more carefully, adapt more often, and solve small problems that no one can solve for you. What seems like a simple lunch, a ferry crossing, or finding the right route quietly becomes part of something much bigger.

Moving through Malé, Vilimalé, and Hulhumalé during Ramadan — between suspended ferries, closed restaurant windows, changing transport schedules, and conversations with locals — I find myself relying less on certainty and more on observation. Every small adjustment becomes another reminder that the road rarely gives you ready-made answers.

"Travel challenges accelerate change in your life because they put you in front of many different situations where you have to adapt, change, listen to yourself, and choose what works best for you."

Part of the Letters on the Road series, written while exploring Malé, Vilimalé, and Hulhumalé in the Maldives during Ramadan — about adaptation, small victories, and how finding your own way gradually becomes a way of trusting yourself.

👉 Read here: https://authentictravels.substack.com/p/between-suspended-ferries-and-closed-windows-in-ramadan

Almost thirteen years ago, I felt a persistent pull to start traveling on my own. Looking back, I realized something that had never occurred to me before: I had spent years reflecting on how travel transformed my life, but I had never stopped to ask where that very first impulse came from.

Today, I believe we often get stuck because we want certainty before taking the first step. We want to know the whole path before we begin. But what if we're only called to see the next step? What if that recurring desire, curiosity, or quiet pull isn't random after all?

I'll be sharing this story in my talk, "What Following the Pull to Travel Taught Me About Trusting God's Guidance," at the God-Made & Resilient Summit.

If you'd like to join me, you can register here:

https://event.sharonadikpe.com/gmr-summit?ref=iuliana

And if you want, come to the live after-party too. I'll be there, happy to continue the conversation over a glass of wine and answer your questions.