Bolivia is often described as the “Tibet of the Americas,” a moniker that hints at its high-altitude isolation and spiritual depth. It’s even been known as the rugged heart of the Andes; it is the “sleeping giant” of luxury travel. To understand Bolivia’s allure, one must first look at its foundations, during the times of the Tiwanaku Empire, an advanced civilization that flourished around Lake Titicaca for nearly a millennium. By the 15th century, the region became part of the Inca Empire. Fast forward a few centuries, and we come to the Spanish seeing Bolivia as a literal silver mine. When the winds of independence swept through South America in 1825, the new nation was named after its liberator, Simón Bolívar.
For a long time, Bolivia seen as not ready because the infrastructure couldn’t match its ambition. However, the new luxury traveler is destined for Bolivia. From Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia’s crown jewel, the world’s largest salt flat, to the world’s highest administrative capital, a transformation has occurred.
Beyond luxury hotel experiences, and historic education, the most noticeable transformation is the gastronomy scene. Led by restaurants like Gustu, the city has become a pilgrimage site for “foodie” travelers. The focus is on “KM 0” philosophy (This belief prioritizes the belief that ingriedients in a particular location have traveled the shortest distance possible from their point of origin). This means using only Bolivian ingredients, from Amazonian fruits to Andean tubers, served in sophisticated, high-design settings. This is a key tenant in sustainable food. By sourcing food nearby, restaurants drastically reduce the carbon emissions associated with long-haul shipping, air freight, and refrigerated trucking. It also minimizes the need for plastic packaging and preservatives meant to keep produce “fresh” during weeks of travel.
Bolivia is the sleeping giant because it doesn’t try to mimic more established destinations. Its luxury is “rough”—it requires a willingness to embrace the surreal. But for those who have “seen it all,” the this is the ultimate modern indulgence.
Welcome back to a journey within. As we continue our new year of discovery, we are honored to continue Mahen’s Alphabet of Emotional Intelligence.
First launched last January, this series remains a vital part of Mahen’s enduring legacy, exploring the inner landscapes that shape how we experience the world. Join us as we continue our trek through the alphabet, uncovering the emotional tools that continue to enrich our travels and our lives.
Q – Quest – meaning “search” or “inquiry” or “to seek”
The biggest Quest to learn anything is curiosity. If we are curious about something, we will go and dig. The longest journey is the journey inwards. A Quest is a journey or search to find something important or valuable. It involves facing challenges and growing as a person. A Quest can also mean seeking personal or spiritual fulfillment. It represents pursuing dreams and goals, often requiring effort and perseverance. The journey often leads to personal transformation and growth. A Quest is about seeking something meaningful and the journey that comes with it.
Life is a Quest not a Question, a mystery not a problem, and the difference is vast. The problem has to be solved, can be solved, must be solved, but the mystery is unsolvable; it has to be lived, experienced. The Question has to be solved so that it disappears; encountering a mystery, we have to dissolve in it. The mystery remains, we disappear. It is a totally different experience.
In essence, “Quest” can be understood as a journey or mission where one is actively searching, inquiring, or seeking out something of significance, whether it be knowledge, truth, an object, or an experience. The concept of a Quest is often tied to narratives of adventure and personal growth, where the seeker learns and evolves through the challenges encountered along the way.
Stay tuned for Letter R
Recently, I had the honor of being in the company of some of the brightest minds in sustainability, attending the Virtuoso Impact Summit in the breathtaking city of Madrid and all it has to offer. This was not a conference of the conventional type, rather it has evolved into a think tank. This was the second annual collective, dedicated to purpose-driven luxury travel, bringing together roughly 100 of the industry’s most influential voices to the intersection where luxury and sustainability merge.
Sharing the stage with thought leaders from Shaikha Al Nowais, Secretary General of UN Tourism; and Nathan Lump, Editor in Chief of National Geographic; to Vittoria Ferragamo speaking on regenerative agriculture, was certainly a high water mark.
I especially loved sharing data from our proprietary travel job creation algorithm which took a year to complete, along the recent studies by leading universities on the positive health effects responsible travel has on our bodies, was a true joy.
Now it wasn’t all work. Madrid had a vibe to it, so much so that I was literally suggesting to one of my colleagues to actually move there! I know, what was I thinking….
Enjoy the video!
At Big Five Tours & Expeditions we pour ourselves and our data into quantifiable progress on the sustainable travel front, showing clear positive KPI results that justify the business case for responsible journeys.
I was thinking back to a conversation about a blog titled “The Currency of Our Souls,” an idea often shared by Big Five. It speaks to the notion that we don’t truly measure a journey in miles traveled, but rather in the depth of the stories and experiences we bring home. It made me ask do we really understand the true meaning of Holi? Do we know what it actually feels like to stand in the middle of it?
In the West, Holi is known as the “festival of colors,” a convenient photo op. Yet when we look at it through a deeper lens, the one that seeks the road less traveled, Holi reveals itself as something far more profound. It is the very definition of emotional intelligence.
Growing up, there was always this sense that the world had rigid lines. Rich and poor, resident and guest, sacred and profane, good and evil. Based on current events at the time of this publishing, it seems those rigid lines are darker and more defined. As we Indians celebrated Holi this week, those defined boxes that try to paralyze us were at the top of my mind. You see, Holi is the day India decides those lines no longer exist. When the first handful of paint hits you, it’s not just powder; it’s an invitation to shed your ego. As the bright colors blur every face into a singular, vibrant canvas, you realize that under the pigment, we are all chasing the same light.
The story really begins the night before, with traditional bonfires which still happen in the interior communities, like the village in Gujarat my family comes from. Standing there, watching the sparks drift toward the stars, you feel the weight of the past year burning away, along with any worries you have that induce manufactured stress. It’s a purification. that moment where the old self stops and the new journey begins. From the spiritual essence of Holi, we have to look past the colors and into the fire. See India’s spirituality is much more than a puja on the banks of the River Ganges, it is a rebirth of who we are as beings.
At the heart of the festival lies the story of Devi Holika and the young prince, Prahlad – a powerful allegory of the inner struggle between ego and the divine. It tells of the power-hungry king Hiranyakashipu, who demanded the world to worship him as a god vs. his son, Prahlad, who remained unwavering in his devotion to Lord Vishnu. (Anyone who has visited Angkor Wat may recall that this magnificent 12th-century temple was originally dedicated to Vishnu.) Infuriated by this “rebellion” of faith, the king turned to his sister, Holika (the Devi from whom the festival takes its name). Holika possessed a mystical cloth that made her immune to fire.
The plan was simple and cruel: she would sit in a roaring bonfire with Prahlad on her lap, ensuring the boy’s demise while she remained untouched. As the flames rose, a miracle occurred. The cloth that protected Holika, flew off her shoulders and draped itself over the innocent Prahlad. Holika, despite her divine gift, was consumed by the flames, while Prahlad emerged from the ash unscathed, chanting the name of the Divine. This is a powerful lesson about faith and humility is it not? Almost every elder grandparent told a version of this to their grandchildren as my grandmother told me when I visited her in Sudan as a child.
Back to the festival. By the next morning, the streets are a riot of “Bura na mano, Holi hai” – a phrase that translates to “don’t be offended,” but really means “let go.” You don’t have to be Indian to know what this feels like. Imagine any of your travels, perhaps a journey you are on right now. You are in a small village where a group of children, laughing with a kind of pure, unadulterated joy, turn your clean freshly laundered and pressed clothes into a map of their own happiness. In that moment, you are not a traveler observing a culture. You are part of the story.
We in the travel industry know that travel, at its best, is about these “out-of-the-box” solutions for the human spirit. Holi isn’t just a celebration of spring; it’s a celebration of the fact that, regardless of where we come from, we all have the capacity to be painted by joy. Something I think the world needs to understand now more than ever.
