IT'S always interesting to stop and take the travel world's pulse. As you begin thinking about where to vacation this year, it may come as a surprise to learn what others are doing.

Ordinary sites that regularly find their way onto many top ten lists seemed absent from those of globetrotters we met. They'd been replaced by the adventurous, off-beat and unusual.

Rafting down Peru's Urubamba River . . . hiking Romania's back country while headquartering in a modest farmhouse . . . chartering a sailboat and exploring the Virgin Islands . . . roaming across Tuscany at your own speed, sampling local food and wine.

Surprisingly, people doing the most exciting things often seem the most unlikely. Like the seventy-ish widow of a local radiologist who spent part of her summer in Austria's Tyrol, then flew off to Peru's Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Amazon Explorama camps and finally got dunked in the Urubamba River when her raft overturned.

"I know I should have done something like this when younger, before two knee replacements. But it was a fabulous trip and I settled into the lodge when hiking expeditions seemed too strenuous," she told me.

A world traveller, she'd been talked into the adventure by younger friends met near her Colorado vacation condo. "I'm glad they did . . . it was the kind of trip where one can pick and choose what they do. I don't intend to sit around and become an old fogy."

Did you ever notice, especially interesting people do especially interesting things? A woman who lives near us is a good example. Her village boasts one of America's highest per capita incomes. But she chooses not to be what she labels "an Alice sit-by-the-fire".

Very active in charities and church work, she also handles estate sales of prestigious homes, then arranges for what's left of their treasures to be donated to charities.

Her frequent vacation trips are never dull. The most recent one involved sharing a van with two other married couples and driving around Italy in lively style.

"It was a fabulous trip . . . we went wherever we wanted, no schedule because it was off season and easy to find great places to stay. We did a lot of unforgettable eating . . . and drinking . . . in the heart of the wine district," she said.

A retired police officer, who provides security at her estate sales, alternates between jetting off to Reno for antique car shows and travelling around Europe on package tours . . . altogether a half dozen times a year.

Then there's Dennis, a man who has truly taken the words of our ancestor Ralph Waldo Emerson to heart . . . "A man is not a man lest they be a non-conformist." Actually over-employed holding down several demanding jobs, his true love and hobby is attending farm auctions, then selling his finds to antique collectors like us.

He takes off from Wisconsin every winter from December to March 1, enjoying sun in Prescott-Sedona, Arizona and then his Baja Mexico condo before heading home. In between are stops at assorted farm auctions across the west . . . and his employers hired him with that admitted eccentric condition presented by him up front. He recently delivered a truckload of treasures to us, ranging from another horse-drawn sleigh and vintage milk wagon to an impressive assortment of antique wagon wheels and ploughs before heading west. His enthusiasm and joy for life are contagious and it's doubtful few billionaires have such a fulfilling life.

One characteristic was universally shared by all. None of these exceptionally well-travelled adventurers visited mass tourism destinations. All echoed the same sentiment: "We prefer places that have a sense of history, ones that appreciate their past and haven't bulldozed it down to be replaced by modern monstrosities."

Perhaps the biggest surprise came from a pampered cousin who had already seen much of the world before reaching 30 . . . remote destinations most people only dream about. And always in luxe comfort. Then he'd suddenly changed his ways, realised there were actually people in the world who desperately needed help and began spending part of his winter volunteering at a Guatemalan orphanage.

Owner of a large inherited business, he and his wife had such different interests, they travelled in opposite directions. One winter she flew off to, say, at Sweden's ice hotel; last year it was a reindeer market in Finland.

Lots of trips, all very unusual.

"I've just had the most fantastic travel experience ever," he enthused when we visited recently. "Where?" He and his wife had flown to Romania together where they joined a small tour of a few travellers staying at a truly rural country farm house, just eating home-cooked meals, hiking in the mountains and exploring remarkable villages unchanged by the centuries.

Plans have already been made to return next year and his level of excitement was percolating on high. "I want the farm owners to come and visit us." That should be an interesting cultural experience for them, since his residence could qualify as a Relais and Chateau.

UNEXPECTEDLY, my brother Jim's Northwestern University Law School class reunion turned out to be a surprising eye-opener. It was a gala event welcoming a dozen classes with great trays of caviar, smoked salmon and giant shrimp at the cocktail reception, followed by an excellent dinner served in the many lavishly panelled meeting rooms around the law school.

Then on to a very elaborate dessert buffet, live orchestra for dancing, and all including an open bar. The university was obviously intent on inspiring generous donors.

For certain we expected to encounter some real world travellers here. Classmate Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of Chicago's World Series champions White Sox and Chicago Bulls, gets around to a lot of games and travels to the Olympics. So does business partner Eddie Einhorn, who shared Jim's enthusiasm for college football when they were students and drove off to football games together during law school.

Reunions used to be held at the ballpark during a White Sox game, but Jim hadn't been back to one for a decade . . . we were always off somewhere else at reunion time. This year it was at the university. So we were totally unprepared to discover the stunning dull monotony of lives being led by classmates who showed up. Hopefully, ones who didn't come were off travelling somewhere exciting.

Although a number had second homes in Arizona, as does Jerry near Tucson where the team winters, their whole interest seems to be mainly arguing in court or working in back trust departments with no enthusiasm left for anything else. There were a couple of exceptions, like a classmate involved in his family bank who loved roaming the French countryside. His enthusiasm was contagious, but not exactly shared by his wife. Other wives lamented they wished their life involved more than discussion about tortes, contracts, children and grandchildren.

WOULD our bank's Christmas party be different? They invite certain customers to special events, like last winter's evening dinner party at Chicago's Field Museum for the special show featuring Jackie Kennedy's wardrobe. It was a delight, with access to the entire museum, which was closed to the general public. They're hoping to do an encore gala when King Tut's treasures arrive at the Field Museum.

This time it was at an area country club whose popular golf course is currently snowbound. The major topic of conversation was definitely not about interest rates, option futures or the stock market . . .but obviously guests were doing well in all those departments, because most seemed to be either returning from an exotic destination or about to take off for one.

"Where have you been recently" . . . "Where are you going next?" . . . "Have you ever taken the trans-Siberian train trip?" . . . "I'll bet you've been to Rio" . . . "Do you recommend it?" . . . "We're thinking of taking a cruise there."

This group seems to be in perpetual orbit and encountering them at the bank inevitably turns into an interesting travelogue. Seeking out adventurous sites seems to be an inborn part of their character.

None surpassed adventurous spirit of the very pleasant, not-so-young state supervisor renewing my driver's licence. She and her husband travelled to Kazakhstan to adopt a baby and had to spend six months there cutting through voluminous red tape while being closely observed. Last year, seriously injured Korean War survivor Herman drove the antique Ford inherited from his father all the way to California via Route 66. Not a rich man, this year he took his entire family, three children, their spouses, six grandchildren, to Hawaii, renting a beach house on Maui to celebrate his 75th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary.

Probably scariest and most ill-advised is the young Assyrian Iraqi we know seriously considering travelling to Iraq to accept a job as an interpreter at nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year tax free. No amount of talking could convince her it was horrendously dangerous and shouldn't even be considered, no matter what the salary. Her noticeably different dialect would certainly immediately identify her as Christian.

Next week: Off to Australia for the Commonwealth Games