You just shielded yourself from most interesting aspects of travel for me - diving deep into unknown, blending with locals, just wandering around without any significant clue where the heck am I. Even simple travelling like you did can be a beautiful adventure, if you don't mind a bit discomfort and uncertainty. These things are what I remember most from travelling. Cruising smoothly through any place and it fades into yet-another-something in memories over time.

Each of us seeks different things in their free time. I for example usually don't turn on phone for days during travelling.