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Travel Philosophy Musings
I enjoy adventure travel. And by adventure, I don't mean
paying someone US$200/day to prepare my lunches, supply and
carry my gear, and hold my hand as I bungee jump/mountain
bike/skydive/scuba dive. To me, adventure travel is arriving
in a village late at night with no idea where I'm staying or
even if there is a hotel. It's trying to catch a local bus
when I don't speak the language. It's being invited into
someone's home for an amazing meal when I'm lost and hungry.
It's never knowing what tomorrow will bring.
To say that I don't plan my trips is a gross understatement.
While I enjoy visiting popular destinations such as Paris,
France, Machu Picchu, Perú, and Borobodur, Indonesia, my
greatest experiences inevitably occur in the giant blank spaces
on the tourist maps; Kishuará, Perú, Ocosingo,
Mexico, Kon Tum, Vietnam. I've found that the more you hear
about a particular destination, the less likely it is that it
will reflect the culture of the country it's in. If you're
looking to see what Mexico is about, go to Malinalco, not
Acapulco.
I also have a bad habit of visiting places that people tell
me to not go. I've been to Vietnam at a time when most
Americans still see it as a taboo country,
Kashmir, India when tensions with Pakistan were brewing,
Indonesia when riots made headlines around the world, Colombia,
during the recent guerrilla warfare, and Perú during the riots
during Fujimori's reelection. Each time, I have been
pleasantly surprised at how welcoming the people have been.
Western media is very good about blowing things way out of
proportion.
The main reason I like to get off the beaten track is that
it allows me to become a human again; instead of being looked
at as a walking paycheck, I am a curiosity, quite often a
freak, but usually a welcomed guest. I get to talk to people
about their lives, about my life, all the while as equals.
Now some would counter that by going off the beaten track,
you are simply "destroying" another area by bringing in
tourism. Like cutting a new trail where many others exist, you
are treading on untrampled soil, being the very one to start
the erosion. I agree that going to less traveled areas can
change them; I call this the "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
of Travel" - it is impossible to experience what a place is
truly like, because the very process of visiting it
changes it, even if only in a small, subtle way. I believe,
however, that learning from other cultures, both for the
visitor and the host, is a positive thing. I just make sure
I follow a few rules:
Remember that I am the visitor - While I hold my own values
and principles, I need to recognize that I am in a different
culture with different values, and I need to respect them.
There are some exceptions, however, especially when it comes to
the environment. For example, no matter how foreign it may
seem, I will never just chuck my garbage out the window or into
a river (which, unfortunately, everyone in Latin America
seems to do.)
Always think in the local currency - Nothing annoys me more
than travelers who look at a price, and say, "Oh, it's only a
few dollars, who cares." Viewing financial matters in one's
own currency is not only arrogant, it creates the very
environment that I strive so hard to avoid - one where tourists
are seen solely as a source of income. I believe in paying a
fair price, even if it is a negligible amount of money to
me.
Don't expect Western conveniences - I set my living
standards based on the standards of where I am visiting. If a
local toilet means nothing more than a hole dug in the ground,
then that's what I'll use - I won't pay for a luxury hotel just
to meet Western standards of cleanliness and convenience.
Avoid special treatment - I try to avoid being treated
differently from everyone else. I take local transportation,
stay in local accomodations, eat local food. Being treated
like an equal involves being an equal. (The only exception I
can think of that I make to this rule is when my personal
health is at stake; I was thankful to be treated right away in
Kashmir when my eye was so infected that it was almost dripping
out of the socket.)
Try to speak the local language - While this is not an easy
task on a world tour through dozens of countries with dozens of
languages, even learning a few simple greetings and phrases can
go a long way to showing locals that you are a respectful
visitor.
There are as many different travel styles as there are
travelers. Some people, once they get to a place they like,
stay put for a while; a week here, a couple of weeks there,
moving only when they get tired of where they're at. I like to
be in near constant motion. I love the process of getting from
point A to point B as much as I like being at the destination.
I like to travel in "legs," whereby I arrive at one point
and travel by land to another, visiting every place in between.
This way, while I get to see popular destination spots, I also
get to see places where no one plans to visit. As a result,
I've been on more trains and buses than I can count.
Bicycling is my favorite mode of travel. It not only is
great exercise, but it commands a certain respect from locals
that no other mode of travel does. You're a curiosity, but
you're also an equal in many ways. People all over the world
can identify with biking. There is an instant connection that
transcends language and cultural boundaries.
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