How many countries have you been to? What’s your favorite
place you have visited? When is your next trip? As a traveler these questions
come up often. Living in Doha, these come up almost daily. Recently I have been
really struggling with the idea of global travel. Mostly I have been hung up on
the following questions:
- Why do people travel?
- How do you get an authentic experience while traveling?
A recent article I read prompted this post. It was titled
“When Tourism Turns into Narcissism”. You can find it here:
I have met a lot of the “characters” described in the
article. There’s the backpacker who spends 3 months in a country staying in
their hostel all day to save money but is out every night partying to
“experience the culture”. Or there are the individuals whose world travels take
them from one five star resort to the next, rarely leaving the grounds.
This leads into the question of “Why do people travel?”. This
is likely different for each person. I like to think people travel to expand
their global understanding. To help them relate to people that are different
than them. To experience a culture different than their own. But I feel it is
becoming more common that travel has become fashionable. That people are using
travel as a way to prove that they are cultured and globally aware by virtue of
how many countries they have been to. People start to look for quantity of
experiences over quality. We all have done it. Take out the passport, flip
through the stamps, and admire the great work you have done getting around the
globe. I am not saying this is wrong, but is there something more?
The challenge is, how do you get an authentic experience
while traveling? While many of us would love to visit a country for 6 months,
do a homestay, learn the local language, and live an entirely new life, we
don’t often get that opportunity. I once had this conversation with a friend
trying to figure out the best way to travel and he responded with, “it depends
how you want to see the world.” If you want to do a partying tour through
Europe to experience the diversity of nightlife, great! If you are a foodie and
want to eat your way through South East Asia, fantastic. If you are a football
fan and want to visit stadiums in each country you visit, go for it. You need
to pick the lens from which you view the world. Getting that authentic
experience is a challenge. The best way I have found is to connect with someone
who lives in the country. A friend of a friend, a couch surfer, a trusted tour
guide, etc. Don’t rely on the mainstream travel books, although they can be a
good start.
I often reflect on my own reasons for traveling and if I am
making the most of these incredible opportunities. Being the “fit in as much as
you can” traveler that I am, I often don’t do cities/countries justice when I
visit (read the last post about Munich/Salzburg as an example). But I do like
to think that while I am there I am seeking ways to avoid only mainstream
sights and find the heart of the place I am visiting. Would love to hear people’s
thoughts on this and how they frame it for themselves. Lots of questions, no
easy answers. But keep exploring and always push to make the most of each
experience.
