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I'm not sure about overtourism, but just got back from a trip to Europe. Almost the exact same countries as a trip 13 years ago. The difference was AMAZING. Tec
by ijidak 8y ago
I'm not sure about overtourism, but just got back from a trip to Europe. Almost the exact same countries as a trip 13 years ago. The difference was AMAZING. Technology has made traveling so easy by comparison it's SHOCKING.
1. No more staring at signs and menus in confusion. Snap a picture with Google translate and viola.
2. Related to #1, no more getting lost using public transit or walking because you can't read street signs. Google Maps with walking directions, transit directions was a LIFE-CHANGER.
3. No more being LIMITED to phrases in your phrasebook. Again, Google translate.
4. No more worries about being taken advantage of by local taxis or figuring out local taxi customs. Uber and Uber clones.
5. No more getting trapped at tourist trap restaurants or overpriced "officially" reviewed restaurants. Google search again.
6. Waze can help you navigate to the most secluded spots, even when the local signs become sparse.
I could keep going...
Actually, it's amazing how much it was Google and local clones of Uber. Yelp and Uber aren't as popular in the countries we visited as I expected.
Honestly it was almost a little too easy, in some ways I didn't feel like I was in a foreign land... I felt at total ease in any neighborhood, because even if no taxis were around, just hail a ride.
Rented a car multiple times and drove around because Waze was great everywhere if Google Maps broke down.
Overall I LOVED that technology has made experiencing a foreign country almost trivially easy.
Technology absolutely lowers many barriers to travel.
The difference between this trip and my last trip was unbelievable.
- Piskvorrr 8y ago6. Waze can help you navigate to the most secluded spots, even when the local signs become sparse. ...and then you can complain on FB how many people are on that supposedly "secluded" spot. Surprise: technological innovation applies to them as well. Indeed, technology removes many bottlenecks...but as we should know here on HN, all that ever did was expose other bottlenecks elsewhere in the pipeline - and physical scarcity is a far harder bottleneck than knowledge imbalance.
- growlist 8y agoThe danger is of course that your tech bubble distances you from the place you are visiting, resulting in a duller experience.
- sergioj97 8y agoI can't see how any of that advantages would result in a duller experience.
- jononor 8y agoFollowing walking directions on your phone that are optimized for efficiency makes chance of running into nice places and other suprises off the beaten path less likely. Likewise for planning each and every meal via reviews. Google translate might mean that you don't even try to learn the basics of a local language.
- saiya-jin 8y agoYou 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.
- petsagouris 8y agoI am glad you enjoyed the trip. Check your commentary again and replace the word "technology" with the word "Google" rightfully so.
- tpm 8y agofoursquare is pretty popular in parts of Europe for restaurant reviews (Yelp is used for that in the US?)
- atlasunshrugged 8y agoIs foursquare still popular? I just moved to Estonia (American from SF) and I feel like I see many more people using general Google reviews than foursquare or Yelp
- brightball 8y agoI’m finishing my first ever 2 week trip to Europe and I agree with everything. I wasn’t brave enough to rent a car on this trip though.