4 ms·

Whilst I agree with the underlying premise, there's a touch of what the kids are calling "privilege" these days in the blog post that's entirely unrealistic for

Whilst I agree with the underlying premise, there's a touch of what the kids are calling "privilege" these days in the blog post that's entirely unrealistic for the predominance of the world: "It is way better to spend 1 month working and living in Ethiopia than 1 month visiting all the famous attractions of the African continent." It purely depends on a few suppositions automatically being "true" for everyone: 1. People have a enough capital for such ventures. 2. People have employers who will "allow" this. 3. If not via employ, then they have enough vacation per year to do ventures like that. For expounding on point 3, take our American counterparts, whom only get something like two weeks off a year. They would have to either consume their sick leave (assuming that they even have it) to make the full month or just have the crap-shoot of the two weeks. If that's all that you get, would you rather take a chance that you'll be miserable for two weeks or would you do what all of the other cool kids are doing and just hit the main attractions because, then, at least you're doing something and you're not sandboxing yourself into possibly being miserable for the only time that you do get off for the year? Whilst the article seems to have the best intentions at heart, its perspective seems pretty myopic, when you take into consideration the grand stage of the world and the arresting details those other cultures might include - which is what I assume the intended audience of the blog is (e.g.: the world).

kalleboo 8y ago
Certainly it's a privilege. But I'd say if you HAVE that privilege and squander it, it's a massive waste. Some people seem to be showing the sentiment "people who are worse off are unable to travel, hence there can be no value or meaning in travel", and that doesn't compute to me.
netsharc 8y ago
> If that's all that you get, would you rather take a chance that you'll be miserable for two weeks or would you do what all of the other cool kids are doing and just hit the main attractions because, then, at least you're doing something and you're not sandboxing yourself into possibly being miserable for the only time that you do get off for the year? Your comment made me wonder about the artificiality of tourist destinations/activities, because when we just have a week to experience a culture, we'd probably seek the condensed version that we think will give us an understanding of said culture (I'd compare it to reading a book's plot on Wikipedia vs. reading the book). One can go to Bali and visit a traditional dance show. Is it authentic, or just something performed for the tourists? It's like hiring a prostitute and confusing that with a relationship. To answer my own question: at least the bigger/village-wide ceremonies are being done by people who really are doing something due to their traditions, not for the show: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/traditional-rituals-in-bali-you-should-know-about/ https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/tradition... I guess in the end tourism and "deep travel" as written in the article are both just a search for novelty experiences. Sure millions have been to Bali, and looked at the same temple at the same time of day (sunset); but it would be novelty to me, compared to my office job. Less people from the West have spent time living in Ethiopia and that too would be a novelty experience (meanwhile the Ethiopians are wondering what the hell the white man is raving about). Talking about the your novelty Bali experience with others who've had the same experience (novelty to each, but cookie cutter for all) does make for dull conversation. Meanwhile there are also people who don't even get to experience something new, because they're busy being documentary photo-/videographers for their little corner of social media where they're a star.

kalleboo 8y ago

Certainly it's a privilege. But I'd say if you HAVE that privilege and squander it, it's a massive waste. Some people seem to be showing the sentiment "people who are worse off are unable to travel, hence there can be no value or meaning in travel", and that doesn't compute to me.

netsharc 8y ago

> If that's all that you get, would you rather take a chance that you'll be miserable for two weeks or would you do what all of the other cool kids are doing and just hit the main attractions because, then, at least you're doing something and you're not sandboxing yourself into possibly being miserable for the only time that you do get off for the year? Your comment made me wonder about the artificiality of tourist destinations/activities, because when we just have a week to experience a culture, we'd probably seek the condensed version that we think will give us an understanding of said culture (I'd compare it to reading a book's plot on Wikipedia vs. reading the book). One can go to Bali and visit a traditional dance show. Is it authentic, or just something performed for the tourists? It's like hiring a prostitute and confusing that with a relationship. To answer my own question: at least the bigger/village-wide ceremonies are being done by people who really are doing something due to their traditions, not for the show: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/traditional-rituals-in-bali-you-should-know-about/ https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/tradition... I guess in the end tourism and "deep travel" as written in the article are both just a search for novelty experiences. Sure millions have been to Bali, and looked at the same temple at the same time of day (sunset); but it would be novelty to me, compared to my office job. Less people from the West have spent time living in Ethiopia and that too would be a novelty experience (meanwhile the Ethiopians are wondering what the hell the white man is raving about). Talking about the your novelty Bali experience with others who've had the same experience (novelty to each, but cookie cutter for all) does make for dull conversation. Meanwhile there are also people who don't even get to experience something new, because they're busy being documentary photo-/videographers for their little corner of social media where they're a star.