4 ms·
This is a very enjoyable and well-written article, and it makes a good point - The nature of travel, and everything you do while you're travelling, is so epheme
by mindwok 3y ago
This is a very enjoyable and well-written article, and it makes a good point - The nature of travel, and everything you do while you're travelling, is so ephemeral that it really does nothing for establishing or communicating your identity. The people you spend your time with, the sights you see, the food you eat... you are doing all of it because of novelty, not because you've made a deliberate choice. Doing something once on a trip is easy. Doing something as part of your regular routine at home... That's different, and that's who you really are.
That being said, the idea that people don't change when they travel is, I think, wrong. Someone changing fundamentally on a 2 week summer holiday? Unlikely. But I've had friends go off on long solo trips and they almost always come back having learned some pretty significant things about themselves.
- tyingq 3y agoA 2-week summer holiday used to have more impact than it does now. Prior to the internet, and back when long-distance calls were expensive, it did force some amount of change. Practical concerns made you disconnect from work, friends, etc, more than you do today.
- pydry 3y agotl;dr Woman went on holiday to the UAE (a Disneyland for the rich) and declared travel to not be a meaningful.... because too many people do it now and the experiences became a commodity. I think it's an indirect commentary on how travel no longer confers status: the plebians ruined it.
- mindwok 3y agoI think there's more to it than that. I have definitely observed a group of people who consider themselves 'travellers', and there does seem to be this societal aura around travel as if it's an achievement. I think the author is just asking the question... Why?