A while ago I had a very animated conversation with one of my favorite girlfriends. We talked about tourists we came across during traveling and how they behave. It really keeps surprising us how ignorant some people can be and we came to the conclusion that traveling is an art that not everyone understands. You could almost say traveling is a talent. Some of us have it and others don’t.
Let me explain…
According to the dictionary traveling is to move from place to place, to make a journey. You could say flying to Italy and back is traveling, which is correct in theory. But in my opinion traveling is not about reaching the destination itself. It’s about what you do when you arrive there. Traveling is not arriving at your hotel and never leave its pool or the nearby beach. That’s just taking a vacation without showing any interest in the destination’s culture, nature, people, … Which is perfectly fine, but it’s not traveling!
Traveling is exploring places and discovering new things. There’s always something to see or do everywhere in the world. No matter where you go. You just have to take the effort to get some information. Whether it’s at home weeks before departure or at the destination itself, you will always find things to see or do. Don’t ever tell me “There was nothing to see, so we stayed at the hotel”. Because I know it just means “We were too lazy or weren’t interested”. I’d rather accept you saying “I didn’t care” in stead of acting as if there really wasn’t anything interesting. I go crazy when people act like they know it all and don’t ever step outside the hotel. As if a hotel is the best place to represent a country or culture.
So why is traveling a talent? Because apparently there are people who don’t know how to prepare themselves, find information, book trips, explore places or move around in foreign countries. They ask “Could you send me the details of where you are going because I want to go to that country as well.” I think that’s weird in the world of Google / Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest / Findery. How do they think I get my information? Just type in the question you have in Google and you have your answers in 2 seconds! Also; who says you’ll love the same places as I do? Maybe you’re more interested in other things to do there? Then you’ll miss them because you didn’t do the effort to Google? Of course there’s nothing wrong with asking for recommendations and I would happily share them. But some people apparently aren’t able to find the information they need and arrive at places not knowing what to do or see!
So here’s some advice:
– Ask Google all the questions you have
– Create bucket lists on Pinterest
– Join groups on Facebook regarding the place of interest
– Look for tags on Instagram that link to the places you want to go and find beautiful unknown places
– Visit Findery to find some personal stories
– Check various booking sites to compare prices before making reservations
– Read travel blogs and travel guides
– Take a map and see what’s there
Another thing I can’t understand is people who expect to eat the same things they eat at home. Or who express loudly how strange those local habits are. If you can’t respect local culture, please stay at home and stop criticizing as if your way is the only way! People who don’t respect rules such as no tresspassing or no flash photography really make me want to punch someone. (and I’m really not an aggressive person!)
So traveling is a talent because only those who know how to appreciate the small things can do it the right way. People who enjoy local dishes, take the time to explore places, adapt to the local ways of living, show interest. They respect every aspect of this new place they are exploring. It’s not about expensive hotels with private pools. It’s about never being at the hotel because you’re too eager to know what’s around the corner.
If you don’t own the travel talent, that’s fine. Nothing wrong with that! But please don’t ever tell me “there was nothing to see” as if you’re the expert ever again! Because I’ll probably slap you! 😉
Idd!