Experiential Traveling: Avoiding the Carnival Cruise

I'm traveling this week (not abroad, just to a different part of my home State) and have had a few thoughts about the spectrum of travel experiences in our society. I have felt for a while that traveling is an excellent way to learn. It facilitates an unusually powerful type of learning, based primarily on experiences, that can be difficult to replicate in traditional settings. In an increasingly connected, globalized world our ability to travel has improved dramatically over my lifetime alone.

While I deeply enjoy the experience, I'm also conscientious of the way I travel and how I act while traveling. As an American, I have traveled the world knowing that my presence can be acknowledged positively or negatively based on the current perception of my country. Unfortunately, politics can often dictate how people react to my presence. Moreover, I have done most of my travel (and all of my international travel) in a post 9/11 world, where I have experienced significant sentiment swings during my travels abroad during the United States' quasi-imperialist involvement in Iraq & Afganistan, during the globalization-focused Obama Administration, and, most recently, during the isolationist oriented Trump administration.

That said, I think there are some travelers, whether American or of a different nationality, that are received better than others. Traveling by what I call the "Carnival Cruise" method is an objectively shallow approach. I characterize this method of travel as a prepackaged set of experiences that apparently represents a complete picture of a society or travel destination. I chose the name as it analogous to the form of travel popularized by the cruise ship industry, but is not necessarily limited to this form of travel. One could experience Carnival Cruise travel during a trip to Iceland -- a nation rich in history and beaming with geographical diversity -- by simply visiting destinations such as Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik, and Gulfoss. Each location, in their own way, can be a great highlight of a trip to Iceland; however, it is a stretch to say that the trip is representative of all that the country has to offer. Alas, it is frequently considered to be such a comprehensive adventure.

This type of travel is misleading because it can make people think that they've experienced a new culture, society, geography, etc. when in reality they've only experienced a manufactured facade. Vitalik Buterin has made a similar comment during a podcast (Conversations with Tyler) when he stated that certain types of travel -- for example visiting just the Forbidden City in Bejing -- are better experienced through reading a Wikipedia article.

While Buterin may have been speaking in hyperbole, his comments resonated with me and are in many ways consistent with my own idealistic way of how people should travel. Yes, some travel, even if it's in the Carnival Cruise method, is better than no travel at all; that said, there are ways to learn a significant amount about a destination cheaply, efficiently, and without exuding a stereotypical American tourist presence.

I try my best to adhere to this philosophy in my personal travels and believe that it has yielded life-changing experiences. Specifically my time in South Africa, where I spent six months, I began to feel as if I were a member of the community (even if it wasn't felt by my ZA peers). I traveled with locals, lived with locals, and learned with locals in an attempt to learn by doing, not by reading or seeing a landmark. Writing this post has bubbled up feelings of nostalgia, so I'd like to share a few of my pictures. I think these pictures highlight some (definitely not all) of the vibrancy of this naturally spectacular nation.

I'd be interested to hear how others on Steemit approach travel and whether they have different views or philosophies.

Best,
Compass

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