Is Travel Boring Now?
The end of adventure?
In 2021 I spent a month traveling around Europe. It was a thrilling way to celebrate the end of lockdown. As we went from country to country, hotel to hotel, train to train, the only thing even remotely dramatic to happen was when I left my bag under the train seat and had to run to recover it before the train left. I had plenty of time. It was fine. But we laughed about how that would be the most adventurous thing to happen on our trip.
I have spent my entire life traveling- when I turned 18 the first thing I did was plan my first solo trip abroad. I have spent hours of my life watching travel shows, the old Michael Palin classics, Bourdain, of course, Dhani Tackles the Globe which I love so much, a really cool old travel show from the 90s about two guys retracing Marco Polo’s route. I come from a long line of travelers so I love watching these shows to dream/plan/scheme about my next trip, but you also learn so much. The world is changing constantly and there are places that Michael Palin visits in his old shows that are no longer safe to travel in, cities that look completely different as climate change has impacted them over the decades, and even just the influence of technology and globalization have changed so many destinations around the world. It has also made them really, really easy to travel in.
There is nothing I love more than being all alone in a country I have never been in that operates in a language I do not speak. It’s so exciting! It’s also less of a challenge these days. Our phones have 100 translator apps. Most places have signs in English or at the very least Spanish or French which are pretty easy to decipher and guess for anyone who went to an American high school. Every hotel is a Marriott. Everyone takes Visa. You don’t even get the thrill of changing currency as you move across Europe anymore. Everything is neat, clean, organized, safe, sanitary. The opposite of adventure. So I completely understand the rise of Extreme Tourism.
I was in London two weeks ago when the news broke of the British couple detained in Iran. They had posted on social media that they were well aware of the risks (which, to me, completely absolves the British government of any need to interfere) but they went anyways. We see this constantly. The hikers who wander into Somalia. The bros who think a trip to North Korea is a great idea. The non-scientists who chase tornadoes. And then we see the darker side: tour groups to war zones like Ukraine, tin can submarines sinking vaguely towards the Titanic, morons who keep getting arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan. People are looking for adventure, no matter how extreme or dangerous.
It makes sense. Travel is supposed to add spice to life and yet, in an age when you can find your way anywhere by just pulling up Google Maps on your phone, does it? Of course people are choosing more extreme adventure, and of course a lot of people are being really stupid about it. Humans gonna human.
There are other ways, of course. There has been a recent rise in adventure travel groups. Personally, I’m just looking for a few good adventurers to race a rickshaw across India (seriously, ping me if you’re down). You can go on a five day hike across Montenegro (another thing I would absolutely do) or do literally anything in a cave (noooooope).
Travel, as we previously knew it, is indeed a little tame, but there are adventures to be had, and you can have them without your nation’s government needing to get involved. All it takes is more money than adventures used to cost, a decent amount of time, and a desire to color just enough outside of the lines to come home with a story that doesn’t involve a hostage situation.
Choose the Bear
Today’s guest is Dr. Kimya Nuru Dennis, childfree educator and research. She has really interesting observations from her research on childfree people and her years of teaching a course about childfree adults. Such a great conversation!
What to do with yourself
Watch
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo (YouTube)- I found that Marco Polo show I was talking about! It’s a 2008 documentary about two guys’ 1993 trek around the globe!
How I Left the Opus Dei (Max)- If you don’t know about Opus Dei, you must be the only person on Earth who hasn’t read or seen The Da Vinci Code. Remedy that immediately, and then watch this documentary about the real life Opus Dei and the women who escaped it.
Longlegs (Hulu)- This movie came out and made a lot of headlines for how scary Nick Cage is. You know I love Nick. There is no bad Nick Cage movie because the movie is always good if Nick Cage is in it. You get it. Although Pig really is his true masterpiece. That being said, he was creeeeepy and weird and worth watching in Longlegs but I was not scared and I didn’t love the ending. I leave it to you to decide.
Listen
Raye Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (Spotify)- I raved about Raye’s first album, My 21st Century Blues, when it first came out and I stand by that, but this album of her performance at Montreux is absolutely bonkers it’s so good. Stream it now!
Read
A Silicon Valley Intellectual Society Kicked Them Out. Now They’re Tied to a Killing Spree.
The English Understand Wool by Helen Dewitt- This little novella is such a delight, such a charmer, such a beautiful takedown of the publishing industry, I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.