Do You Really Like to Travel?

[Sue J]

Sue, I think you will enjoy China more than you expect. First of all, it’s where DDIL grew up, so your visit will help you to understand her outlook on life. If you are nervous about meeting her family, think how anxious they must feel! Second, there is so much to see and do, particularly if you like history. Third, the food is wonderful. And the shopping.......

About the food......

DDIL is back in China for a few months to work. Our son went there for a 2.5 week visit. They took a trip to Chengdu, Sichuan (Sichuan = Szechuan) for a reunion with her college friends. Our son is one of the more adventurous eaters in our family and he told us that even he could hardly handle the spicy food in Chengdu. EVERYTHING was very spicy and he even got food poisoning from something cooked in an outdoor market.

I don't eat anything spicier than salt and pepper. I just don't enjoy it.

They had a really good time at the Panda Breeding Center and he enjoyed the Bullet Train, although 15 hours from Chengdu to Beijing was very long!

He also took a side trip by himself to Taipei, Taiwan and he really liked it. He's able to navigate public transit by himself as enough is posted in English.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Just as one minor example; earlier this year in Krakow we explored outside what is 'the general tourist area', and encountered a teenager (maybe 16-17) on a skateboard. He spoke English, we chatted for a while and he gave us some pointers on places we could visit.

He took off, (it appeared he had somewhere he had to get to), and then turned around, came back, with some more ideas.

He was very friendly, helpful, and didn't appear to want us to get the hell out.

I'm sure you enjoyed his suggestions, too.

 

[W2R]

No traveling for me, except local, say 1 to 2 hrs.
Between airline and TSA BS and having lived nearly 20 years out of a duffle bag cured my travelitis.

+1 Not out of a duffle bag in my case, but after a childhood of international traveling half the time, followed by being a Navy wife and moving every couple of years, and then having to travel within the US at least once a month or so for work, travel became extremely tedious for me too. In retirement I wanted the new and exciting adventure of actually establishing a real home and being part of a hometown community. People do that? Who knew.

Other than our 2-3 day Hurricane Isaac evacuation to Eustis, Alabama in 2012, we haven't been more than 5 miles from home since we retired 8 years ago. Couldn't be happier about that fact.


In the unlikely event that I should get the urge to travel, we can go across the bridge to the other side of the Mississippi ("the West Bank" of New Orleans), which I haven't done for about 18 years. Meanwhile we are still not done with exploring the East Bank.

 

[Nemo2]

I'm sure you enjoyed his suggestions, too.

Indeed....areas a little off the grid.

There was also a back alley fruit store in Genoa that I nicknamed "The Don't Touch Shop" because the owner didn't allow people to handle the merchandise.....until....I realized he was an Arab and greeted him in Arabic.....from then on it was "Look at my wedding photo on the wall" and "Choose what you want".

And the lady with the Border Collie at the Genoa train station waiting for her relatives to arrive from out of town....and..and...and.

People like to make connections....and I find it hard to believe they all want us to get the hell out.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Indeed....areas a little off the grid.

There was also a back alley fruit store in Genoa that I nicknamed "The Don't Touch Shop" because the owner didn't allow people to handle the merchandise.....until....I realized he was an Arab and greeted him in Arabic.....from then on it was "Look at my wedding photo on the wall" and "Choose what you want".

And the lady with the Border Collie at the Genoa train station waiting for her relatives to arrive from out of town....and..and...and.

People like to make connections....and I find it hard to believe they all want us to get the hell out.

Yes, we talk to the locals all the time too and compared photos of our dogs with some nice Glaswegians this spring in a tourist pub. That's different than invading their local territory. But don't you think Arab fruit vendor probably did want you to get the hell out until you spoke Arabic to him and presumably bought some fruit from him (which I believe was Ha's point)? So cool that you could do that, btw--we try out all the words we can remember, at least please and thank you, and maximum bowing in Japan.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't get Ha's point. We enjoy meeting and chatting with foreign visitors here. Just as we enjoy chatting with locals and other visitors overseas.

Travel has been part of the human condition since prehistoric times. There have always been wanderers. Some people like to wander, others don't.

And I'm sure there have always been folks who don't like anyone not local appearing in their area. Maybe they don't like a bunch of the locals either, LOL!

I can't imagine staying home all year even if I ever had all my chores done. But obviously others feel differently.

Overall, I think that mass leisure travel is a giant con-job on residents of affluent countries. Most of the fine things that leisure travel is supposed to do are actually impossible.

I think people actually like to travel because it is a strongly favored social statement, and it gets one away from what is frequently a boring existence at home. Plus, when you are far way from home you don't notice all the chores needing to be done.

 

[Sunset]

Travel is not a priority for me. .....

That said, today I applied for a Passport. I've never had one, never needed one and if I had a desire to travel there are 50 beautiful states that could satisfy any travel need I had.

.....

Depending upon where in the US you live, you might have needed the passport just to fly locally in 2018. So good thing you got it before the rush.

TSA to stop accepting some states' driver licenses for flights - Business Insider

 

[Nemo2]

But don't you think Arab fruit vendor probably did want you to get the hell out until you spoke Arabic to him and presumably bought some fruit from him (which I believe was Ha's point)?

We'd been there about three times beforehand, and this was how he spoke to everybody, primarily locals since it was in an out of the way back alley......but from then on we were 'best buds'.

To extrapolate the original point, you could posit that every store owner/worker in one's own town wants you to buy stuff and get the hell out.

 

[Hermit]

I haven't done much traveling for traveling sake since I retired four years ago. I did one trip to Virginia for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. I really do not like flying at all and it certainly had not improved on that last flight. International travel does not interest me much. At times I struggle to find a word I want to use in English and hearing problems do not help the situation either. I am seriously considering a new pickup and a slide-in camper. That kind of traveling might suit me just fine. If I go to Texas, that will be pretty close to a foreign language for me. That truck will have to wait until the house is completed. I hope that happens before I get too old for a camper!

 

[audreyh1]

To extrapolate the original point, you could posit that every store owner/worker in one's own town wants you to buy stuff and get the hell out.

Yep.

 

[Meadbh]

To extrapolate the original point, you could posit that every store owner/worker in one's own town wants you to buy stuff and get the hell out.

Whoever believes that has never been to Ireland!

 

[Danmar]

I enjoy travel as do all my friends. Obviously some more than others. What I really enjoy about it is the creation of wonderful (to me) memories. Especially bringing friends and family who couldn’t afford it and seeing their reactions to what is usually pretty luxurious places.

 

[Bestwifeever]

...
To extrapolate the original point, you could posit that every store owner/worker in one's own town wants you to buy stuff and get the hell out.

I rest my case

But seriously, have you never felt like you were out of place or intruding into other people's areas--perhaps not in a bad way, but even as an object of curiosity? That's amazing if so. We were in a little gasthaus way off the beaten path this summer with another American couple and the silence when we walked in and ordered lunch was palpable. We were quite friendly and respectful (and pretended we were Canadians ). I and the other guy ordered the local specialty, and if DH had been the one to order it, the locals would still be laughing at him as he found out he is not a big fan of the boiled Schlachtschüssel.

 

[Nemo2]

Whoever believes that has never been to Ireland!

Some of the little shops in Ireland you may as well bring your own chair because you're going to be there a while.

 

[audreyh1]

I rest my case

But seriously, have you never felt like you were out of place or intruding into other people's areas--perhaps not in a bad way, but even as an object of curiosity? That's amazing if so. We were in a little gasthaus way off the beaten path this summer with another American couple and the silence when we walked in and ordered lunch was palpable. We were quite friendly and respectful (and pretended we were Canadians ). I and the other guy ordered the local specialty, and if DH had been the one to order it, the locals would still be laughing at him as he found out he is not a big fan of the boiled Schlachtschüssel.

What's wrong with being the object of curiosity? Heck - here in the States with our nylon clothes and Tilly hats we occasionally get double takes except for at home where the typical "birders uniform" is easily recognized.

And yeah - there was high price gasoline that summer we spent on the West Coast and our TX auto plates really stood out (might also have been that horned lizard design), because there were so few out of state autos. We seemed a bit more conspicuous than usual.

One WA person asked if the "Keep Texas Wild" motto on the Texas Conservation plate was so we could shoot everything. Maybe they thought it was promoting a return to the Wild West outlaw days.

Having grown up overseas, and now a minority anglo in our neck of the woods, I have usually felt "out of place".

 

[Nemo2]

have you never felt like you were out of place

Like walking into a Hells Angels bar wearing Bandidos colors?

(1965, Hammersmith, London......Irish area...two of us both 6', stopping over on our way to Canada from Australia.....both wearing tan raincoats...walked into a pub. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop...they figured we were cops.....until we spoke...then it was as if an 'on' switch had been thrown.)

I'm 75 years old...I've been 'out of place' my entire life.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Perhaps my skin isn't as thick as it should be, and my comfort zone re coming across as patronizing to the locals is too small.

 

[mpeirce]

I love the accidental interactions with local people.

I was in my 20's traveling on a train in Germany on business. It was a few hours trip. For the first hour or so the German gentleman sharing the space with me was quiet. At one point he asked if I liked German chocolate. Yes I did! He got some out and shared it with with me and started telling me a story about how he when he was a child after the war the nice GIs shared their Hershey Bars with him. We had a really nice chat that afternoon. I remember it still.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

While we went on small family trips to places in Western Canada and the US, travel didn't really appeal to me in my youth. It wasn't until I started working and was assigned to a few overseas projects when it kind of opened my eyes.

I'm not immune to ticking off travel experiences and enjoying the hedonism but travel for me is more about being a conduit for ongoing learning and challenging myself.

I love the planning and executing part of travel. I find it an opportunity to learn about something and they trying to apply it; be it language, local customs, how to use the local transit system, etc.

Sometimes you meet some nice people, have some really great conversation, and share with each other your perspectives and experiences in life. I try not to judge and it's been interesting to hear what people have to say about their first hand experience with a particular situation. [Trying not be specific here to avoid some controversial topics!] It's also interesting to see how things are done differently elsewhere and why.
But I agree that unless you have a good grasp of the local language, it's almost impossible to get full context. It's kind of fun trying to bridge the language barrier sometimes.

I'm a somewhat picky eater but I love discovering new things to eat and be inspired to attempt to replicate flavours, dishes, and cooking techniques at home for my enjoyment.

I'm starting to dislike long hours a the plane cramped in economy though.

 

[Nemo2]

Perhaps my skin isn't as thick as it should be, and my comfort zone re coming across as patronizing to the locals is too small.

I'm not sure why you'd feel that you were patronizing people by talking to them.......I keep thinking of past encounters....last time I was in Sri Lanka, (1985), got talking to the guy who was managing a small rural motel like inn in the middle of nowhere.....turned out he'd worked in Saudi too...we had a great time exchanging Saudi stories.

People are people.....they like to talk, they like to feel that you appreciate their stories, and if you make even a fleeting connection you both have another tale to tell.

 

[audreyh1]

Perhaps my skin isn't as thick as it should be, and my comfort zone re coming across as patronizing to the locals is too small.

You are worried about coming across as patronizing?

I just try to be polite.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I am always polite, but I do believe perceptions may be different in other cultures. YMMV.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

*Imagined Order: Even if I change my personal perspective, the multitudes of others that have not seen the light will continue with the same perspective. I become someone that simply raises an eyebrow.

One thing I do try to spend time on in retirement is trying to think about what we really enjoy vs. what we been conditioned to think is enjoyable from a lifetime exposure of billions of dollars of advertising.

 

[Luck_Club]

Took time to unpack this

This post is intended to be thought provoking. Feel free to skip it if you don't have the time or inclination to noodle on weird philosophical crap. The ideas and quote are from a book "Sapiens".

Travel seems like something that is "inter-subjective".

Objective phenomenon is something that exists, whether humans buy-in or not. Like gravity.

Subjective phenomenon is something that exists for one person. That person can change their mind and it's gone.

Inter-Subjective things are things like fiat currencies...we all believe, and because we do, they have value.



*Imagined Order: Even if I change my personal perspective, the multitudes of others that have not seen the light will continue with the same perspective. I become someone that simply raises an eyebrow.

Philosophically Travel exists and has value, as an experience for the same reason the pyramids were built "EGO".

 

[audreyh1]

I am always polite, but I do believe perceptions may be different in other cultures. YMMV.

Unknowable. An individuals vary within cultures. I have been exposed to a lot of cultures in my life. You just do the best you can and not worry about the rest!