A Philosophy of Travel
Traveling to learn and learning to travel
Greetings, everyone! I’ve lapsed in posting because I’ve been traveling and haven’t figured out yet how to write productively while I’m on the go.
Tomorrow I fly back to the States after a couple weeks in the Philippines and Vietnam. Whenever I go abroad, it’s a welcome trespass against my boundary-identities, a personal test of endurance to be out of my comfort zone, and a realization of my determination to be open to the many and varied ways of living as a human on this planet. — And yet, people are people wherever you go. For the most part, they are lovely.
— I will except the two older gentlemen tricycle scammers who took us 3 blocks yesterday for VND ₫250,000 each (about USD $10), when they clearly said it would be ₫50,000. All part of the experience. Live and learn!
After leaving academia, I worked for a while as a wannabe travel advisor until I learned that most advisors book travel for Caribbean and Mexican resorts, including destination weddings, for luxury travelers via “FIT” (Flexible Independent Travel), or for inter-generational groups. I’m not a beach person, and while I’ve been on a few intergenerational bus tours in Europe with my extended family, these are not my preferred modes. I like slow travel, living as much as possible like a local, figuring out how to navigate public transportation, shopping and eating on a strict budget. Plus walking, walking, walking everywhere to get a sense of place and people.
I read up on history, geography, and culture. I love to browse street markets and bookstores. If I do touristy things, I prefer secondary or tertiary sites, or locations that domestic travelers themselves go.1 I travel to learn — and I want to learn to travel well. I have no real desire to collect “experiences” of places — just say No to bucket lists! My goal is to stretch to accommodate what’s around me, and to try hard to see beyond whatever’s become habitual and mundane at home.
After the pandemic, I was enthusiastic about the travel industry becoming more sustainable as it built back after collapse. The absolute best part of my short official stint in travel was that I learned a ton about the industry. For example, I was astonished to learn of the importance of travel, tourism, and hospitality for growing the economies of so many developing and developed countries alike. The statistics show something like 10% of global GDP — up to 70, 80, or 90% for some countries! — and 1 in 11 jobs worldwide.2 And yet, the quantity of resources consumed by western tourists is scandalous — water, energy, real estate — along with a concomitant generation of waste. Both overtourism and undertourism are massive global problems, quite apart from the carbon emissions of long haul air travel. Profits from tourism often go to national governments and to international hotel and tour groups, rather than to local or regional communities, which bear the brunt of infrastructure, employment, and environmental impacts. It’s true that roads and utilities may be improved, and tourist-focused restaurants, shops, and services do expand, offering training and work to locals. But as in so many industries, there is exploitation, and economic and educational benefits are not equitably distributed. Local cultures, neighborhoods, and ways of life are disrupted in the attempt to give tourists what they demand.
So what are some principles that might go to make up a philosophy of travel for lifelong learners?
It might be as simple — and flexible — as keeping track of four things.
Where?
Just as lifelong learners as readers gradually identify their favorite books, authors, and genres — their personal canon — savvy travelers gradually find their favorite countries, destinations, and neighborhoods, the places with which they “resonate” most and find themselves growing into, learning languages, geography, history, and cultural lifeways.
Perhaps special places come from one’s family, parents, or heritage. Maybe they are visited during one’s youth or college via backpacking or language learning. Sports interests, business opportunities, even religious commitments, direct one to parts of the world that can become like second homes if you let them.
Or maybe one’s special places are completely domestic, one’s home region!
“It is more eye-opening to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.”
~ Dong Qichang
读万卷书不如行万里路
Rather than seek to cover a world map with pushpins stuck into destinations worth barely a stopover, why not explore a given region or country thoroughly, getting to know it beyond superficialities?
What are your paradigm places? What’s your personal canon of places?
When?
Finding time to travel well is a challenge for everyone with a full time job, especially if there is no opportunity to work remotely. Students, retirees, the self-employed, online entrepreneurs, digital nomads, tourism industry professionals, and the like all have many opportunities. But even people who are employed full time can take a travel sabbatical. Families with young or teenage children can consider world schooling for a year, a travel version of homeschooling. Expats, of course, work full time onsite but in a non-domestic location. It can be done!
Establishing a home base and exploring via day trips is recommended for savvy travelers who don’t want to be rushing around on an organized tour — or laying on a beach at a resort. There are numerous resources dedicated to a digital nomad lifestyle or slow travel. Travel bloggers can present a first glimpse to see what’s out there. Search based on desired destination, possibly adding “sustainable travel” as a modifier or a special interest such as history, architecture, environmental conservation. Do beware the “get rich quick” vibe of some of bloggers. You can also check out relevant Substacks, reddit channels, and expat communities.3
Logistics
Skylar at The Daily Grog published an insightful post today on his “suitcase algorithm,” concluding that serendipity — rather than an exhaustively researched and planned schedule — is the most valuable kind of travel for a well-heeled millennial. I’m not of the millennial generation, but I can understand the temptation toward staying at a trendy Airbnb and tasting one’s way around a city as a foodie. Cuisines and food cultures outside the US are well worth immersing in. Online travel tools make it possible to escape old-fashioned hotel and group tour-centric travel.
Figuring out travel logistics deserves several posts in its own right, and I won’t get into that here. A lot has to do with budget. Suffice to say it takes practice to figure out a travel style and pace that works for you. Returning to favored destinations makes everything much easier over time. I tend to plan minimally. I book major flights and a first week of lodging. I’ll research currency, mobile phone needs (charging and internet), climate-weather so I know what to pack, and the local transportation (subway, buses, taxi or car service). Short haul flights and intercity trains may need to be booked in advance, especially during national holidays or to reduce expense. Learning to use local apps is literally the ticket to efficient exploration.
I carry a water purifying bottle at all times. For my celiac condition, scoping out gluten free eating options is essential. Beyond that, I don’t do a lot of pre-planning. As mentioned, I start by walking, walking, walking around — and I happen upon everything of interest from there, keeping my phone in hand for maps, Google translate, and search. If you have even a few words of the local language, you can communicate surprisingly well: Hello, Thank you, Please, Excuse me.
Learning Before, During, After
Because I travel to learn and prioritize learning to travel better, most of my travel preparation centers around research and reading. I peruse maps, study geography, practice a few phrases (or go deeper and try to learn the language of my canonical places), and read history. Museums and major landmarks, including architectural monuments, take on greater significance if you have a sense of a people’s past. Browsing local and regional news helps get a sense of country politics, culture, and economics.
It’s impossible to get an authentic sense of a place until you actually go there, so educational travel sorts into three natural phases: before you travel, during your trip, and after you return home. Keeping a travel journal helps with remembering details later. After returning home, “re-entry” can be intense, especially if you’ve been traveling for a while. Don’t hesitate to give yourself mental and emotional space to process.
Today, in fact, I’m using my pre-departure day to start reflecting a bit before heading home.
One way to decrease overtourism in a destination is to encourage visits to secondary or tertiary sites first, before visitors spend less time at the top draw. For example, there are many secondary temple sites in Cambodia where one could visit first to learn about Khmer culture and religion — and then go to Angkor Wat for a shorter visit. I learned this technique from Randy Durband at GSTC (the Global Sustainable Tourism Council).
Explore tourism industry statistics at Our World in Data; the WTTC (including research hub); UNWTO; and Statistica.
My sister and I are planning a trip to Istanbul right now, and I found this post so helpful as we go about preparing!
I have a particular soft spot for central Europe, from Poland down to Hungary and Romania, from the Adriatic to the Carpathian mountains. So much history, romanticism and old Europe. I'm attracted to the cities and towns tourists don't think about, rather than head straight to Prague (for example) I'd find out the name of the 6th largest city in Czechia and go there.
I'm going to Hong Kong next year and am preparing by reading about the city's history and as much HK-related fiction I can find. Also learning a handful of phrases in Cantonese, it's important for me to at least be able to say 'hello', 'thank you', 'good bye' etc as a way of showing some respect to the locals.