One of the things I do when I've sick of work but have a lot to do is browse travel sites while waiting on the server to respond. A few weeks ago I got an email with a link to a blog about what influences your travel decisions. It asked a panel of travel bloggers if nationality, gender, age or religion was the highest consideration when making a choice about your next trip.
Interesting. What influences my travel decisions? At least nationality (I don't go where there's violence against Americans or the US Gvt says I can't go) and gender. I do like to travel by myself, but I like to go places where I can get by speaking English and where women are basically equals in society when traveling solo. And I especially like to go where I can visit with someone I know some of the time. Luckily age hasn't been a limitation for me yet. But I do feel an urgency to visit as much of the world as possible as soon as possible. I really regret not traveling around when I was "young and carefree" and willing to stay in questionable hotels/hostels. Right now I really like having airline tickets to mark the beginning and end of an adventure and at least a place to stay the first night. During my pondering about religion and my trips, I had a funny a-ha moment where I realized I have probably crossed that line from being religious to not -- and that is still uncomfortable to say. A different blog perhaps. But even back when I still fooled myself into thinking I was religious, I would be fascinated to see other religions and their influence on culture...but probably not enough to make it the deciding factor for a trip.
So after I'd thought about what influences my travel, I read the rest of the blog. Honestly, that took me a few days -- probably 2 weeks, if I were to tell the truth. And more than half of it was last night sitting on the couch with Iggy's new iPad waiting for him to finish whatever he was doing so we could watch a movie.
Most of the travelers in the blog are truly independent and sound like they would never consider stooping to a pre-arranged tour. I am 90% sure that if I traveled enough then I would be the same way. But several years ago I took a tour bus trip of ...er... the UK or Great Britain? Great Britain (we didn't see any of Ireland -- a regretful omission). Granted, other than one grandson, myself and my companion were the only ones under 50 on the bus. So while I had a great time, I'd like to save those trips for when I am a senior citizen. Much like the panelist Michael Schneider. He and his wife are in their 60s and still doing "strenuous" travel (he mentioned kayaking and hiking recently) -- and will consider beaches and cruises later! I hope to be writing that blog (or whatever new-fangled thing replaces blogs) in a couple decades!
The panelists would probably turn up their noses at my all-inclusive resort vacation this year too. (Or at least delay it until they were 70.) But in my life even that has its place now. That Mexico trip was probably one of my favorites (even without the wedding, but having everyone cater to or defer to me for that probably fed my ego more than I care to admit). It was so cool to have all the families and friends meet each other in a neutral site. It was nice to take the "turf" and some of the obligation and the "timeframe" out of the picture. No one was really there long enough to figure out those areas where I know they'd disagree (respectfully, of course) and everyone was free to do different activities but to hang out when they wanted to. I like to think everyone got something for themselves out of the trip -- even if I did force them to spend their hard-earned vacation days and $ on a place and time of my choosing. Iggy and I have a "stay 5 days and get 3 days free coupon" for the anniversary of our trip. So we're likely to do a repeat all-inclusive stay next year.
One of the most interesting comments was at the end and was on gender (which most panelists seemed to admit was at least an unconscious or unwilling consideration). It is (sadly) still easier to be respected as a man in basically any culture. Regarding that, one panelist (Wade Shepard) said, "I am surely missing something." Think about that for a minute. By itself the quote could be saying that he's missing out on the experience of living in the world as a woman. But, I admit, that quote is a little out of context. It comes after a paragraph on how he's observed his wife being treated when he's not with her -- and how it would be disprectful to *the man* to treat the woman like that if she were with a man. (!!! Do NOT get me started!) The whole quote is "This stuff [cat-calls, ass-grabs, propositions, etc.] does not happen when I am around, and it is my impression that women may travel in a very different world than I. I am surely missing something."
I love the sentence on it's own for the double meaning. But I also like what he's saying...
One panelist (Dave) says he alternates extremes on his trips. This is a fascinating idea. Like one time I could go on a humanitarian trip to an African country to help build a schoolhouse then the next time I could go to a Scandinavian country for a week of indulgence and spa treatments. Poverty then luxury. Giving back then selfishly taking. Both sound fun to me. I probably do this to a lesser degree on a subconscious level since I really enjoy variety, new experiences and learning.
Another panelist had an interesting comment on the concept of novelty. Nellie Huang is from Singapore and her partner is from Spain. So traveling to the Mediterranean or north Africa might feel exotic for her, but would be ho-hum for her traveling companion. Likewise Indonesia or Asia might not feel as exotic to her as it would for someone else. Along with this as a consideration for me comes comfort zone. Being a military brat made me comfortable in situations where I couldn't understand a word being said. Not that I like it. But it doesn't freak me out. It didn't occur to me until traveling with someone outside of my family that this might bother other people. I remember once in Switzerland after 4 or 5 days of making the effort to use my high-school French on signs and when with people when they'd stop me in the street to ask directions (a huge compliment that they didn't just assume I was a foreigner) just wanting someone to talk American (not English) and to have a diet Coke (not a Coca Cola light) and have a McDonald's hamburger (something I rarely crave when in the States). So I get the comfort zone thing. But it doesn't happen to me on day one. And the next morning after my Swiss-induced homesickness, I was ready for whatever came my way even if it involved butchering the French language some more and some odd food (with the exception of "Chinese Fondue").
The most interesting panelist to me was Angelina Hart. She has this concept of raising "global children" and takes her daughters on what I would consider atypical trips. Would most moms consider taking their daughters to Iran? Especially when they were under 10 years old? Wow. Seriously. I wanted to be 10 and be her daughter. And then I wondered who the daughters hang out with. I remember coming back to the States from Greece (not nearly as unusual) and not having much in common with the kids here. Of course, her daughters live in the US and just visit other countries so maybe those are apples and oranges, so to speak. But an interesting goal -- to raise global children.
In the end I am cognizant of my jealousy of these people and their lives. I can't wait for my next trip, but at the moment I have too much to consciously plan it (obviously my priorities are out of whack). But I indulge myself with a minute at a time here and there on my non-work computer while chained to my desk...and dream about river cruises through Eastern European countries or a Nile cruise and some time pretending to be Agatha Christie on a dig in Egypt. Or visiting Casablanca. Or Antarctica. Or...
The panelists would probably turn up their noses at my all-inclusive resort vacation this year too. (Or at least delay it until they were 70.) But in my life even that has its place now. That Mexico trip was probably one of my favorites (even without the wedding, but having everyone cater to or defer to me for that probably fed my ego more than I care to admit). It was so cool to have all the families and friends meet each other in a neutral site. It was nice to take the "turf" and some of the obligation and the "timeframe" out of the picture. No one was really there long enough to figure out those areas where I know they'd disagree (respectfully, of course) and everyone was free to do different activities but to hang out when they wanted to. I like to think everyone got something for themselves out of the trip -- even if I did force them to spend their hard-earned vacation days and $ on a place and time of my choosing. Iggy and I have a "stay 5 days and get 3 days free coupon" for the anniversary of our trip. So we're likely to do a repeat all-inclusive stay next year.
One of the most interesting comments was at the end and was on gender (which most panelists seemed to admit was at least an unconscious or unwilling consideration). It is (sadly) still easier to be respected as a man in basically any culture. Regarding that, one panelist (Wade Shepard) said, "I am surely missing something." Think about that for a minute. By itself the quote could be saying that he's missing out on the experience of living in the world as a woman. But, I admit, that quote is a little out of context. It comes after a paragraph on how he's observed his wife being treated when he's not with her -- and how it would be disprectful to *the man* to treat the woman like that if she were with a man. (!!! Do NOT get me started!) The whole quote is "This stuff [cat-calls, ass-grabs, propositions, etc.] does not happen when I am around, and it is my impression that women may travel in a very different world than I. I am surely missing something."
I love the sentence on it's own for the double meaning. But I also like what he's saying...
One panelist (Dave) says he alternates extremes on his trips. This is a fascinating idea. Like one time I could go on a humanitarian trip to an African country to help build a schoolhouse then the next time I could go to a Scandinavian country for a week of indulgence and spa treatments. Poverty then luxury. Giving back then selfishly taking. Both sound fun to me. I probably do this to a lesser degree on a subconscious level since I really enjoy variety, new experiences and learning.
Another panelist had an interesting comment on the concept of novelty. Nellie Huang is from Singapore and her partner is from Spain. So traveling to the Mediterranean or north Africa might feel exotic for her, but would be ho-hum for her traveling companion. Likewise Indonesia or Asia might not feel as exotic to her as it would for someone else. Along with this as a consideration for me comes comfort zone. Being a military brat made me comfortable in situations where I couldn't understand a word being said. Not that I like it. But it doesn't freak me out. It didn't occur to me until traveling with someone outside of my family that this might bother other people. I remember once in Switzerland after 4 or 5 days of making the effort to use my high-school French on signs and when with people when they'd stop me in the street to ask directions (a huge compliment that they didn't just assume I was a foreigner) just wanting someone to talk American (not English) and to have a diet Coke (not a Coca Cola light) and have a McDonald's hamburger (something I rarely crave when in the States). So I get the comfort zone thing. But it doesn't happen to me on day one. And the next morning after my Swiss-induced homesickness, I was ready for whatever came my way even if it involved butchering the French language some more and some odd food (with the exception of "Chinese Fondue").
The most interesting panelist to me was Angelina Hart. She has this concept of raising "global children" and takes her daughters on what I would consider atypical trips. Would most moms consider taking their daughters to Iran? Especially when they were under 10 years old? Wow. Seriously. I wanted to be 10 and be her daughter. And then I wondered who the daughters hang out with. I remember coming back to the States from Greece (not nearly as unusual) and not having much in common with the kids here. Of course, her daughters live in the US and just visit other countries so maybe those are apples and oranges, so to speak. But an interesting goal -- to raise global children.
In the end I am cognizant of my jealousy of these people and their lives. I can't wait for my next trip, but at the moment I have too much to consciously plan it (obviously my priorities are out of whack). But I indulge myself with a minute at a time here and there on my non-work computer while chained to my desk...and dream about river cruises through Eastern European countries or a Nile cruise and some time pretending to be Agatha Christie on a dig in Egypt. Or visiting Casablanca. Or Antarctica. Or...
