More on Travel in a postModern World

Last week I posted some thoughts on travel and tourism in the postModern world thanks to the book Marco Polo Didn't Go There by Rolf Potts. Since I love to travel and experience different ideas, cultures, etc. I have been taking a mental journey in this whole idea. One of the things that Potts talks about is the difference between those travelers with backpacks, the ones who are supposedly getting a more "real" experience and the tourists.

On the surface it's a simple distinction: tourists leave home to escape the world while travelers leave home to experience the world. -Rolf Potts, p. 8.

He doesn't accept that idea and throughout the book by retelling his own stories he shows that this isn't the case. Everyone who leaves their "home" and travels somewhere else brings their own baggage with them. They see through the eyes of their own cultural and personal experiences. There's not much we can do about that. He expertly exposes his own naivete and says, in essence, that we are all bound in one way or another by our lives and expectations and simple ways of our lives.

Regardless of one's budget, itinerary and choice of luggage, the act of travel is still, at its essence, a consumer experience. (p.8)

I may deal with some of this when I blog about my recent vacation to a resort in Mexico, the ultimate in the consumer travel experience (kind of like a cruise on land.) Did that mean my life wasn't impacted by the travel. Of course not. I think Potts shows that we are all affected when we leave home and travel. If we are open to it, it can always be an enriching and important experience. But more about that later.

Potts does a wonderful job with his stories. If you like travel writing, look for it. It is fun.