I was away on a holiday and came back a week ago. It usually takes me a week to recover from a holiday ha ha. Usually, I tell myself that I will write about the trip but never get around to writing it. This time, I took down notes and will update in order of the trip.
I have noticed that there are 3 kinds of travellers –
- checklist/fast
- slow
- Social media
1. Checklist/fast – Travel many places in a short span of time like 1 week. Visit all the tourist spots. The very idea of this stresses me out and makes me not want to go on a holiday. Most people I know fall under this category.
2. Slow – Travel to 1 place at a time for a week to a month. Like to soak in the culture of 1 place. Preferably avoid tourist spots (or are quick with it). I belong to this category. Crowds irritate me. Running around like a chicken with a head cut off irritates me. When I am on a holiday, I like to feel that I am on a holiday aka no schedule or running around.
Also, I love to analyse every single place I visit and am constantly comparing everything with other cities and countries. Another reason, I need more time to observe.
3. Social media – Don’t give a shit about the place they are travelling to. It’s all about being seen and shopping. I know lots of people under this category too. Information levels before and after travel are exactly the same. Before I knew this, I used to assume that people who travel a lot are more broad minded and have had more exposure. Now, I know not to judge a person by the stamps on their passport. Some of the narrowest minded people I have met are those who have travelled to so many countries.
What kind of travel do you prefer?
I am a slow traveler, seeing fewer places, investing lot of time and most of the times missing out on the touristy places (mainly because I find them overcrowded with people too busy with taking pictures). But I have never had the opportunity to go out on a vacation for longer than a week, never been so free, though I’d love to 🙂
I couldn’t agree more on the point that many people who’ve traveled far and wide have no positive impact of all that travelling and no knowledge about the cultures they’ve visited.
I also much prefer the second option, but unfortunately I don’t have that many days off from full-time work. Because of that, I visit most places (mostly Europe) for just weekend or 3-5 days. I visit the main attractions (or tourist sites) if they are really important like Colosseum in Rome, but I also do some research beforehand on places outside of the general tourist area to get the local feel, and try to explore those areas. I rarely go to museums or anywhere indoors. I prefer outdoors, and appreciating the architecture from outside, and simply walking on the streets, observing and enjoying. Maybe in the future I will have more free days from work to spend more time at places when traveling. 🙂