May 27, 2007
The Great Truths of Travel
A few posts ago, I began devoting some of this blog to the Great Myths of Travel. There are also Great Truths of Travel -- and though they aren't equivalent to the major principles of ethics and science (the Ten Commandments are safe), they can be of big importance to your next trip. Here are the first three Great Truths of Travel (with more coming soon).
1) The less you spend, the more you enjoy. The less you spend, the more authentic is your travel experience, the more likely you are to meet typical people of the destination. You also meet a better type of traveler. In the modest B&Bs of a thousand cities, you encounter guests with a sense of adventure, an intellectual curiosity, an openness to new ideas and approaches. They are far more interesting than the pampered sorts with their stacks of luggage and arrogant demands, who flock to the first class hotels.
2) The greatest rewards of travel are had from learning vacations. The supreme activity of travel are the summer courses offered by many great universities to adults from around the world: Oxford University, University College Dublin, Cornell's Adult University, St. John's College in Santa Fe, many more that a quick look at Google will reveal. Pursuing learning for the love of learning, without grades or examinations, you use your vacation time to return to the liberal arts and improve your mind.
3) By planning in advance to meet residents of the destination, you enliven your trip. By making inquiries of your friends or associates, you can obtain the names and addresses of people at the destination who might accept an invitation to dinner or drinks. Those meetings are the highlight of any foreign trip, far more memorable than the standard sightseeing attractions.
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1) The less you spend, the more you enjoy. The less you spend, the more authentic is your travel experience, the more likely you are to meet typical people of the destination. You also meet a better type of traveler. In the modest B&Bs of a thousand cities, you encounter guests with a sense of adventure, an intellectual curiosity, an openness to new ideas and approaches. They are far more interesting than the pampered sorts with their stacks of luggage and arrogant demands, who flock to the first class hotels.
2) The greatest rewards of travel are had from learning vacations. The supreme activity of travel are the summer courses offered by many great universities to adults from around the world: Oxford University, University College Dublin, Cornell's Adult University, St. John's College in Santa Fe, many more that a quick look at Google will reveal. Pursuing learning for the love of learning, without grades or examinations, you use your vacation time to return to the liberal arts and improve your mind.
3) By planning in advance to meet residents of the destination, you enliven your trip. By making inquiries of your friends or associates, you can obtain the names and addresses of people at the destination who might accept an invitation to dinner or drinks. Those meetings are the highlight of any foreign trip, far more memorable than the standard sightseeing attractions.
Add a comment about this post.
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