Travel broadens the mind - And other lies you can tell mutts for tourism bux.

[NevskyProspekt]

Yes, it does. However, you can't go with the mindset of a tourist, and visiting a place on google is nowhere near the same experience as doing it in real life. If you do visit a touristy place (especially ones around major historical sites) I recommend getting a local guide who can give you a more authentic cultural experience than the commercialized touristic facade. Of course you're going to run into cultural differences, despite people having similar desires everywhere. Those cultural differences however are one of the things that make the world interesting - and I don't mean that in a globohomo 'let's turn everybody into a beige mass' multiculturalism. Distinct, deep-seated cultures are really fascinating to encounter. The United States, despite its great internal variety, is still a bubble, and I think more Americans need to travel beyond their own borders. Sometimes it helps to look at the country from the outside. It shatters the mental box we put ourselves in.

 

[Amber the Hedgehog]

Yes, it does. However, you can't go with the mindset of a tourist, and visiting a place on google is nowhere near the same experience as doing it in real life. If you do visit a touristy place (especially ones around major historical sites) I recommend getting a local guide who can give you a more authentic cultural experience than the commercialized touristic facade. Of course you're going to run into cultural differences, despite people having similar desires everywhere. Those cultural differences however are one of the things that make the world interesting - and I don't mean that in a globohomo 'let's turn everybody into a beige mass' multiculturalism. Distinct, deep-seated cultures are really fascinating to encounter. The United States, despite its great internal variety, is still a bubble, and I think more Americans need to travel beyond their own borders. Sometimes it helps to look at the country from the outside. It shatters the mental box we put ourselves in.

I think the big difference is if you have real contact with locals. My best traveling experiences near or far have always involved having someone there to show you the ropes. For example it can be hard to figure out where to get good food, let alone food you like in reasonable price. Someone who lives there knows the difference between tourist traps and what locals like to do. Even if you go to a tourist thing they can point out what to pay attention to and what is not worth of your time and money. Especially if they know where you are from they show how this place is different and what cool thing is here but not where I live. Sometimes this leads into mundane but entertaining things like showing off grocery store or telling how german people take care of their cars.

 

[NevskyProspekt]

I think the big difference is if you have real contact with locals. My best traveling experiences near or far have always involved having someone there to show you the ropes. For example it can be hard to figure out where to get good food, let alone food you like in reasonable price. Someone who lives there knows the difference between tourist traps and what locals like to do. Even if you go to a tourist thing they can point out what to pay attention to and what is not worth of your time and money. Especially if they know where you are from they show how this place is different and what cool thing is here but not where I live. Sometimes this leads into mundane but entertaining things like showing off grocery store or telling how german people take care of their cars.

This is absolutely true. The best way to travel is with a local you build rapport with. There *are* affordable places to shop and eat even in the big touristy historical areas, you just have to find somebody to point you in the right direction. The food is often quite better at the local-frequented eateries anyway. The little cultural quirks of each place are often the most interesting. The beauty is in the details, and you can't get that from a computer screen.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Google does its damndest to pretend Paris is still a prestine clean beautiful place

Ideal Paris is like "Lumiose City" in the pocketmons X and Y games.

Seems real Paris is yet another example of the failures of leftism.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Ideal Paris is like "Lumiose City" in the pocketmons X and Y games.

Seems real Paris is yet another example of the failures of leftism.

Does real life Paris also brick my save file if I do something stupid like save my game outdoors?

 

[Sailor Kim Jong Moon]

WHEN PEOPLE SAY THEY LIKE TO TRAVEL

THEY ARE SAYING THEY LIKE TO VACATION

Traveling fucking sucks. It just does. Airports, busses, taxis, exhaustion, nasty hotels, weird countries with gross food… who the fuck likes it? No one.

People like beaches and Instagram photos.

You’re not unique u dumb hoe because u like vacation. Go live love laugh your ass off somewhere far away from me

 

[Screamer]

It depends on what kind of travel you do.

It gives you a greater sense of other countries being real people.
You also see that people can be happy living lives which from afar look bad by our standards.
As well as seeing that not all cultures are the same. I think a lot of people just assume culture is superficial. How life is here is some default way of being. When it's not the case at all.

These perspectives and others put me at odds with both left and right-wing people who haven't travelled to the extent I have.

 

[MightyMorphin'Willbender]

I literally only wish to travel to see/eat/experience something unusual; harmful experiences obviously excluded.

So no thanks I don't really want to eat with the locals who 85% of the time just eat some bland dish with ingredients I'm already familiar with lol
no offense to chicken/rice/tomatoes/peppers/etc but gimme that gimmicky fermented shark on my travels pls
I'm not even that picky just don't come at me with "bruh look at this noodle/stew/rice/roast dish so ethnic so trad" unless it actually got something going on
Gotta agree that hanging out in grocery shops (and other places the locals shop) is a top tier travelling activity. You learn so much by actively studying design choices in everyday objects.

I am also mostly uninterested in going to see anything I can easily look up on the internet.
The only exception is nature; wherever I go I must also dip my toes in natural bodies of water.

 

[Biggusstickus]

You can broaden your mind just by working in an office dealing with customers and co-workers, to see the dregs humanity can offer. Just as how talking to your neighbors can bring a light to the misanthropy.

 

[Biggusstickus]

Sounds like it'll enrich my penis. Good enough for me.

Traveling to a neighboring country to barfly and hook up with some local whore won't enrich your culture.

Hey you two don't be dicks.

 

[Finder]

It depends, I've traveled an almost unbelievable amount for work. I really don't think you can get anything of value from the normal one or two week holiday most people take.

In that short time span you can only manage to fit in some of the touristy, planned, if not outright sanitized experiences. It's not enough time to learn the area, see things off the beaten trail, meet locals, or anything else.

From personal experience I think the sweet spot is 1-2 months, but that's not practical for 99% of people.

When people say they want to experience another culture they generally only mean they want to eat different food and have different background scenery. You can't really experience another place unless you make some effort to integrate into it.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

A lot of girls like to travel for sex tourism. They go on pre-planned tours, eat bland versions of the local food, and then fuck the local men. Nobody at home will find out that they fucked a dozen guys when ~finding herself~. Personal experience of traveling with friends.

I’ve done a fair amount of traveling but I burned myself out of it. It’s a fun experience to see something new and different. I’d just go on the subway, bus, tram, etc. and wander around all day. Towards the end of the week or ten days I’d spend traveling, I was ready to go back to Burgerland.

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

It depends on what you get out of it.
When I went to Costa Rica, that was an absolute blast. Yeah we did tourism shit, but man the food, surfing, wildlife, cool people, it was just a great time.
However, when I went to California it kind of fucking sucked and wasn’t worth the drive.
And also, I know it’s a typical white guy thing to say but I do really want to go East to Asia. My man is Vietnamese and he was telling me about the food and all the fun shit you can do for cheap, and that does sound like something to do.