Is travel just an expensive fetish?

[grkBoy]

I wish I could travel. Alas, I have only traveled once or twice in my life.

 

But then again, I am still young.

 

Patience...I really didn't start traveling more until I hit my 30s.

[xoxoDaniellexoxo]

yeah a Mafia style velour sweatsuit actually makes sense-why bother with pride in such a horrible place that makes us all rats.

Haha I'm not rocking one of those lol!! I usually am in black yoga pants, a tee shirt and a hoodie in case I get cold, I also forgot I want to go to Madagascar, I want to see a Lemur and I want to see a Fossa in person so freakin bad, I have random bucket list items!

[Disillusioned]

Like my great-grandmother used to say, people it hell want ice wottah!

[EasyHeart]

I'd always thought "travel" was a strange hobby. I can see being interested in a certain kind of history and wanting to see relevant historical sites, or wanting to visit the places your family came from, but I never understood the notion of just wanting to see places for the sake of seeing them (or being able to say you saw them).

 

The other thing I'm sure you've noticed is that it's extremely rare to find any (heterosexual) men who say "I love to travel!", but pretty much every single woman claims it as a hobby.

 

Then I ran across an article that explained it all. It turns out that women are wired to seek out men who are genetically different from them and the easiest way to do that is to travel away from your home area (which, at least in the olden days, was full of relatives). So now whenever I hear a woman say "I love to travel", I translate it to mean "I crave foreign sperm!"

Edited September 5, 2011 by EasyHeart

[carhill]

One of these days: Iceland.

 

Hey, if a guy with eight kids can make it to Africa, I'll let you know the next time we find a 'deal' to Reykjavik. The last one was about sixty bucks all in out of JFK. Such 'deals' (mistake fares) are how I've done a good bit of my international travel. Last one was to New Zealand, Wellington to be precise.

 

Traveling, as a 'hobby', has opened up a sideline business of sorts, managing other people's miles and points as well as brokering 'deals' in barter for other things. Not to mention if one is always finding deals for people in far flung locales as well as being good company, there's always a welcoming bed and bar whenever one happens to visit.

 

What constantly amazes me is the very young people, even teenagers, who travel all over the world alone. It's like nothing to them. I can only imagine having such a childhood.

[FitChick]

Every man I've ever dated, usually British, has loved to travel. Europe is only a hop, skip and a jump away for them. They were all educated, intelligent and curious about the world and people in it. Travel broadens the mind and brings a better understanding of human nature. I've noticed that most people who never leave their home town are among the most narrow minded. They fear change. I like to experience things for myself and not go by other people's opinions.

 

The only drawbacks are the expense and the invasion of privacy.

[SillyS]

I don't like traveling, I enjoy being in different places than where I reside always. You can meet people you wouldn't otherwise, see different ways of life, and most importantly you can leave after a week/day or month.

 

It's very therapeutic to visit a different place for me, and I wish more people would put themselves in situations where they could experience more of the planet during their lifetimes.

[Disillusioned]

I don't like traveling, I enjoy being in different places than where I reside always. You can meet people you wouldn't otherwise, see different ways of life, and most importantly you can leave after a week/day or month.

 

It's very therapeutic to visit a different place for me, and I wish more people would put themselves in situations where they could experience more of the planet during their lifetimes.

 

I agree. Probably the only things we don't have within 100 miles of Los Angeles are fjords and icebergs, but if you've ever hiked the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway all the way to Mt. San Jacinto in spring, you just can't get excited over the Swiss Alps or the Andes. The deserts around L.A. have some of the same things you'll only find in the Middle East, and we've got just about every kind of wog, slope, and honyock from other countries living here, if meeting people is your thing.

[Disillusioned]

So now whenever I hear a woman say "I love to travel", I translate it to mean "I crave foreign sperm!"

 

Hmm... must be women's way of making up for the rule that says they're not allowed to make the first move when a new guy is around.

[xoxoDaniellexoxo]

Hmm... must be women's way of making up for the rule that says they're not allowed to make the first move when a new guy is around.

 

Lol that quote made me laugh!! I am not gonna lie though if I ever saw Hugh Jackman in Australia I would pass out because he is pretty goregous, first time I saw him in X-men I was a teen and had a huge crush on him lol. I don't know how many guys though I will see when we are camped out in the outback reasearching venemous snakes and kangaroos. I admit that I would be paying more attention to the snakes though, I love them and think they are awesome but I don't want to be bitten by one of them.

[Star Gazer]

I'd always thought "travel" was a strange hobby. I can see being interested in a certain kind of history and wanting to see relevant historical sites, or wanting to visit the places your family came from, but I never understood the notion of just wanting to see places for the sake of seeing them (or being able to say you saw them).

 

Spoken like someone who doesn't travel or doesn't enjoy it. Going to a foreign land isn't just about seeing a place you've never seen.

[xoxoDaniellexoxo]

Spoken like someone who doesn't travel or doesn't enjoy it. Going to a foreign land isn't just about seeing a place you've never seen.

Agreed. To me traveling is about being completly immersed in the culture. I'll never forget going to Mexico for years when I was a teen it was amazing how different the culture was from the USA I loved it. Even walking down the streets felt special and unique, I had loved the culture and started learning the language and fell in love with the art, the buildings, the people. My mom and me would find little Cantinas and sit and listen to the music and eat chips. It was the first time I learned to actually salsa, and mambo when I was 16 it was an amazing feeling learning something straight from the source and getting to experience unique elements of cultures. That's why I love traveling.

[denise_xo]

I've travelled to all continents and lived on three. I love travelling. There are different things in it for different people, but personally I'd never want to be without. It has shaped my perspectives in so many different ways.

[Afishwithabike]

I love travelling. It humbles you, fuels your curiosity, opens you up to new ideas, cuisines, people, places.

 

I don't know how many countries I've been to. If I had to guess, I would say maybe over 20. When I was growing up, my parents took us on international trips a lot so I caught the travel bug so to speak. It's one of the things that attracted me to my husband. He loves to travel too. I can't imagine being with someone who didn't share that interest.

 

My dad's job led him to live in different countries. Living abroad is an amazing experience. I can speak another language fluently because we spent about 8 years in one particular country. I've met such interesting people through travel. And the memories..the memories are priceless. That's the beauty of travel. You can relive the adventure by going through your memories, a scrapbook, an album, etc.

[daphne]

To me, routine is the death of all imagination.

 

I love traveling, because it takes me out of my routine (away from my job and no internet, no phone) and I get to try a lot of new experiences. I've seen some very beautiful places and met some interesting people. Had some of the best food (although you can't count on it.) Surfing in Costa Rica, playing tennis on French red clay, eating good caviar on blini, getting lost in the maze of Venice, seeing the Danube at night. Sigh. America may be great for not pillaging the common folks to build great monuments, but they are beautiful in other countries. You don't get the same feeling sitting on your sofa watching it on tv or checking it out online.

 

One day, I want to go to India and Thailand. Totally take myself out of my comfort zone.

[Taramere]

I've been a radio ham for 16 years now, and all I've had to do to talk to people around the world is just pick up a mike and press the button. I can't understand for the life of me why someone thinks they're going to absolutely die if they can't go to see some steel tower in France or a bunch of neatly stacked bricks in Egypt.

 

When I talk to radio hams in other countries, I never have to worry about the plane being delayed or my flight being cancelled, or losing my luggage, or being subjected to a cavity search just because some pervert working for the TSA doesn't like my face. To me, it's a challenge to finally get through to someone in one of those distant countries where you're lucky to receive a signal from them at all.

 

So... what's the appeal? I obviously don't get it.

 

It stimulates the senses and builds up a stock of good memories. I don't understand how somebody can fail to see the appeal. It seems almost akin to saying "what's the big deal about being alive? I enjoy sleeping and I would quite happily sleep most of my life away." Actually since a lot of my dreams involve visiting other places, and those dreams are often very vivid I probably will be quite happy to sleep most of it away when I get old and decrepit.

 

I seem to remember you mentioning an aunt who does a lot of travelling, and perhaps something to do with that has put you off. Part of me thinks it's a big shame that you don't enjoy travelling. On the other hand, there's no sense in forcing yourself to do something that you feel no particular urge to do just because others enjoy it. Additionally, your homebody ways are better for the environment.

[Nexus One]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this yet. Seeing pictures of a place is completely different from actually being there. For example I went to the Alps in May 2011 on an active vacation, running and hiking through the mountains. You just can't compare seeing the panorama's on photo's versus seeing them in person.

 

I woke up early every morning and went outside immediately when the sun came up. Why? Because when I opened the curtains of my hotel room the landscape was inviting. So I put on my running gear and just went. I ran and hiked from sunrise to sundown. I saw so much stuff.

 

To give an impression of where I exactly was: http://bit.ly/jncNJj

 

I got up daily at 6-8AM and then went running until roughly 10-12AM. After that I went hiking every day until the sun went down. I ran through flower fields and meadows in valleys and refreshed myself with melt water from creeks. I went up to 3 to 4KM heights. I hiked around clear lakes in valleys, through forests, saw waterfalls, saw glaciers, saw water springs with weird biology oozing out of them, saw wild animals like deer, black squirrels, eagles, mountain beavers(or something like that) and foxes, but luckily no wolves and bears. And saw endless panoramic views of mountains as far as the eye can see.

 

Been in sunny heat(mostly) and got tanned as f*ck, but also in snowy weather(at higher altitudes), in rain, hail, mist and in clouds and all that within the timespan of 1 hour, because the weather can change really quickly at such altitudes.

 

I also encountered a convoy of Mercedes prototypes that were being tested on steep and tough roads at a height of 3KM. Some of the cars were taped off with black tape to hide the design and the prototypes were also stuffed with electronics to get feedback data from the cars in such road conditions.

One of the test drivers stepped out of his car and started nervously watching me as I had a camera in my hand, they were probably worried that I would snap pictures of the prototypes, but I gave them a break and didn't snap any.

 

I met soft charactered people(locals) and genuinely enjoyed the entire experience. An interesting fact I learned; When a male and female eagle make love, they rise to great height, they then clench their claws into each other's (claws), once they are interlocked they let themselves drop into free fall and make love during that free fall. And just before they would collapse to their deaths onto the ground, they release each other.

 

Point being, you don't get to experience such things through a radio as OP mentioned or through some images on the internet. It just doesn't compare.

 

For anyone interested, here are some photo's I snapped along the way:

http://bit.ly/qObHtq (large image)

 

And some more awesomeness: http://bit.ly/ruCqB8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(It's on topic!)

Edited September 5, 2011 by Nexus One

[sm1tten]

I haven't yet traveled much, but I'd like to. I'm fascinated by different cultures and crave different kinds of experiences. If you don't, you don't. To me, sitting there listening to someone talk about the world as they see it sounds as passive and boring as traveling to you sounds frivolous and uncomfortable.

[Disillusioned]

I seem to remember you mentioning an aunt who does a lot of travelling, and perhaps something to do with that has put you off. Part of me thinks it's a big shame that you don't enjoy travelling. On the other hand, there's no sense in forcing yourself to do something that you feel no particular urge to do just because others enjoy it.

 

My aunt Jan used to try soooooo hard to make me and her sister jealous... but when I'm away from home, I miss my crafts and my house and garden. Even a trip to Heaven itself won't keep me from getting homesick.

 

Additionally, your homebody ways are better for the environment.

 

Muhahahaha!!! Now I can guilt the rest of you about getting on big, noisy, smoky jet planes while I stay home and compost my garbage and grow fruit trees from seeds!

[carhill]

When I fly a B744 from the U.S. to Oz, numbers I've seen range in the 85-95 Sm/gal/pax range, and that's 'old' technology, with an airframe originally designed and built in the 1960's, with some improvements over the years. The new A380 and 747-8 and 787 Dreamliner are even more fuel efficient. Crunching the numbers, it takes about 176 gallons of fuel at the low number to get from LAX to Oz and back. 88 gallons each way. Not bad.

 

Also, in marked contrast to when home, I tend to use public transport (buses, trains, etc) when traveling rather than traveling solo in a car, so that's more fuel efficient too. Heck, with me doing the yard today and the workers across the street shaking and sweeping almonds, we probably polluted more than some aircraft do and didn't even get to go anywhere

Edited September 6, 2011 by carhill

[Chicago_Guy]

I have noticed that a lot of professional-type women who are early 30s or older seem to have an obsession with traveling. I don't really understand this obsession. I am a professional myself but I see no need to take 3 or 4 vacations a year. A lot of women on eHarmony and probably also on other dating websites even mention that traveling is their biggest passion in life.

[westernxer]

I would love to travel more, but it's somewhat exhausting to travel often. That being said, I would love to travel for a month without worrying about returning to work.

 

So many places I've never been, even within my own state.

[Mr. Slim]

I certainly don't begrudge people who like to travel, but I too have always felt it was vastly overrated (and yes, I have done my share). I'm glad for every trip I have taken and certainly don't regret any of them, but I would also be perfectly fine if I never left the U.S. again... especially since I live in a pretty vast, geographically diverse country that I think is underrated by its own citizens as a travel destination. Saw the steel tower, and the pile of rocks too. Wasn't impressed.. or unimpressed either. It was another place to go. Had a good time.

 

Also, one thing about me that may be a mitigating factor is that I definitely like to be in control (also I'm probably paranoid), and I haven't always felt that way abroad. In case some haven't noticed, Americans aren't exactly the most popular people outside the U.S. So being in a place where I don't speak the language, don't really know where anything is, may not be liked very much and most importantly have WAY less rights than most people think we do is not great for one such as myself. I've had (admittedly idiot) friends thrown in jail in other countries for a bit too exuberant partying. Let's just say that the descriptions of their processing varied from "humane" to "barbaric".

 

I'm not saying any of this is not a reason to travel. But I'll keep my feel firmly planted in the U.S.A. I'll just go to New York, where the people don't bother to hide their loathing of you..

[Disillusioned]

I have noticed that a lot of professional-type women who are early 30s or older seem to have an obsession with traveling. I don't really understand this obsession. I am a professional myself but I see no need to take 3 or 4 vacations a year. A lot of women on eHarmony and probably also on other dating websites even mention that traveling is their biggest passion in life.

 

That's because a lot of them are closet lesbians, and professionalism and travel are tip-offs for them to recognize each other. That old adage that gay men tend to work harder than most, is true of lesbians as well.

[Taramere]

No kidding? that is all a jet burns on a trip like that?

 

I have never knew that, I assumed they burned tons and tons.

 

That is pretty amazing

 

They do burn tons and tons. That figure is per passenger.

 

I'm going to Italy soon, so I'm guessing that would be the equivalent of 6 months average car use. I try to walk and cycle most of the time - and when I do drive, it's in a small car, so I don't have anything close to the average car use...but that one trip to Italy will bring me up to a similar level of fuel consumption as somebody who drives regularly but never travels anywhere by plane.

 

Times I've travelled as far as Australia, I've combined it with a longer period of travel generally..so that it's one big chunk of travel (less fuel consumptive) rather than lots of little ones. So far this year I haven't left the country. However, there's no denying that over the past five years generally I've been responsible for a lot of fuel consumption, as a result of travelling abroad.

 

KLM will be fuelling planes with used vegetable oil, starting this month. I haven't heard anything about BA taking similar measures but I'm hoping they will sooner rather than later. It's not a panacea, obviously, as there are environmental implications attached to using vegetable oil too.

 

As far as travel being an expensive fetish goes, usually when I've gone abroad, visiting friends or relatives has been part of it. I don't generally have sex with them...but I guess when a relationship I was in turned LDR (work reasons) some years ago, travelling could more fairly be described as an expensive fetish for both of us. Travelling within Europe, however, doesn't necessarily cost much. I can get to the South of France for the same amount that a lot of people here will spend on a Saturday night on the town.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Taramere