Basically...what I'm about to say will probably make me come off as elitist and bitchy. Comments that will probably be deserved considering. It's just one of those topics I get incensed about really easily and that you could say I'm really passionate about. Not as passionate as the language politics/nationalism debate in Spain, but close. I'm just generally a really opinionated person. Make of that what you will.
Anyway, I posted a rant on my Wordpress blog (which this one is going to be substituting most likely, sorry everyone who was really into that one) probably about a month ago about the tourism industry and tourism in general. I always feel like I'm stepping on people's toes with it, that it's something that really seems to offend people and their sensibilities or whatever so I'm usually pretty hesitant to say these things in person. Just...hear me out.
Here's the thing. I'm not "anti" the tourism industry or even the tourism industry in general. There is a lot of money to be generated from it, which stimulates economic growth, which is a great thing for many countries. Plus there's the whole traveling bit, and travel is never a bad thing for anyone, no matter how broke it makes you (I speak from experience...I'm still paying for the month-long trip to Spain I took last year). Experiences outside your home country is always a good thing. My complaint, or grievance as it were, is more about the attitudes of the people who engage in said activity of tourism. And not even all people, but the people for whom the tourism industry seems to be most geared towards. Those people with disposable income who enjoy luxury, who expect to be treated a certain way and who expect things to just be a certain way whenever they arrive at their destination (and sometimes even before they do). The people who won't book anything lower than a three-star hotel and won't eat at any restaurant unless it's in the Michelin guide and who think that just because they've traveled that automatically gives them "culture".
I'm a huge fan of traveling on a budget. I'm a huge fan of living on a budget. I believe that you can, and should travel often regardless of how much money is in the bank, provided you do have means of earning it back and making sure you don't go completely broke of course. But honestly, I do believe that you can visit a city like Rome or even Paris, known for its luxury and cost, on a budget. Which certainly sounds great to college students and even career adults who have a comfortable job but would still like to travel. The thing is, most of the travel/tourism ads advertise luxury. Luxury cruises, luxury hotels, luxury everything. They really make people feel that if they're not loaded, they can't afford to travel.
I beg to differ. It's quite possible to visit a foreign country and spend very little money. How? Flying coach. Using websites like Kayak and Orbitz to find cheap flights. Staying in youth hostels. This works better when you're under 25, but there's still the "inn" route; in Spain at least they have what are called "hostales", which work differently from the youth hostels (called "albergues") in that you're not sharing a room with complete strangers. You're on your own for meals and there isn't any personalized service (i.e. housekeepers, room service, etc.), but they tend to be much cheaper than your average hotel. For meals, usually that small café or bar down the street will have excellent food for very little money. In Spain they have these brilliant little things called Daily Menus, or "Menús del Día" in which you're offered a choice of various first courses, various second courses, and a dessert and drink for around 10€ depending on the city/area. Barcelona and the Basque Country tends to run a little higher, like around 12 or 13 maybe (though you can still find 10€ offers), but you can always catch the metro or the cercanías (local service train) to an outside suburb, at least in Barcelona, and get something. The food is excellent, cheap, and completely native. You're eating what the natives eat, and paying as much as they do. Awesome, right?
I like these options because I'm of the belief that when you travel, you travel to get to know and understand the world. I realize people are always traveling and doing the whole luxury thing and generally don't seem to give a crap about the country they're visiting except to see the sights, take some pictures, and buy some souvenirs. Which isn't even inherently wrong. But my question is...what's the motive? Are you traveling just to say you've been somewhere and have the pictures to prove it? Or are you traveling to get to know more of the world you live in, to experience more of its people, its cultures, its ways of life, its color? Are you just checking cities and countries off a map, or are you genuinely interested in stories, like that time you tried to find your way back to your hostel or inn and no one could speak English well enough to understand you (and for you to understand them)? To be honest, I've never set foot in a luxury hotel, or anything luxury for that matter, anywhere outside the US. I don't know what it's like to expect the hotel staff to provide everything for me; I've never been to a spa, never been on a yacht. I have gotten many menús del día, I have eaten at kebap places because they're the cheapest food you can get that's incredibly filling and just really damn good, and I've stayed at youth hostels in less congested parts of town, where the native language is the way to get around. And, I'll be fair, I have stayed in hotels with groups of classmates all on the same class trip doing our own kind of tourism. Though they were also far from four- or five-star establishments.
My point is, ignore the ads. Ignore the tourism agencies. There's nothing wrong with a little luxury here and there if you can afford it. I plan on going all-out for my honeymoon, whenever that is. But I also know that even with a four- or five-star experience, I'd probably still be out there on the streets at the bazaar looking for random bits and pieces, trying to spark up a conversation with the people on the street, eating their food (even if most of it ends up on my face and hands). Just because that's how I know how to travel. It's what I know. My little brain can't comprehend how people can go places and not have those experiences, and while I try not to judge, I end up doing so anyway. So I guess what I'm saying is, yes, you can travel abroad. You can have that cultural experience you've been waiting for. And you'll probably end up appreciating it far more on a budget than you would if you were to live the high-class life.
Just saying.
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