I've been going back and forth in formulating my thoughts on this topic. I have to make a disclaimer that writing this isn't done with the intention to offend or make judgements about anyone in particular, but rather a reflection that came out from my past travelling habits and my observations on the trend and culture of travelling in the past few years. It hasn't been an easy piece to write about, also because I recognise that I'm part of this problem and having perpetuated the very things you would be reading later on. So firstly, this is a critique on myself. And secondly, I think we ought to reflect about this because of the prevalent and widespread travelling culture that is further exacerbated, romanticised and normalised by social media and people/community around us who travel frequently.
I was actually that person who made sure I was to make travel plans every year. I had a few places in mind, forming my own bucket list with each place waiting to be struck out. I envisioned myself being surrounded by beautiful greenery, mountains, lakes, and even in some urban landscapes and quaint towns enriched with deep culture and heritage, all waiting to be discovered. I yearn for that again and again because they form the highlight of my otherwise normal and ordinary life. I suppose this would be what we call, wanderlust. As the years passed on, I travelled a little lesser, also because I have always planned to further my studies which requires savings. Through the years, I started to confront this travelling culture in all honesty. But on hindsight, I realised that it is because I started experiencing life abroad which itself is ironically a form of travelling or hijrah, that I'm compelled to take a step back for financial reasons and thus, able to reflect on travelling itself on a deeper and critical level. Otherwise, I would possibly still be perpetuating this pattern of travelling until now.
I use the term 'travelling culture' because it is everywhere around us and has been normalised in many developed societies. I think this isn't something unusual given the ease of travelling and the relatively more affordable costs of travelling as compared to say, two decades ago. Internet and social media have also made it convenient to plan a holiday, with online bookings accompanied with recommended itineraries and images easily available and researched. It is suffice to say that just a few clicks is enough to induce this inner yearning to be there and elsewhere, whether it is through subtle and subliminal ways affecting our subconscious, or being shoved on our faces directly given the porous nature of technology. Scrolling through the feeds on Instagram, photos posted on Facebook and friends sharing about their recent travels are enough to induce the wanderlust in us. There is always another place to go to and another travel destination to be added on to our bucket lists.
I don't have anything against travelling in and of itself. I do actually believe that travelling does wonders in many ways, especially when we are in need of relaxation and enjoyment from the hustle and bustle of life. We learn a lot about others whom we travel with and our relationship dynamics, and we learn a lot about ourselves too when we travel solo. We learn a lot from the cultures and way of living of other people in the languages they speak, the philosophy that undergirds their lifestyle. We get inspiration from our travels which could actually reinvigorate the spark in us that is dying and in need of rekindling. We feel humbled being surrounded by astounding natural beauties and also by the inadequacies in the life of others as compared to us. Travelling can bring meaning and value to our lives.
But increasingly so, I believe that travelling, to a large extent, is inextricably linked to issues that stem from hyper-consumerism and capitalism. Travelling is self-serving and reinforces the already prevalent "me culture" in society. Travelling is inherently hedonistic and self-indulgent. Not many of us travel for the sake of anything else except in service of ourselves. You may argue that really, isn't that the point of travelling? It is a getaway for us right? And surely, arguably too we travel as a way to bond with our travelling buddies and our families and making memories through these shared experiences. But I think that's really my point actually - going back to dissecting the fundamental notion of living a consumerist lifestyle of which travelling forms a large chunk. Certainly moderate travelling is cool, but the point of this piece is to problematise the travelling trend and culture itself. The problem I have with it is how we define our lives surrounding work and then leisure (in this case, travel), in a never-ending cyclical manner. We are so subservient to work so much so that it stresses us too much, and then we appease ourselves and making ourselves feel good through holidays (and other forms of hyper-consumerist behaviours). There's something so deeply troubling about this equation, as if there is no other way to bring inner peace, enjoyment and fun to our lives.
This point is also linked to mental health. I remembered the time when I felt a drastic dip in my mood after my 3-week long holiday from Greece and Turkey back in 2014/2015. It almost felt as though I was going through an adjustment phase that bears an uncanny resemblance to a depressive episode. Going on a holiday served as an escapism for me, so naturally returning home was a sore point because it meant reverting to the life as it was normally (at that time, it was crunch time day-in and out being a Probation Officer, and the emotional and mental turmoil I had to go through). Travelling then becomes a means in which we act on our hedonistic impulses and the desire to get away. It becomes a cycle of highs and lows where we constantly need to treat ourselves with holidays in order to feel the highs before experiencing the low. The reality is that travelling is usually short-term, and we resume back to the contrastingly ordinary day-to-day living upon our return. I'm certain that some people can relate to this point because of the complaints we often hear when people return back to work, wanting to go on yet another holiday. There's a problem if that's the only (of a few) thing(s) we look forward to in life, because it gives the illusion of accessibility to travel is when it can be quite an expensive purchase. The reality is, we need to learn to deal with lull periods and stressors from our immediate surroundings and contexts.
Travelling and tourism industry is also rooted in bigger detrimental capitalist pursuits - the ruining of habitats of local people, exploitation, the adverse effects on environment - all in order to curate places repackaged as 'dream destinations' for others who are hungry for somewhere to go. The polishing and even eradication of rural areas, villages and nature spots in the name of 'urbanisation' and 'modernisation' can have devastating effects on people's lives. Not to mention how tourism can inflate their costs of living, putting them in more vulnerable positions than before. People from less developed nations can't even access to these pristine places in their own country that people from more developed countries can. Further on this point, travelling is self-serving even when we think we are making a difference to another person's life through short-term humanitarian trips. I too was guilty of doing this. We don't just jump on a short-term humanitarian trip solely because we want to help others, but also because we want to feel good about ourselves (though this demands another lengthy discussion on whether true altruism exists). Not only do we ruin vulnerable person's life due to the transient nature of rendering assistance which lacks sustainability, we may also accidentally transfer certain practices and culture from our world which do more harm to people in those localities.
Leaving on a jetplane to "find yourself" or pulling an "eat, pray, love" type of travel probably has worked for some people, but it is cringeworthy too because how is running way from our immediate surroundings going to change the conditions of our life? We do need breaks, but I'm no longer buying this "eat, pray, love" type of therapy to work on my own problems because it is highly romanticised, and even when we're in another place, our troubles stay with us. This is only for the select privileged once again, and deeply unrealistic and avoidant. Internal work wherever you are is tough and I dislike how this romanticised image of an "eat, pray, love" travel makes it look so easy and makes us feel bad returning from that trip, feeling equally or even more miserable.
This travelling culture can almost automatically induce a yearning in us to be "elsewhere" so much so that it diverts our attention away from working on our immediate circumstances. This quote is cliche, but it is true - "The grass is always greener on the other side". If we are constantly planning our next travel, researching and looking forward to the near future which yet again, gives us another sense of adventure, I worry how this may have an impact on how we perceive and in turn engage with our present lives that are of course undeniably "duller" as compared to travels. It risks the danger of romanticising the 'elsewhere', taking away the magic of the present and the now. This brings in another related point about how travelling through the rosy lenses of a tourist is barely reflective of that culture, society and community, and even give false impressions of that locality. To me, it does injustice to people's lived experiences in that place. Similarly, we also have many gripes with our present environment that other tourists visiting may not see.
Part of working on our immediate circumstances is also working with what we already have in front of us. How about going on a hike with a friend in remote areas of the city? Visit neighbourhoods we don't often go to, learn about some local areas and so on so forth. And of course, travelling inward too - allowing our minds to travel through expanding and navigating new ideas and doing through an inward, spiritual journey within. Because our culture holds travelling on such a high pedestal, one of the things that we could do is to diversify and expand this notion of travelling and to regard our day-to-day experiences as travelling in itself. We are all on our unique journeys.
There's also almost this sense of entitlement when we say "I deserve this trip". Yes, I get that it is definitely rewarding especially after long periods of stressful work and being in fast-paced environments. And the truth is, if we can afford to travel frequently or travel on a whim, and if we find ourselves saying "we need a holiday", we indeed are more privileged than many others. Because for many others, that is nowhere near a need, perhaps a want that is desired but far from their reach. This travelling culture also tends to create social norms that people think they need to aspire towards, which can be problematic, especially for those who cannot afford to do so. This of course makes it difficult in the age of social media where we subconsciously tend to model what others may be doing or comparing against the standards set by others. Life goals that include travels are cool, but too much emphasis on it seems rather unsettling for me. Though I can relate to this on some levels, the problem arise if travelling becomes a marker of success, and worse of all, being a marker of having a full, enriched life. Traveling shouldn't be an end-goal all the time and never should make us feel fulfilled in that way. I think there is a problem if the bulk of our highlights comprise of just travelling. If we take travelling out of the equation, where else do we find fulfilment and contentment in our lives? As the verb suggests, to travel entails being on a journey, and it takes us to somewhere greater. We need to transcend this cyclical pattern.
I guess there are no shortcuts in how we reconcile these issues attached to travelling. This entry isn't suggesting that travelling is inherently bad, but rather the motivations and intent behind travelling, and the values attached to it have to be constantly reviewed and assessed from time to time. Although my views on travelling have shifted over the years, I still think travelling has its perks, but perhaps, I'd want to do it less frequently and more mindfully to ascribe sacrality to it. More importantly, travelling has consequences, and we need to recognise that there are both positive and negative consequences. With consequences, we must exercise responsibility in our actions. I must also say that I myself have benefitted from this privilege of travelling, which then gave me the reasons to reflect on this topic.
There is so much more that I need to reflect about on travelling, and for this reason, this piece of writing will be constantly edited. I am happy for my perspectives to be challenged as well for whoever who stumbles upon this entry and finds pleasure in reading till this end.
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