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“The luxury traveler and his poorer cousin, the common tourist, are constantly encased in gleaming metals and other costly materials; preened mechanically by resentful lackeys; surfeited with overpriced, denutrified victuals; treated to vulgar and expensive entertainments; intentionally or unintentionally lied to; sneered at even by themselves; led like sheep through attractions that bore them? This is not travel; this is butchery of soul. This is how money, an artificial form of energy, distorts reality for its own ends. To travel cheaply, in any form at all, weakens the power of money to trick you into phony realities that profit only the Travel Industry.”
–Ed Buryn, Vagabonding in the USA (1980)
May 26th, 2008 at 10:50 am
OK, that does it: I’m finally going to read Buryn’s book.
Great quote Rolf, thanks.
-Tim
May 26th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
When my husband and I backpacked through Asia, Africa and the Middle East we had a budget that allowed us to stay occasionally in luxury hotels & mostly in backpacker places. We quickly realized that we enjoyed the hostels, inexpensive hotels, and backpacker places more because they were located in the midst of things and gave us a better opportunity to connect with locals and other travelers. We took a break and stayed at a luxury hotel every once in a while (a warm shower is a wonderful thing) but we were back in small hotels and local transportation pretty quickly.
Debbie
http://www.deliciousbaby.com