Transpatagonia

[Marina9]

So I was watching this documentary yesterday, besides the great photography in it and the story of a journalist traveling alone for six months through the Patagonia made me question about something..

Is this thing of wandering around the world a trend now? I just think this is becoming more popular.. Last year I was one of this people that wanted to leave things behind and just go by myself to travel and discover (which I'm not saying is something bad I actually did a trip alone and gave me really lots of lessons and recognizing what I have back home) but after watching this it got me thinking of why I actually wanted to do it, and thinking about how I was last year gave me some answers i think, like feeling depressed and not wanting anything... so do we really think this cause we actually WANT to discover other places and really acquiring knowledge from other cultures and learning lessons? or are this thoughts just a selfish way to forget about everything, to forget about helping, learning and actually doing something? I dunno this got me thinking..

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[Buddy]

Different people will probably have different reasons, but I think it's only natural to want to be out and about. That we seem to be seeing more evidence of this may be due to the rising popularity of small lower-cost, high-definition, high-storage, water-proof cameras. For example, the GoPro Hero(#) is really popular right now as is a lot of the professional mirror-less ones.

 

[theos]

You've raised some interesting questions, Padme. The same thoughts have crossed my mind. There are certainly lots of interesting things to learn while out and about and traveling is a good way to chip away at ethnocentrism. Sometimes though, I do wonder how many people use it as an escape from their mundane lives or just like to accumulate travel experiences to make themselves seem more interesting and cool. It is possible to travel from place to place and still be in your own little bubble with very little interaction with the people who live in the place that you're traveling to.

 

[Marina9]

Sometimes though, I do wonder how many people use it as an escape from their mundane lives or just like to accumulate travel experiences to make themselves seem more interesting and cool. It is possible to travel from place to place and still be in your own little bubble with very little interaction with the people who live in the place that you're traveling to.

That's exactly my doubt.. for me I think its like an escape, but what shocks me the most is that it seems really like a trend now, I've read articles mentioning how someone left everything behind to travel, or how they were fed up jobs, school, whatever the situation they were in and decided to travel around the world.. So it is shocking to see this, for me it looks like another way to dissociate from reality.. I used to think that going to live at the beach and not having contact with anyone was the answer to all my "problems". But that was exactly it, not facing this problems as I'm doing now. Also as Buddy mentioned, people may have different reasons to do this, and I do believe traveling is the most exciting thing, but really getting immersed in the culture is what the experience is all about, IMO.

 

[Ennio]

When I was about 19 years old, I spent one summer back backing around Europe by myself. The few things that stick out in my mind about that trip were some of the wonderful people I met, amazing places I visited, and using the time to begin journaling in ernest. It was something of an epiphany - becoming aware of my thoughts/impressions/feelings in ways that were sort of unknown to me until then. So, at the end of the day, it all kind of depends on how you'd like to focus yourself in your surroundings. I do think your questions are good, but you should be open to the idea of continuing to ask them as you travel (if you travel).

 

[Marina9]

When I was about 19 years old, I spent one summer back backing around Europe by myself. The few things that stick out in my mind about that trip were some of the wonderful people I met, amazing places I visited, and using the time to begin journaling in ernest. It was something of an epiphany - becoming aware of my thoughts/impressions/feelings in ways that were sort of unknown to me until then. So, at the end of the day, it all kind of depends on how you'd like to focus yourself in your surroundings. I do think your questions are good, but you should be open to the idea of continuing to ask them as you travel (if you travel).

The only trip alone i've made was to Singapore and I did it in a time were I was having a big crisis, controlling anxiety and other things going on, but it was definetely an eye opening experience. I have to say yes, it's a nice place, but all the modernity and crowded with malls was not my thing, I spent most of my time at China Town and Little India which I think where the only places I could get some culture or really live a nice experience.. I share that feeling about being aware of things, I was super excited when I came back home, and things started to change little by little after that, for good :) so i am thankful for that. I also believe it happens around young adults, which are searching for this "meaning," and I do believe it's a great way to do it. But after this documentary and several things i've read it got me thinking as if it's another trend some people use to dissociate, which brings me to think about reality and how all this crazy and bad things are happening around the world.

Thanks all for sharing your thoughts :)

 

[MusicMan]

Hello Padme90; When I was a lot younger, I travelled around SouthEast Asia and Papua New Guinea / Fiji with the Navy, so I wasn't a tourist as such. I found that the experience was a real eye-opener to a realization as to how well off we are in the Western style of culture, I was lucky enough to see Singapore before the advent of Lee Kuan Yew and a couple of times after he made his cultural changes. The difference was striking.

It has made me see the way we live in a whole new light.

In my opinion, everyone should travel if they get the chance, just so that they can see for themselves what other peoples have to put up with, and to appreciate more what you actually have, when you return home.

In order to do this properly you would have to stay away from the 'tourist traps' as far as it is safe to do so.

 

[Marina9]

Hello Padme90; When I was a lot younger, I travelled around SouthEast Asia and Papua New Guinea / Fiji with the Navy, so I wasn't a tourist as such. I found that the experience was a real eye-opener to a realization as to how well off we are in the Western style of culture, I was lucky enough to see Singapore before the advent of Lee Kuan Yew and a couple of times after he made his cultural changes. The difference was striking.

It has made me see the way we live in a whole new light.

In my opinion, everyone should travel if they get the chance, just so that they can see for themselves what other peoples have to put up with, and to appreciate more what you actually have, when you return home.

In order to do this properly you would have to stay away from the 'tourist traps' as far as it is safe to do so.

Yes! I do agree that we all must travel, my question may have been brought up by thinking of why I wanted to go alone on that trip, and what was my current state at the time, which lead me to think about this trend, but I'm not against travelling hehe nono! I was just curious as in why this whole thing of getting away alone to somewhere is becoming more popular, or it could maybe be that we notice it more cause internet age.. social media and all of that.

And yes, Singapore was like going to some video game, or something weird, everything all prefabricated, and the malls everywhere, and the contrast between this places and China Town or Little India was huuge, but those where the two places I enjoyed the most from the trip. :)

 

[luc]

Hi Padme90,

Is this thing of wandering around the world a trend now? I just think this is becoming more popular..

I think it's definitely a trend, though maybe not exactly "mainstream". I know many people who did similar things and it seems that a whole industry was created around Western back packers in the target countries. I haven't travelled extensively, but from what I've seen and heard from others, it actually got very hard to "leave the worn paths" or to have authentic experiences, because so much seems to be geared towards back packers. Maybe one could even say that it's mass tourism for people with a different taste? Still of course, such trips can be interesting.

Last year I was one of this people that wanted to leave things behind and just go by myself to travel and discover (which I'm not saying is something bad I actually did a trip alone and gave me really lots of lessons and recognizing what I have back home) but after watching this it got me thinking of why I actually wanted to do it, and thinking about how I was last year gave me some answers i think, like feeling depressed and not wanting anything... so do we really think this cause we actually WANT to discover other places and really acquiring knowledge from other cultures and learning lessons? or are this thoughts just a selfish way to forget about everything, to forget about helping, learning and actually doing something? I dunno this got me thinking..

I guess it depends. I must say that for most people I know who did something like this, it was probably the latter, an escape from their situation. It still helped them in a way in some cases though. One thing is certain I think: that we take our programs and problems with us, wherever we go. So in order to make it a learning experience, we should be already conscious of some of our programs and use traveling as a way to Work on them.

In my experience as well, visiting foreign lands and people helps to put into perspective certain cultural programs taken for granted where we live. So it can be a really beneficial experience. On the other hand, I'm not sure the traditional "back packing" will provide one with such experiences anymore? Maybe it would be better to go to a foreign land using existing contacts or in a job context? I don't know. I guess it's a very individual decision and it depends on your specific situation, problems, programs, aspiration etc. whether it's more of an escape or something worthwhile. Fwiw.

 

[Renaissance]

Hello Padme90; When I was a lot younger, I travelled around SouthEast Asia and Papua New Guinea / Fiji with the Navy, so I wasn't a tourist as such. I found that the experience was a real eye-opener to a realization as to how well off we are in the Western style of culture, I was lucky enough to see Singapore before the advent of Lee Kuan Yew and a couple of times after he made his cultural changes. The difference was striking.

It has made me see the way we live in a whole new light.

In my opinion, everyone should travel if they get the chance, just so that they can see for themselves what other peoples have to put up with, and to appreciate more what you actually have, when you return home.

Well, I think much of the comfort felt in the US is a result of those very countries mentioned being exploited by the US (along with so many others). It might be one thing if the countries that the US partnered with really benefited from such an alliance. But the exact opposite happens while at the same time they are positioned away from natural partnerships (as with countries in South East Asia and China) that would be of much greater benefit to them.

 

[bjorb]

Hi Padme,

I think that gaining experiences aside of our own culture can certainly broaden our perception but ultimately the ability to learn our lessons depends on our state of mind, not the current place we are visiting. It matters what we do with these experiences. So if the intent is for escapism, or thinking its enriches you as how you think/see yourself as a person.

Than it wouldn’t be helpful.


That said, you got me thinking because my life resolves in a very predictable way. I never do something new. If I look back at it all, it are the unexpected experiences that helped me the most I think. Those I didn’t plan. And especially when we travel our life's turn out to be unpredictable.

- They say that the Universe provides when the intent is pure and one is able to see.

 

[Marina9]

Hi Padme,

I think that gaining experiences aside of our own culture can certainly broaden our perception but ultimately the ability to learn our lessons depends on our state of mind, not the current place we are visiting. It matters what we do with these experiences. So if the intent is for escapism, or thinking its enriches you as how you think/see yourself as a person.

Than it wouldn’t be helpful.


That said, you got me thinking because my life resolves in a very predictable way. I never do something new. If I look back at it all, it are the unexpected experiences that helped me the most I think. Those I didn’t plan. And especially when we travel our life's turn out to be unpredictable.

- They say that the Universe provides when the intent is pure and one is able to see.

I agree with you bjorn, I can just speak from my own experience, and the trip I made to Asia where it's crowded, had to change planes and all that by myself (while experiencing before panic attacks) was really a lesson for me, the first day of course I felt super anxious, adding jetlag I just slept all day.. but then day by day I realized my anxiety was stupid, and whenever I start getting a panic attack here at home if i go out or something I just think back to the trip and say to myself "u survived alone on the other side of the world, stop being silly" Kojak, so it did help me, my programs went with me, but the "bad" narratives I had, are becoming less and less.

As for having a predictable life, I can tell you.. sometimes whenever I get too much into routine and having everything all established for my day, I start getting desperate, before I used to get mad of having everything perfectly organized for my days, but then in therapy they made me realize it was part of my control issues and part of always wanting some sort of high in emotions, which my therapist said I had to learn to have a "normal" not full of very sharp ups or downs emotions, I can't say this happens to you too, but that was my experience with that. Now whenever I start feeling I need to do something else, before getting mad I ask myself why I'm feeling like that, realizing if it's really that I'm not doing anything new or just my old narratives coming back up again.. and if i do feel i need something new I just go ahead and try it.


- They say that the Universe provides when the intent is pure and one is able to see. I will definitely keep this quote in mind, thanks for sharing bjorn!

 

[Marina9]

I guess it depends. I must say that for most people I know who did something like this, it was probably the latter, an escape from their situation. It still helped them in a way in some cases though. One thing is certain I think: that we take our programs and problems with us, wherever we go. So in order to make it a learning experience, we should be already conscious of some of our programs and use traveling as a way to Work on them.

In my experience as well, visiting foreign lands and people helps to put into perspective certain cultural programs taken for granted where we live. So it can be a really beneficial experience. On the other hand, I'm not sure the traditional "back packing" will provide one with such experiences anymore? Maybe it would be better to go to a foreign land using existing contacts or in a job context? I don't know. I guess it's a very individual decision and it depends on your specific situation, problems, programs, aspiration etc. whether it's more of an escape or something worthwhile. Fwiw.

A while ago I found out two different websites that offer food and somewhere to stay in exchange of working in the place, https://www.worldpackers.com/ and this http://www.workaway.info/ Which I thought were cool cause u actually travel to help and do something, so this type of options could be, IMO, very nice in order to truly experience life abroad AND help the locals. But well yes, as I've all mentioned it is something depending on the person, that documentary just made me think a lot about things he he..

 

[Ennio]

A while ago I found out two different websites that offer food and somewhere to stay in exchange of working in the place, https://www.worldpackers.com/ and this http://www.workaway.info/ Which I thought were cool cause u actually travel to help and do something, so this type of options could be, IMO, very nice in order to truly experience life abroad AND help the locals. But well yes, as I've all mentioned it is something depending on the person, that documentary just made me think a lot about things he he..

Getting back to your original question, maybe it would be helpful to stop and reflect upon the ideas and reasons that drew you here to this community, and work on strengthening the core knowledge of our world you already have.

 

[Marina9]

A while ago I found out two different websites that offer food and somewhere to stay in exchange of working in the place, https://www.worldpackers.com/ and this http://www.workaway.info/ Which I thought were cool cause u actually travel to help and do something, so this type of options could be, IMO, very nice in order to truly experience life abroad AND help the locals. But well yes, as I've all mentioned it is something depending on the person, that documentary just made me think a lot about things he he..

Getting back to your original question, maybe it would be helpful to stop and reflect upon the ideas and reasons that drew you here to this community, and work on strengthening the core knowledge of our world you already have.

Thanks Ennio :) will do!