All of us at Destination are living abroad and are seasoned travellers, so we know what a challenge it can be. The first hurdle to overcome is realising that there is a big difference between being a tourist and a traveller. Our head of admissions, Rose-Anne, gives us her point of view and hopes you’ll open your mind to being more of a traveller and less of a tourist.
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.” I love this quote by travel writer, Paul Theroux. Sometimes the simplest quotes can make the most sense, and inspire thought or conversation.
I have travelled a fair amount (but never enough!), for holidays, business and to live abroad. When you get bitten by the travel bug, it is like being infected by Malaria – in the way that it is in you forever, resurfacing every so often, when you least expect it, never leaving your system. Like some childhood illnesses, some people think that they can ‘out grow’ the travel bug, but this is seldom the case. You reach a stage in your life, where you settle down, do the responsible thing and suppress all thoughts of adventure to the back of your mind. You begin working a regular 9-5 job, start paying off a mortgage, and regulate the travelling to the annual two weeks away, hopefully abroad if the finances allow. But, at some stage that itching feeling will again make its way to the surface, and you will find a way to see another small corner of the ‘3rd rock from the sun’ that we inhabit.
Deciding to become a traveller rather than a tourist means changing your mindset. When arriving at a new destination, you need to look deeper. Tourists only experience the surface of a place. They only see what the tourism board wants them to see, in a surreal kind of way, never experiencing the soul of a place. Travellers make the effort to meet the locals, and for the duration of their stay, (whether it’s a 2-week trip or a work-abroad session) live like a local. A tourist would never stop off at a roadside diner, frequented by locals, or buy a meal from a street vendor, preferring to go to a swanky hotel restaurant, recommended by their tour operator. In doing so, they probably miss out on the best meals.
Tourists will only drive the main roads, and perhaps venture down a well signed side street. A traveller will turn down every dirt road, in the hope of finding something or someone, to make their trip memorable. While living on Koh Samui, I found some of the island’s best beaches completely off the beaten track, and perhaps it’s best that most tourists don’t discover them. However, I do get frustrated when I ask a holidaymaker how they have enjoyed their trip, only to hear the same old tales of where they have been and what they have done. I want to shake them, and challenge their sense of adventure! The thought that someone’s only picture of Samui is what they would find on a brochure is frustrating! The same can be said for Siem Reap, Bali or Bangkok – homes to our Destination TEFL training centres.
Some of the expats that I have met, truly fit the profile of traveller – completely immersing themselves into their new society, learning the lingo, eating the food and socialising with locals. Some on the other hand, although having lived in their new home for years, almost live a parallel life to the locals. They may live there, but they don’t do anything a local would, so to them expat living is in fact just an extended holiday as a tourist.
I challenge holidaymakers and expats alike: become a traveller, not a tourist. As said by American author, James Michener, “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”
© Rose-Anne Turner
