The internet and travel

[tigronette]

This has been touched upon (not by me) in the Asia thread but I think it deserves a place all to itself.

I think all of us have travelled extensively before and after the internet revolution and are all aware of how it has changed travel.

I'm in two minds about this. On one hand, the time I spent living abroad, especially in one location which was pretty isolated, would have been a lot less lonely had I been able to communicate with people I knew back home - at least in the first few months until I learned to speak the language. I also remember wasting a lot of time when I'd just arrived somewhere, because it was always tricky to get in touch with family back home.
On the other hand, it is now quite difficult to 'lose yourself' anywhere and get totally immersed in the culture. In a funny way, I also miss the long periods of boredom that forced you to get out there and meet people or discover the local surroundings and culture (once you'd exhausted the possibilities of local TV). Now with internet and satellite/cable everywhere, you can stay entertained (sort of) for as long as you want.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

[Deleted]

Obviously the internet is an improvement of our lives, in exchange for a big chunk of the charm of travel that has been lost forever.

I used to write at least two or three letters a day when I was on the road at the far end of the world, often to people who had no inkling of where I was and who were not in the habit of hearing from me. Of course, at least 50% of the mail -- including postcards -- went to close friends and family, but it was often the reaction of the other people that was the most gratifying.

A battered envelope covered with exotic stamps is something that most people are not in the habit of receiving, and it triggers a sense of pleasure and excitement in areas of the brain that are rarely stimulated. I have been told countless times how much those letters with just a few simple travel anecdotes meant to the recipients, along with the idea that the message had physically travelled all that way to them.

E-mail has none of that satisfaction for me. I can write to anybody right this minute that I am in Africa or Asia or on a Pacific island and make up detailed stories of my incredible adventures, but the molecules of the real place are not there. There is no envelope with a hint of spice or sand or jungle sweat. Nothing feels authentic.

That aspect of the internet has sucked all of the life from the wonder of travel.

[spindrift]

Whenever I receive a 'battered letter covered with exotic stamps' from Nepal, I keep it. So much hard work has gone into that envelope. The person who wrote it can't speak English and has painstakingly copied the strange letters; the stamps are wonderful and the card or note inside always delights me.

If a friend is sending me a present then instead of a paper envelope, they use a cotton-type of bag. It's so exciting to receive a parcel like this with, perhaps, a Tibetan door-hanging inside or even a Sherpa wedding hat, not to mention dear little embroidered slippers.

[bixaorellana]

What a great point, Tigronette -- you've really started me thinking.

The internet has probably even changed what kinds of people will travel. With modern communication, even very timid people will venture forth. Intrepid travelers wanting to "get away from it all" have to go further and further afield to find some place not electronically linked to the rest of the world.

You make such a good point about having to mingle with local residents for social stimulation. It's the best way to really learn a language and to start getting a handle on the culture. Go to any area where there's a settlement of foreign retirees, and you'll find a bunch of people huddled together speaking their own language, seeking their own foodstuffs, and regarding the natives as a necessary but annoying servant class.

I know someone here in Oaxaca who is somewhat of a hermit, but electronically plugged-in in every way possible. He claims he'll never learn Spanish nor get to know any Mexicans well. Wonder why that is!