Traveler vs. Tourist
Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
However, if we become tourists in our travels we lose its richness.
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Have the mindset of a traveler.
Tourists exchange money for expectations.
Travelers exchange money for experiences.
Tourists take pictures of attractions.
Travelers make memories of adventures.
Tourists eat food for fuel and efficiency.
Travelers eat food for culture and conversation.
Tourists like to promote their own cultural idealism.
Travelers like to absorb the idealism of other cultures.
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Tourists are afraid to become lost in their travels.
Travelers are afraid to become tourists.
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What are some of your most amazing traveler experiences?
Share your stories below!
Travel Forum
One of my most magical traveling experiences was attending Sunday mass at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. I didn’t understand a word of it but being in that magnificent building as it was being used for what it was built for was something I’ll never forget.
As I thought about 1 primary travel experience and couldn’t, I realized a common theme; my greatest travel memories near or abroad are and have been made wandering. To your point in your post, tourists dart from one pre-planned place to the next to see something expected without really experiencing it. Travelers wander. When I have been in tourist mode I learned that I didn’t really absorb the adventure and merely saw it versus experiencing it.
My favorite experiences have been forgetting time and place and just taking off in any direction and wandering around. During that I have found great food in a tiny place on a side street in Portugal, the oddball Museum of Torture in Amsterdam and a cool local pub, a Greek restaurant in San Jose CA, one of the most memorable sushi dinners at a tiny place late at night in Tokyo, a cool Buddhist temple complex embedded between two glass and chrome buildings in Seoul where I could again wander up the hillside to the various temples, see people doing what they do on any given day, great Thai food on 10th in NY with the best Tom Kha soup I’ve had to date where the owner was the chef, trained by her mom.
Thanks for the spark to remind me not to get too caught up in expectation and just do what I do best……wander.
Brad
You are so right Erik! Travel IS the only thing you buy that makes you richer. It really is the experiences you have. Immersing yourself within a different country/culture is one of the best experiences. Although I have found many differences between other countries/people and us/myself, I find that everyone around the world really is the same…..everyone is trying to be a good person, do a good job, raise our children, etc. We’re really not that different, are we?
My most amazing travel experiences were in my two month excursion through Brazil to help students learn English. That was a life changing and enriching experience that is affecting every day of my life to this day. It has impacted my values and my purpose. Also, when I sought out to do productive activities related to my interests, so that I could interact with the culture and improve my skills/interests.
Everywhere I travel, I normally look for networking, workshop, and volunteeringredients opportunities. It makes such a huge difference and I throughly enjoy the people I meet.
The Art Of Vision | Erik Wahl – Artist and Best Selling …
Traveler Not Tourist