Bringing Home the Travelling Experience

Travelling is more than just visiting scenic and tourist spots. It's part of it but doesn't encompass all of it. You see, when you just visit these areas, you only know the landmarks of the city. I'm not denouncing supreme architecture like the pyramids in Egypt, but at the end of the whole travel experience, what do you really get?

Take this example, for instance. When I was 12, I traveled to Thailand with my aunts and my sister. We went to Pattaya and Bangkok. I really had an enjoyable time there. We sat in a boat and cruised along Chao Pharya River, went up in a parachute pulled along by a boat and went shopping. It was, on all counts, an enjoyable experience.

Yet I visited Thailand ten years later. This time I was 22. When my family said they wanted to visit Thailand, I was like... hmmm? I went anyway.

Big mistake. It was boring. I did the exact same things that I did the first time. It was like going through the motions. A holiday experience? More like a holiday routine, and ten years had passed - a long time. I did notice some slight differences on the streets of Thailand, but these are marginal things not worth mentioning.

It just made me realize how commercialized the whole tourism industry is. There are "experiences" while travelling such as taking photographs wearing the country's ethnic costumes. Yet, how many people in the country actually still wear these traditional costumes? Not many, as I perceived in the streets. Culture has increasingly become something that is capitalized on to boost the country's economy. Quite sad, I feel.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed visiting my sister while she was studying in Perth. Not withstanding the really big-sized clothes I found at Target- that gratified my soul, as I am fat- but other experiences as well.

This may sound a tad glamorized but I'm going to say it anyway: My sister and I went to a beach in Cottonsloe one sunny morning, with cold chicken, cheese and bread. There were seagulls a-plenty, an elderly lady painting the landscape, and other people relaxing at the beach. The food was delicious, the weather just right, and we also chatted with the elderly lady about her painting.

I left Perth not just with images, but with experiences. What I am trying to say is that it is the way of living in the country of destination that you should examine, not just the tourist gimmicks they throw out at you. Try to imagine you are a citizen living in that country. A simple experience shopping at the grocery store could be an experience in itself. For instance, I just discovered the brand name Jiff can refer to a brand of peanut butter in U.S. Back home, it's a cleaning product.

The little things in life that differentiates people living in different countries can be very telling. If this proves a bit too hard to follow through, just conduct a simple experiment:

Every time you go to a country, check out whether they have a MacDonald's.Whether they have or not is very telling. When they do have one, sit down and order the same items you normally eat back home. Do they taste any different? Whether they do or not is also very telling. Check out the specials as well.

This is just to find out about the culture of the country of visit. Of course, I am aware that only by living in the country for a period of time can you find out the intrinsic details. Yet, even when just traveling there over a short span of time, try to enhance your travelling experience. You'll get more out of it.

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?