Simple Rules for Intentional Travel
Guest author, Ingrid, with a family in Northeastern India. Conversation on a street corner evolved into a home cooked meal and meeting the entire family.
While exploring Asia for the first time this past spring, I couldn’t help but categorize locals into two distinct groups: people who seemed happy and interested in me (the foreigner) and people who weren’t.
As I thought and talked about the patterns to this phenomenon, it became clearer that the more touristy and popular a place was, the less likely locals were to be friendly. Their welcome mats had been worn thin. Not a surprise. But it made me defensive nonetheless. But I’m not just some rich, self-absorbed white girl looking for a party! Couldn’t they tell?
No. They couldn’t tell. Because to get beyond a looks-only judgment of a person usually requires, well, more than a quick superficial interaction. Shocking, I know.
Within a week of my multiple month excursion, I grew frustrated with wanting to prove to locals that I was a different kind of traveler.
So I observed and talked with fellow travelers who seemed to be digging in, moving smoothly, and having an overall deeper experience. And I scrawled some notes into the journal I was carrying with me. The list is not a panacea to bad tourist habits; it’s not the only means possible to leaving a lighter cultural footprint, it’s not a cure-all. But I think it’s a good start.
If you’re thinking about heading off on a wild adventure to a place you’ve never been, whether the first or hundredth time, I think these are some simple ideas that can frame the trip in a positive and challenging and intentional way.
Simple Rules to Lighten Your Cultural Footprint
- Learn (at least some of) the language
- Smile and greet people according to local custom
- Avoid resorts
- Stay a while
- Be respectful
- Spread the wealth
- Ignore the party scene
- Shift focus from taking to giving
- Go for a walk
- Befriend locals
About Ingrid: Ingrid is a wanderlust at heart. She’s lived all up and down the west coast, studying environmental science and Spanish at the University of Portland and studying how to grow vegetables in Colorado and Washington. Her favorite activities include rock climbing, eating ice cream, and writing letters. Her travels have taken her from the Caribbean to East Asia and many destinations inbetween. The next places she hopes to travel to are New Zealand, Japan, and Norway.
I love that you have found your personal way to travel that brings you joy. I’d like to offer another perspective though.
I really want to travel and be respectful and not add to the mass tourism issues. However, I’m an introvert (not shy) and, although I am friendly and happy to talk to local business owners etc, I really am not looking to make friends and the thought of a strange family inviting me to their house for dinner is terrifying. I have a small circle of friends in my home life and I like it that way. I like the idea of researching cultures and learning some language before arriving in a new country, as well as supporting local small businesses. I’m even happy for small, group day tours for eg. food tours. But I don’t think engaging with locals in such a personal manner is necessary. I sure would not invite travellers I meet on the street into my own home. I still feel that mind/soul/heart connection when going somewhere new, but it’s like a connection to nature and the world and history and humanity as a whole. Attempting to make personal connections all during my travels would be draining for me.
I think if you are conscious of your travel habits and choices, you don’t need to try to make friends with everyone you meet to learn about the world and be a ‘good’ traveller.
swo8, that sounds like just the ticket! Seems like good travel is really ‘mind/soul/heart- expanding’. I always feel at the end of it that I know less than when I started.
Those are all very good rules to live by. You really have to get to know the people and they have to get to know you.
Leslie
Thanks, Leslie. We think they’re good rules to live by, too. We hope more people will practice this type of intentional travel to lower the negative impacts of tourism.
We spent about the last ten years doing some serious traveling, no tours or high priced hotels. We had a smattering of the language and two way tickets plus the first night accommodation. We stayed about a month and it was a truly mind expanding experience. It is a fantastic world out there and we only scratched the surface.
Leslie