When I first started traveling, I had the romantic notion that “real” traveling had to be all about having authentic experiences. I also had a specific idea of what “authentic” meant. It meant eschewing pre-packaged tours. It meant immersing in strange lands where there were less “tourists”, where the local folk spoke a different...
Read MoreContinued from my previous post… If all experiences are true and valid and equally valuable, then does this mean we all sit at home and do nothing, as that is also an equally worthy experience? No. So here’s my take. Experiences serve two purposes. To entertain and to grow. Entertainment experiences are for the pleasure centers. To...
Read MoreDuring our week long stay on the Karimunjawa islands, we spent a day with a German that had decided to make the village of Kemujan in Karimunjawa his home. Married to an Indonesian woman, they and their newborn baby live in a modest house just outside Kemujan. While chatting with him, he dropped a bomb on us when he said that his monthly expenses (which was the...
Read More…Continued from The Fisherman – I : Consumption The fisherman I met in Kemujan led a simple life. He caught enough fish for the day to feed his family. Had creature comforts such as biscuits occasionally, and had loads of free time. Similar to that fable about the American businessman and Mexican fisherman (“Buy more boats! Start...
Read MoreThis originally appeared as a post on my FaceBook page. I have since modified it to be a blog to capture it as part of my RTW experiences: A friend posted an article on FaceBook titled “Be Happier by Settling for Good Enough”. As it spurred a few discussions among friends, I realized how true it had been for me, in traveling. I started out with my...
Read More
Recent Comments