As I search for books and articles that would provide some insight about my upcoming China trip, I was increasingly annoyed by all the travel books and guides out on the market.
"Travel" has cheapened in the present day. In practice and in concept.
Browsing on Amazon, I couldn't help but feel that somewhere in the process of mass reproducing these travel success formulae the magic about traveling and exploring the unknown got left out of the mix.
Modern day travel is really more about management than physically exploring terra incognita. Travelers meet their expectations by carefully managing their logistics and expenses for maximum entertainment value - with the help from Frommer's or Lonely Planet.
Just like how we have developed expectations about movies, (oh you knew what you were getting when you sat down for Titanic 3D!) certain expectations are set before we even leave home, and once we leave the house, all that's left is completing the checklist. Familiar much? Yeah, project management 101! "Initiate, design, implement!"
To me, by-the-number tour routine is anathema to the idea of traveling.
Travel should be about living while on the move. What you are able to experience while traversing across the land, that's something the books certainly don't talk enough about but that's what I think makes travelling so alluring.
Well, all that rambling is really just me saying, pretty much all the travel books out right now are crap, if you want to make travel fun, I think ditching your Frommer's or Lonely Planet would be a good start. As for my trip, still thinking about what to make of it. Just pure urge to go out and explore? Or is there something deeper behind the drive to do this grueling trip again? Still figuring it out...
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