you can’t miss this
The Eiffel Tower, The Acropolis, The Empire State Building…words that most people recognize as sites to see in places worth visiting. The problem with “sightseeing” is that it implies seeing the sights, that in its very nature suggests that for a place to be worth visiting it must have said sights. This leads almost every travel book in existence to attempt to categorize and invent sights/sites that make a place worth visiting. This sentiment drives me absolutely insane the more I travel. It is the mentality that keeps the lines queued for the Mona Lisa and the Blarney Stone. The mentality that “you have to do this” in order to have truly visited the country, state, museum, etc. I’ve been suckered like everyone else time and time again, and will likely continue to be until I can ween myself entirely. The allure of that object or representation that is etched into your mind as that thing you must see or do.
Looking objectively at all my past travels though, it’s not those moments, those sights that I remember most vividly. If its the look and feel of one particularly place that is the only thing that has made my trip than I have failed as a traveller. What I realize looking back on where I’ve been, and where i”m going, is that if I missed every single “sight” I would have had just as good a trip.
The extension of the “sights” is that you have to go to a certain area. In Hawaii you have to go to certain islands because they are the most beautiful, in Ireland you have to go to certain counties. One thing I’ve come to realize is that there is beauty just about everywhere. You don’t even have to know where to look, you just need to open your eyes and actually look. Constantly worrying about MUST seeing one place or another, especially seeing it in the correct weather with the correct light is just a waste of time. Not only will you be dissapointed a lot, but you’ll miss the beauty of the reality because it doesn’t match your expectation of it.
You might not have as many pretty pictures, but it’s the things that you can’t capture on film that are truly special. To me, anyhow. Why I can’t I be satisfied with seeing things more local to me? I’m working on an answer to that one.
Tags: Inspiration, Planning, Travel
Adam
Hey you two! Saw this comic today and it reminded me of you:
http://www.catandgirl.com/view.php?389
Maybe not quiet the right tone, but funny nonetheless. Good luck with the travels!