
It’s not about how many countries you have been to - clementmas
https://travelmap.net/blog/it-is-not-about-how-many-countries-you-have-been-to
======
dalbasal
Where I live (dublin) there's a persistent tourist subculture that photgraphs
doors of georgian buildings. I've met several tourists with irish surnames who
set out to visit every pub that has their name (hard work if you're a murphy,
kavanagh, ryan...). I met a chinese-australian couple doing an "ancestry
trail" visitng the ancestral villages of their in-law.

That kind of stuff is ultimately just a frame. A way of exploring, selecting
destinations, and allowing the unexpected to happen. The premise itself isn't
the point. The premise is a way of facilitating harder to target stuff:
meeting people, exploring.

I've heard similar criticisms of photo-takers. They're more concerned with
photos than experiences.

These criticisms and accusations of shallowness are shallow themselves, and
uncharitable. Collecting countries, places, pubs, doors or whatnot is just a
way of deciding what to do next, and allowing experiences to happen
themselves.

~~~
dspillett
_> That kind of stuff is ultimately just a frame. A way of exploring,
selecting destinations, and allowing the unexpected to happen. The premise
itself isn't the point._

Exactly. I'm doing an A-to-Z of half-/full- marathons. It started as an idea
stolen from another runner: a challenge to see how quickly I could cram them
in. But as I started searching for options (and going through those already on
my "I'd like to do that one or visit there some day" list) it has morphed from
26 UK road halfs in two years or less, to a much wider spread over several
years, still many road runs but a number of beautiful looking trail adventures
too, taking the time to visit places and at least superficially explore them,
seeing things I wouldn't normally see, taking regular proper breaks from my
normal daily grind.

If anyone else has a problem with this, it is their problem. It is going to be
rather good for my enjoyment of the next few years and I might make some
memories that will last much longer than that, and it all started from that
somewhat arbitrary initial goal.

~~~
taneq
> A-to-Z of half-/full- marathons [...] a challenge to see how quickly I could
> cram them in.

Isn't this really bad for your health? I thought you needed a significant rest
period between marathons to give you time to recover?

(Please don't interpret this as 'a problem with' what you're doing - it sounds
fun and a great way to see the countryside, I just hope it's not damaging
you!)

~~~
dspillett
If you throw yourself at it without any prep it won't be good for you.

But a proper marathon training plan at my sort of level includes a long run
between 13 and 20 miles most weeks. My full recovery time after hammering for
a PB at half distance is over a week but going even a little easier brings
that down considerably. So a half every ~three weeks, with a couple of longer
breaks here or there, should be perfectly fine. I'm not particularly planning
to gun for a PB on any of these.

Doing a full is a different beast requiring more R&R afterwards, even if
taking it easy, as is a fairly technical trail run, and if I'm travelling
further to a new place I want time to see some of that place beyond running
through part of it, hence the plan is now "several years" to spread the annual
leave & travel costs out a bit more, and to allow more time for R&R and
reconditioning as needed.

This way some of the more local road halfs fold nicely into a conditioning (or
condition maintaining) plan for the longer/harder runs too. The longer time
also helps with arranging the runs: due to the way the organised events tend
to bunch around spring & autumn that becomes a constraint if you want to do it
in a short time (not being able to do that particular B because it is too
close to the C & D I've already set sights on, etc.)

------
netsharc
I very much agree with the article, but "... instead, talk about your most
memorable experience, how that one time you had this deep connection with this
person in at meditation camp in Southeast Asia because you speak their
language, or the quiet moment, the intense gratitude you had after a long day
of cycling, after setting up camp, and looking at the beautiful sunset in the
offing." makes me think of this pic: [http://atimetoheal.london/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/Cmon-In...](http://atimetoheal.london/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/Cmon-Inner-Peace.png)

Next it'll be the trend to collect "Deep moments". I guess some influencers do
it on Instagram already, copy-paste a "deep" thought onto their vacation pic
so the IG scrollers can fool themselves into thinking they're being deep.

~~~
mikorym
neural networks <= linear algebra [1]

deep learning <= linear algebra with some elementary graph theory

[1] Neural networks is included in linear algebra.

Now, none of us need ever to use the word "deep" again, unless we want to
download a 1998 movie.

~~~
majewsky
What does this have to do with the parent comment? That is, besides the word
"deep" which gets used in an entirely different context.

~~~
mikorym
The word "deep" is being used in social contexts more often after the advent
of "deep learning".

------
zimablue
Deep travelling is also nonsense, this kind of modern travel is largely just
status fencing by upper middle class people who can't gain status through
thoughts or substantive actions. Which is all fine, where it gets disgusting
is tendency to somehow conflate it with virtue. "He's a really interesting
person he spent 2 years in Holland". "Everyone should travel.. if you don't it
betrays some closed mindedness".

~~~
kome
living abroad and traveling are quite different things. I agree that
traveling, also "deep traveling", is mostly bullshit. It's tourism, it's
consumption.

But living abroad, and especially learning another language and another
culture, is something that is really illuminating on so many ways... and you
don't have to be rich for that. In fact, most of poor immigrants do just that.
The rich one, they call themselves expats.

~~~
zimablue
I'm not saying travelling is terrible, or teaches you nothing I'm saying that
if someone goes to a foreign country for a long time and it's not as a
byproduct (as in they have a career NOT related to travelling, picking a
career specifically to travel doesn't count) of their work, then what it
statistically indicates about them is that (privilege + propensity to try and
socially signal) is greater than some number, but a lot of people seem to take
it purely as "virtue".

~~~
empath75
As someone who went backpacking for three months when I was recently bankrupt
and only had a few thousand dollars I had saved over three years because I was
afraid to spend money on anything but food, I can assure you that it does not
require any particular economic privilege, only a severe case of not giving a
fuck about your future.

It worked out for me because I met my wife who was also traveling and came
back and lucked into a good job, but that was by no means guaranteed when I
left.

Of all the people I met at hostels in guatemala, there was only one that I
would say was really privileged, and a lot of people who simply prioritized
travel over everything else in their lives.

------
renholder
Whilst I agree with the underlying premise, there's a touch of what the kids
are calling "privilege" these days in the blog post that's entirely
unrealistic for the predominance of the world:

" _It is way better to spend 1 month working and living in Ethiopia than 1
month visiting all the famous attractions of the African continent._ "

It purely depends on a few suppositions automatically being "true" for
everyone:

1\. People have a enough capital for such ventures.

2\. People have employers who will "allow" this.

3\. If not via employ, then they have enough vacation per year to do ventures
like that.

For expounding on point 3, take our American counterparts, whom only get
something like two weeks off a year. They would have to either consume their
sick leave (assuming that they even have it) to make the full month or just
have the crap-shoot of the two weeks.

If that's all that you get, would you rather take a chance that you'll be
miserable for two weeks _or_ would you do what all of the other cool kids are
doing and just hit the main attractions because, then, at least you're doing
_something_ and you're not sandboxing yourself into possibly being miserable
for the only time that you _do_ get off for the year?

Whilst the article seems to have the best intentions at heart, its perspective
seems pretty myopic, when you take into consideration the grand stage of the
world and the arresting details those other cultures might include - which is
what I assume the intended audience of the blog is (e.g.: the world).

~~~
netsharc
> If that's all that you get, would you rather take a chance that you'll be
> miserable for two weeks or would you do what all of the other cool kids are
> doing and just hit the main attractions because, then, at least you're doing
> something and you're not sandboxing yourself into possibly being miserable
> for the only time that you do get off for the year?

Your comment made me wonder about the artificiality of tourist
destinations/activities, because when we just have a week to experience a
culture, we'd probably seek the condensed version that we think will give us
an understanding of said culture (I'd compare it to reading a book's plot on
Wikipedia vs. reading the book). One can go to Bali and visit a traditional
dance show. Is it authentic, or just something performed for the tourists?
It's like hiring a prostitute and confusing that with a relationship. To
answer my own question: at least the bigger/village-wide ceremonies are being
done by people who really are doing something due to their traditions, not for
the show:
[https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/tradition...](https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/traditional-
rituals-in-bali-you-should-know-about/)

I guess in the end tourism and "deep travel" as written in the article are
both just a search for novelty experiences. Sure millions have been to Bali,
and looked at the same temple at the same time of day (sunset); but it would
be novelty to me, compared to my office job. Less people from the West have
spent time living in Ethiopia and that too would be a novelty experience
(meanwhile the Ethiopians are wondering what the hell the white man is raving
about).

Talking about the your novelty Bali experience with others who've had the same
experience (novelty to each, but cookie cutter for all) does make for dull
conversation.

Meanwhile there are also people who don't even get to experience something
new, because they're busy being documentary photo-/videographers for their
little corner of social media where they're a star.

------
vr46
People playing cultural bingo is nothing new, but at least gives people some
sense of progress and accomplishment, which is probably the priority of those
people.

Personally, having travelled a bit, think that travelling is not about moving.
If you actually want to understand anything about anything, you need to stand
still for a while, and then go away and come back. It's hard to reconcile this
with being a (passport) stamp collector.

------
supermatt
This is so true. I spent 3 years travelling through Europe in a converted
military truck. I would say that of the 24 countries we have "been to", we
have only truly known 2 or 3 (and of those, I was born in one, and now live in
another). That is despite having spent months in many places, city and
countryside alike. How anyone could ever consider "doing europe" in anything
less than a lifetime is beyond me. City-hopping, and going to the typical
instagram pictures to take more of the same is not travelling, IMHO.

~~~
personlurking
I'd say there is a false notion that having been somewhere means you _know_
it. I've been to France but I don't know it. During that week-long trip, I
spent all my time in Paris but I don't know it. Even the places I've been to
in Paris (like the Louvre or the ET), I don't actually know well.

~~~
kaybe
Eh, I don't even really know my hometown.

~~~
supermatt
Id HIGHLY recommend getting to know your hometown. It is life changing.

~~~
kaybe
What does 'know' even mean in this context?

~~~
tekkk
Well here's an anecdote; I went abroad and at one place was enthralled by the
coffee they served. Astounded, I bought some beans and felt quite happy of the
"treasure" we had found. Later back at home, I went to a local coffee shop to
buy some beans. Turns out there's a local coffee place that makes their own
coffee, actually just a kilometer away where I lived. After trying out their
coffee, the coffee I had brought abroad just seemed bland.

There's so many things you don't discover just because you aren't "looking".
When going abroad you're actively seeking out great experiences and places. In
your home town you're probably satisfied with sitting on computer and watching
Netflix.

~~~
kaybe
Yes, that makes sense. It's good to have guests over, they help a lot with
this.

------
keiferski
If you can manage it, I really recommend visiting places in the off-season.
You’ll get an entirely different perspective of the place, especially if it’s
a touristy one. E.g. Dubrovnik in August is a humid, crowded nightmare. In
February it’s an empty seaside village.

~~~
supermatt
This is great advice. For example, Venice in March is amazingly beautiful and
you can visit all the touristic locations without queuing for half a day.

~~~
pmontra
But if you don't want big crowds be sure to skip Carnival, which can happen in
March (earlier this week.)

------
quickthrower2
Yeah I did some back packing, south east asia tours and all that and honestly
I didn't like it that much overall. You are whisked from one place to the
next, 6am starts and getting drunk is the norm every night. My favorite part
was just hanging out in Hanoi for a day or two without much of a plan.

I met people doing months of this stuff back to back around the world. I
wished I had just spent the whole time in New Zealand in a couple of nice
places. It would have been more relaxing and more up my street.

~~~
kaybe
Was that a guided backpacking tour? Why would you get up at 6am (unless you
like that)? Wait, how much planning beforehand went into that if you changed
location that fast? I have so many questions.

~~~
quickthrower2
The early starts were either to get to the next place or cram many sightseeing
things into one day.

The tours were organised by a company.

~~~
kaybe
Mhm, I figured. My travelling is usually more like the hanging-out-somewhere
kind.

If you have a return ticket to a place, your visa and safety information (eg
what not do to in order not to die) in place (and are not trying to go
someplace small in peak season!) that's usually all you need. A guidebook is
nice-to-have too, because there is a map and information about the country and
language.

Sometimes you get stranded somewhere for longer than you'd like, sometimes you
cannot find food (arriving too late or not in shop distance), you might miss
some sights.. but that's fine.

------
rofo1
Spot on article. I always preferred spending more than couple of days at a
place (say, couple of months, if possible), just to see how it really is. Try
to be one of them (locals) during the months you are there.

Also, walk. Walk in random directions, without a plan. See what's really going
on!

In my opinion, there's no other way of truly experiencing another culture.
Taking a picture in tourist-packed place is surely not the way to experience
anything.

I realize that's difficult to spend a month in another country due to other
obligations (kids, work, etc.) - not sure how are we going to solve that, ever
(or even if it needs "solving" at all). That's just how society is structured,
for now.

~~~
matt-snider
I find 100% vacation leaves me wanting to work after a week or two, and 100%
work leaves me wanting travel after a few months.

I think it would be ideal to work a flexible job where it's possible to live
and work remotely for several months at a time, while discovering that place
slowly. In this way you get more of the day-to-day life experience, and you
are able to "absorb" the place/culture at your own pace, getting to know it
beyond a superficial level. Basically, you just try to live a "normal" life
there, albeit with more frequent evenings out, weekend trips, etc.

This is of course, part of the appeal of digital nomadism, but I consider that
to be a much more extreme version of what I mean.

~~~
Tepix
> This is of course, part of the appeal of digital nomadism, but I consider
> that to be a much more extreme version of what I mean.

in what regard?

------
keithnz
I'd say do both... in New Zealand we have the idea of an "OE" (Overseas
Experience... and every other country is overseas for NZ). The OE often goes
through asia and ends with working in England (often London) for a few years
and doing excursions into Europe. Some of that can be soulless, you never
really experience a place and its people. So you definitely do want to slow
down and take your time with some things. But some stuff, you've read the
history, the stories of a place and you really just want to go to the place
and just "touch" it to feel connected to that piece of history.

------
selune
Just... let people enjoy things their own way. I like taking photos of
architecture and I don't like talking to people or immersing myself into
culture (I rarely even eat local food because of my diet).

Tourism is a form of entertainment. It doesn't need to be "deep".

------
Alliva
This hits home. Truly understanding a country is one thing and visiting
somewhere for a few days is totally different. You don't get to experience
countries inner values in a few days nor its problems.

------
angarg12
I see where the author is coming from, but I have the exact opposite
experience.

Me: I'm travelling to x

Chap: for how long?

Me: 3 days

Chap: Only 3 days?? You need at least 1 week!

If it is 1 week you need 2, if it's 2 you need one month.

I get the benefits of slow and deep travel, but I don't have the money and
time to spend weeks in every single location I'm going. I also feel like there
is a diminishing return on how much time you spend on each place.

So for the last few years I have been doing this 'speed travelling', and
although it might look like checkbox ticking, I feel I'm getting a wider range
of (albeit shallower) experiences.

So it might be the case that the dial has moved way too far into the fast
travel and it needs a correction, but with the experiences that I am gathering
now I'll be able to travel deep and slow to my favourite places later in life.

------
peteretep
> It is way better to spend 1 month working and living in Ethiopia than 1
> month visiting all the famous attractions of the African continent

Is it though? I have lived on a bunch of different continents, traveled both
fast and slow, and this kind of weird elitism about getting a “true cultural
experience” is way overdone.

You want a true cultural experience? Catch a local tropical disease. Pay a
bribe. Get in a road traffic accident. There’s nothing special about getting
bitten by a dog in the Caribbean as opposed to Bali. People are about the same
everywhere.

------
KozmoNau7
Every time I've traveled somewhere, I've deliberately kept the plans extremely
vague. My biggest priority is to sample the local culture primarily through
food and drink, and to avoid the stereotypical tourist traps.

So far, this approach has been a resounding success. I just don't get the
people who need to plan out their vacations in every detail. To me, the entire
purpose is to relax and let life unfold on its own, away from the routine of
everyday life.

~~~
kaybe
That does not work too well in peak season, I found, and have to remember to
keep in mind.

~~~
KozmoNau7
Yes, absolutely. We don't have kids, so we tend to not travel in the peak
season, and we avoid the most popular destinations in any case.

~~~
Tepix
Often the most popular destinations are popular for a reason.

~~~
KozmoNau7
I've found that my tastes usually don't line up with mainstream popularity.
This tends to be very convenient. Just let me walk around some interesting
architecture and find some interesting restaurants, I don't really care if
it's popular or not.

------
wenham
Sounds to me like keeping up with the Jones' but in a different way. "Oh
you've been to 20 counties? Well I've done one, but covered it 20 times
deeper" Does any of it really matter? You experience life for you, not anyone
else, if you get more out of speed running every country you can than spending
a year in Provence- then that is the way to go.

Both are good, both are bad, both are nothing to keep score over.

------
platz
The advice here boils down to: don't just vacation, quit your job and take up
a freelance/remote worker lifestyle for an unknown period of time.

------
abcd_f
> _Rue Cremieux, a trending attraction in Paris_

[https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47482034](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47482034)
\- the other side of the same coin. "Paris street to shut out Instagrammers".

~~~
ah-
The same thing is happening in Notting Hill atm.

Trying to stop it just feels futile, why not let people have fun taking some
pictures? It'll be over in a while anyways.

------
grecy
I agree with the article, and I will also say if you're looking for a truly
special experience, make the effort and go places on the planet where tourists
simply don't venture.

In West Africa I repeatedly had people say "What means Tourist" and often
people would want to touch me because they had never seen a white person.

I took a stupidly small route from Nigeria into Cameroon, and the Immigration
guy that I eventually tracked down was more than a little shocked to see me.
In three years working there, he had never seen a single foreigner.

When you spend time with people like that, it is a genuine experience, and
sitting on floors to share communal food or being hosted in people's houses is
something I will never forget as long as I live.

~~~
mlrtime
Please don't take this the wrong way, but white people love telling these
stories (I'm white, american, middle class). I had the exact same reaction
towards me in very rural India. I would love telling the story of me being the
only white guy around for miles and probably years. For some reason we get a
sense of pride telling others we have been to places nobody else like us have
been to.

~~~
Symbiote
I'm British, and my birthplace has a moderately well-known football team.

I read up on their latest games before travelling, so I can discuss it with
anyone who might ask or otherwise find out where I'm from. I think it makes me
a bit less generic than the last 20 tourists who passed through that year, as
_they know something about me_.

I doubt I've ever been the "first white person" to anyone, but several times
I've been with children who probably haven't had a chance to stare before —
e.g. a long bus journey.

------
bmmayer1
Something I can relate to, having "done" 85 countries myself (yes, I'm one of
those 'shallow' travelers who counts countries).

This article is right in some ways. It's right in that deep travel experiences
are almost always more memorable than shallow ones; that traveling by
hitchhike will get you more face time with locals than traveling by rent-a-
car. If you travel to truly understand a place, you need to spend real time
there (I define 'real time' as at least 2-3 weeks, which is an eternity in
travel world, since you really fully immerse yourself in the place during that
time).

But it's wrong to try to define a right way to travel, as if there is some
authentic travel nirvana that all travelers could or should reach.

First of all, it depends on what kind of traveler you are, and why you travel.
If you travel to learn about as many places as possible, because you crave
exposure to new experiences and cultures, and you know that every time you go
someplace new you learn something new that you never would have known if you
hadn't gone, travel has to be somewhat of a quantity game--unless you are a
full-time traveller and have the luxury (or the tolerance for nomadship) to
live on the road.

But most of all, there really is no 'wrong' way to travel.

There will always be people who criticize Club Med-goers and cruise-takers for
only dabbling in 'tourist traps', glampers for not doing 'real' camping,
backpackers for living like 'hippies' without jobs and 'vacationing' in other
peoples' poverty, hostel-stayers for hanging out too much with other tourists,
expats for isolating themselves from the countries they live in, students
abroad for not making friends with locals, homestayers for not learning the
language, peace corps volunteers for being neocolonial, missionary trips for
dressing a vacation as charity...at the end of the day, every traveler is
trying to explore their horizons at their comfort level, and no one who
travels is truly ever "authentic" in their experience, no matter how many
chickens they pluck themselves or squat toilets they use.

All travelers are just visitors, and before long they will leave, and everyone
who knows them on their journey knows that their stay is temporary, whether it
is 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years. The best you can do is learn as much
as you can in the time you have, be open minded, and take your lessons with
you when you go home, or to the next place.

Unless you're moving to a place permanently, starting a family and plan to die
there, you're a transient, and you have no right to criticize how other people
choose to be transients in their own way. Every traveler is better off for the
experience and the world is better off for the cultural exchange and greater
global understanding facilitated by travelers.

~~~
darrenf
Came here to post a much less eloquent version of the same thing. Any
proclamation that one way of travelling is objectively better or more worthy
(of... what?) than another leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I've visited
between 61 and 66 countries depending on how you want to measure it, and
frankly I don't believe this to say anything deep or shallow about me - it's
just a number, a score in the game I've chosen to play given the privilege to
do so.

From the article:

> _Yes, you have been to 30 countries in 5 years, but have you really “been”
> there? How many places do you really know and understand?_

Perhaps my purpose or desire isn't to "really know and understand"? Some of us
like to dip our toe in, or just take an experiential snapshot. And on the flip
side, I don't consider anyone who stays in London for 6 months or even 6 years
to "really know and understand" the place. I've lived here for my entire 45
years and wouldn't make the claim for myself, such are the new things I keep
discovering on a monthly basis.

> _I do not intend to criticize entirely the people for traveling this way.
> Society does sometimes pressure us to spend holidays abroad to look and
> sound more “well-cultivated”_

I have felt absolutely no societal pressure to travel, only self-imposed. I
absolutely do not feel, look, sound, or claim to be "well-cultivated". I've
just _visited lots of places_ , that's all. Travel for me doesn't have to be,
and in the main is _not_ , intrinsically profound or romantic - but it's _fun_
, and collecting countries on lightning trips makes me extraordinarily happy,
and that's my primary objective. Perhaps there's some profundity in that?

~~~
rypskar
I did come here to post a much less eloquent version of what you both did say.
For me the problem is someone telling me how I should experience something. I
travel and experience countries and cultures the way I do it, bringing with me
who I am and my whole past.

Some times I plan a lot about where to go and what to do and other times I
travel to a place and then find what is to do and see there, or even walk
around to see if I find something interesting. I like to do it my way, but
someone telling me that I need to do it this or that way will not make my
experience any better.

I like reading about others experiences, but even if I did travel to the same
place, did the same things, and talked with the same persons as I was reading
about, it would not be the same experience because with me is I, not that
person that had the other experience.

------
rebuilder
The main reason I don't like urban travel is it takes so long to get to know a
place. Having been abroad to study and work on a few occasions, that
experience of actually becoming part of the city is so powerful that just
visiting one seems unfulfilling. Also, urban environments are pretty stressful
at the best of times IMO, and spending a week in a city just means I never get
comfortable.

Now, nature travel... I loved touring the western USA. The country is just
designed for road trips. What little interaction you do need to have with the
local culture is made tremendously easy by how standardized the service sector
seems to be. Too bad flying is so damaging to the environment, I'd love to go
again.

~~~
kaybe
Mhm, we really have to work on sustainable air travel. Transport in general,
actually.

------
hellofunk
I'm in agreement, and many people just throw the "quantity over quality"
perception towards everything in life. It is as superficial a way to
experience the world as it is anything else you do with your time.

------
clementmas
We wrote this article for our blog but here is our website if you want to
check out our app: [http://travelmap.net](http://travelmap.net)

~~~
johnchristopher
Hi Clement,

I work in the tourism industry. What's your pitch ? What's the difference
between you and Cirkwi ? Can you connect to feeds from Apidae and others (well
known formats and custom ones) ? Are your approaching institutional tourism
information offices ?

------
kstenerud
It depends on why you're traveling. I you're traveling to impress your peer
groups, that's fine. Nothing wrong with a little peacocking. Building your
networks? OK, sure. Just want to do something to enjoy yourself? Rock on. Just
be honest with yourself about what the purpose of your travel is, and make
sure it actually serves you. Beyond that, anything anyone has to say about how
YOU travel is nothing more than advice.

------
dorwi
Ha, I love these discussions about what is a "good" way of travelling. In the
end it's all about your personal values; if you prefer to be one with the
nature you'll be labeled as a "deep traveler", if you are playing the social
game you'll be labeled as a "shallow traveller", or you can do both and get a
label accordingly. Long story short, the way you travel is proxy for who you
are.

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newsgremlin
How does the saying go, it's about the journey not the destination? Have a
destination in mind, but don't get completely caught up focusing on getting
there. Head off the beaten track whenever something catches your eye or ears.

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Krasnol
Nice. This blog post delivers the message that everybody should open an
account there because even the one trip you made is worth putting it on. You
don't have to be part of the traveling elite to be on travelmap.net.

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runn1ng
Good recommendation for getting to know a foreign country is to marry a
guy/girl from there and move there.

I can guarantee you will really get to know the place and the culture very
well, perhaps even too much

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wwqrd
Do we really need to police how the young and affluent are talking about their
gap years?

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mlrtime
Interesting opinion but if someone wants to travel this way, so be it. Reminds
me of this: [https://xkcd.com/1314/](https://xkcd.com/1314/)

Maybe someone has a more relevant one.

