personally, I am not amused by the fact that there are WAY TOO MANY tourists out there and they
are not all out there on cruise ships, THEY ARE AMONG I & I and even strap on backpacks for camouflage, I have no patience for those who insist on the comforts of home preferably in their native language.

Most of the people in the travel blogging community are kind and treat people in other countries with respect, however, not all travelers do. I have seen many people treat locals as if they were not humans and their own personal servants. It is not that they are mean, just that they don’t treat the locals like equals.

Good response and way to show Evan that you can find a healthy medium both in who you travel with and the kind of experiences you seek.

I think for many posts, a disclaimer like that would probably work, though I’m not sure it would have worked for Evan’s since it was directing the reader to alter their travels. To me it didn’t read as much an opinion piece as it did “here’s a better way to travel”.

Judging from the comments both here and there, I might be in the minority who read it that way, but after re-reading and re-reading it, I can’t see any other way that it was intended.

-T

I think, I am more confused now than when I started. After I reread my original response, I don’t like it. I did not mean to add a new generalization (that about tourists) because sometimes I am a tourist and I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. I guess the only way I can end this and be happy about it is to say the following.

I think extremism sucks and there is a healthy balance to any traveling situation involving local culture and enjoying your own personal comforts (being around people of your own culture, eating non-local food – yes, like McDonalds). I think I have learned the most in my travels when I let go of what was comfortable to me and hung with the locals, but it wasn’t the easiest decision and is one that is not always readily available. For me, I would rather be with people than not, and if that means sometimes, that I latch onto a group of good looking Aussie hostel bunkmate boys in Madrid for a night out on the town rather than partying with the locals (or alone), I’ll take it.

Katrina, I agree that opinion pieces should be taken for what they’re worth, but I also agree with you Travis, that extremism blows. I like people and if they happen to look and talk just like me, I’m not going to turn them away in the hope of finding some sort of “authenticity” in my travels. I still see the arguments in Evan’s piece, and I think he does have a valid point that some people settle into traveling with others because they’re afraid of branching out.

That being said, I probably won’t be asking him to meet me up for a beer if he comes to Spain, since I don’t think I count as a local.

1) I’m a backpacker, or at least I like to be when I have the time to do that kind of travel. 2) I like most of the backpackers I meet. They’re nice, generally, which is why it’s hard to avoid them. 3) If I may be defensive for just a second, I’m not (as one commenter suggested) the guy that wears Indian clothes and won’t talk to you. I’m pretty nice and I wear jeans. Also, I spent a year in India, but never really learned Tamil (or Hindi, as was mentioned). I would have tried harder if I had known at the beginning that I’d be there for so long. It’s a regret. 4) I believe what I wrote is true and accurate, but I didn’t intend for people to focus so much on the critical side of it. With one notable exception (about backpackers being not that nice to locals), my tone was intended to be sarcastic and playful. My goal was to express my belief that many travelers will better achieve their goals by pursuing local friendships (which are harder to make) over backpacker friendships (which are easier) and that one should resist the urge to default to the easier option. Are the two mutually exclusive? No, not necessarily, but the research, which I cited at the end of the post, does show a trend. Jarnold writes in the comments that “it is those other backpackers that you meet, more often than not, the ones that you continue to email and communicate with.” He’s speaking precisely to my point without even realizing it. I agree. That is usually what happens when you travel, which is why I wrote the post. If you rearrange your priorities you could continue to email and communicate with locals. If you don’t want to that’s fine. 5) The post was not intended as an inflammatory piece to create controversy. If you don’t take my advice I don’t think you suck. But I thought it was worth sharing.

I think most travelers question the status quo just by getting out on the road like they do. At least this is the case for for me, being from the United States where most people never leave the country. But I’m not really sure that’s what he did in the article. It’s one thing to state an opinion like “I don’t like broccoli” and then not eat broccoli. It’s another to say “broccoli is bad for you so you should avoid it as it will ruin your meal”.

What I take issue with is that it’s a blog article on a very well known travel blog. If there are people out there looking for tips on how to travel for their first trip, and they take the advice of avoiding other backpackers on the road, that would be a shame. I don’t think it’s an opinion to say “Stay open minded during your travels” when the alternative is to close your self off to this or that.

I didn’t say travelers should seek to only travel with others and avoid locals – that would have been the opposite of what Evan was saying, and equally wrong and close minded. THAT would have been an opinion and a different argument. Instead, I’d like for other travelers to stay open to any and all experiences that may present themselves and not have prejudged a situation.

Hopefully I made sense with that.

-T

I don’t think it’s necessary to take sides and I don’t think Abbey has. Evan threw out some food for thought and people latched onto it like it was troll bait. I am a big fan of questioning the status quo, and that’s what he did. The language he used was provocative enough that it got up the noses of some folks. That’s not always comfortable, but it does tend to be effective in promoting discussion.

It’s unfortunate that rather than being taken for what it is — an opinion piece that could lead to some introspection and questioning of assumptions — it’s being taken as an opportunity to dig heels in and create more labels. I see valid points in both posts; more importantly, I see opinions. I can vehemently disagree with an opinion, but that doesn’t make me right and someone else wrong. It just means I have a different opinion. *shrug*

Yeah, I think that’s what hit me about his perspective as well. I’ve had the same experience as you in that the people I’ve met in my travels have turned out to be some of the most interesting and diverse people I know.

I think you’ve taken a side – but that’s because you don’t believe backpackers are people to be avoided. I suppose it comes down to how you feel about other travelers while in the midst of your own travels.

TOURISTS, are more likely to be less educated about a country/culture and more interested in seeing the sites on a bus tour and then getting back to the hotel, but this is also a big generalization. Ultimately, to throw everyone into a group and then deny yourself access to that group seems harsh to me.

Agreed.

and

Agreed.

Writing about controversial topics with hard lines is great for hits and comments (already 26) though! :P

I’ve had that happen as well on occasion, but then I just peel off the bigger group and do what I’m looking to do if I can’t convince the naysayer otherwise. That’s one of the things about bigger groups – the more people there are, the more opinions you’ve got to deal with on everything. It’s like trying to decide on a video to watch or where you’ll eat – eventually a decision is reached and everyone usually goes along with it.

I think you’ve got it right here: “It’s hard to justify ignoring any experience, whether it be with a local or with a fellow traveler. In the end I think you’re going to lose when you ignore opportunities.” Closing yourself off to any new experience from the beginning is really going to limit the potential being a flashpacker offers.

-T