What You Call Travelling...

Not many of us have the privilege to travelling in and out of the country. For most people, it remains a dream until a time comes when your chance came.

Of course, there are plenty of travel agencies out there that offers attractive travel packages, which are affordable and covers most of the major attractions and must-see sites and landmarks of the each country.
No doubt that many would think that it is the best possible way to travel, in the most affordable way. To some, it is even better if the package offers visits to multiple neighbouring countries in the shortest time possible, at a minimal price.

Most of the pictures people snap are those of landmarks or famous sites, with them IN the picture of course, so that they can show the world that they have actually been to that place, with those pictures as proof. Hard
copy, if necessary.

How many of those people who brag and boast about their foreign experience actually learnt about the country itself? The different culture, the country's historical past, meaning of landmarks? I've heard of people who travelled around Europe in just 2 weeks, traversing and crossing borders of all the neighbouring countries, seeing all the things they should have seen while they were there, visiting all the sites and landmarks, snapped uncountable amount of pictures and so on...

When asked about what its really like being in that foreign land, common replies are mostly about the difference in the climate, oohs and ahhs about famous landmarks. Places they've been. Of which I'm pretty sure that all of us have read about, seen or heard in the wake of the internet, satellite tv and the easy access to information on other channels of the media. How many of them would be telling you about the difference in culture, how are they different from us and even the local delicacies. Must try food instead of must-be-seen-taking-picture with landmarks? Common. In fact I believe that everyone knows about famous
landmarks, so why share more of the same thing? Moreover, its just a pictures, like all others, and the only difference is that you're in it.

Of course all of these are just pieces of my mind. Before anyone wants to start throwing rotten eggs at me, perhaps you should ask yourself whether you really did learn anything more other than taking pictures with famous landmarks and crossing out more places on your list of Must-Go Countries?

I have to say that most tours that most agencies (read : all) out there only offer sightseeing tours of countries, I used the word sighseeing, because you are simply brought around,seeing places, perhaps learn about the famous place from what the tour guide has to offer. What if you get a rotten tourguide who only knew as much as a typical travel guidebook could offer?

Perhaps the best way to really learn about a country is to stay for a period of time. I've always admired those who had the luxury of studying abroad, who indirectly earned their chance of learning about an entirely
different culture, pick up a new language or two, learn about the place firsthand from the locals, and living like one of them. To even be learning about the street names and map the entire place in your mind
would be interesting. I'm not at all suggesting that we shun our home country for another, but I see travelling as an opportunity to learn more about other people, instead of just ourselves. Travelling can be eye
opener to alot of other things. Something that you cannot acquire and learn through books. You've got to be there to see and feel it for yourself.

As for me, I would not choose to travel to China, because I cant read. One of important things that helps you in finding your way and make a mental map of the place are the road signages. Not being able to read makes you feel like you're travelling blindfolded. Sis and Dad didnt get what I was trying to say when I told them that. They argued that I can always join tours offered by major travel agencies, cos most of the tourguides speak English. It's not like I cant understand Mandarin, just that I cant read. Not being able to understand wasn't the problem. Reading was. Not being able to tell exactly where you are on the map is next to travelling blindfolded.

It's frustrating at times when you constantly need people to translate the strokes of characters that doesn't make sense to you. Makes you feel handicapped. Plus, not everyone would actually take the time or have the
patience (or inequipped with enough knowledge to make the translation)(to translate the alien strokes to you you word for word, line by line. What I often get when asking people to read text messages written in complicated strokes of lines and curves, "AIyah..it's nothing one. Just a forwarded message." -_-''' I thought it would be better if they could just read them out to me, whether I understand it or not, rather than just tell me its nothing important (Hence the conclusion that not many people had the patience and expertise to do the translation). What amuses (and frustrates) me more is that, each time you try to ask someone to translate something, they are often at a loss of words. Which sometimes confuses me; its eitherthat person has such a vast vocab that he had difficulties finding the right replacement/ translation for a word, or he had limited vocab. Luckily I could still speak the language rather fluently, which makes up for the inability to read nor write.

Ignore if you are offended. High5, if you hear me out.