Traveling- we all aim to do it at least sometime in our lives but where, who with, for how long and the motivation behind it will all vary on each individual. Australia is such a small part of this world, and only one, of the vast amount of cultures, available for us to experience. It is all about stepping out of one's comfort zone to explore and discover the unknown in the big wide world. I, personally, haven't done much traveling yet, the furthest I've gone would be Fiji, and it was absolutely amazing. However through traveling there I discovered something truly concerning...
More and more places are being overrun by tourism, that when people are visiting all these foreign places, they aren't in fact experiencing the uniqueness of that place, but are being met with a superficial and business-motivated atmosphere. Take Fiji for example, as I went there with my school, we went around visiting all of the traditional villages, where the locals would show us around to the most important places to them. We bathed in rivers, traveled on window-less buses, ate their style of food, slept in whatever they could offer us, we hiked 7 hours up to what is considered to be an extremely sacred Fijian place, we experienced their churches, we played games with the children in the street, we respected their beliefs, and wore skirts that fell past our knees, and proper modest T-shirts. We experienced the traditional Fijian lifestyle in all its glory. But then on the last couple of days, the teachers treated us to a boat ride to an Island which would be more touristic. I think it's safe to say we were very shocked. As we drove to this part of Fiji, where all the tourists came, it was a completely different world. People could wear what they wanted, they had all of the shops they were used to, even McDonalds, and there was not even a glimpse of the traditional side of Fiji. It had been lost to what the big businessman believe people want to experience when they go to Fiji. They clearly don't want the foreign, but instead create an atmosphere of familiarity. It felt very fake, and if we had spent the 2 weeks in this part of Fiji, my experience wouldn't have been anywhere near as memorable and special. The purpose of traveling to these places is lost, if we don't get out of our comfort zones to experience a different culture in its original atmosphere. We need to sleep in run down places, eat food that could possibly make us sick, go without the materialistic 'essentials' and to really experience what the culture has to offer - good and bad! It worries me that a place as culture-driven and traditional as Fiji has become to touristic, what all of the other amazing places will be like. I don't want to travel the world to be greeted with atmospheres that replicate my own, but I want to go out and see other peoples cultures, how the local people would experience it to be.
So when you go traveling, don't just aim for the superficial experience, go out and experience all that culture has to offer. The good, the bad, and the unfamiliar. Those moments will be the ones you remember!
The $uperficial idealistic 'experience' VS The real experience :
THE SUPERFICIAL AND MATERIALISTIC EXPERIENCE:
THE REAL FIJIAN EXPERIENCE
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