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Comment by warp_factor | Hacker News Reader

Funny how the whole thing with traveling evolved over time. 10 years ago, traveling was that hype thing that everyone needed to do a lot to be more "open and inclusive" and "discover the world".

As another comment said before, travel nowadays tends to become that super selfish adventure where the only things that matter is to come back with the best selfies and brag on social networks about how cool it all was. It is not like that for everyone of course, but I have the feeling for a lot of people traveling means going to somewhere famous to get a stupid Instagram shot, with zero concerns for other people or the environment.

Maybe that like everything else, traveling became too easy which started a race to the bottom for attention and pushing people to do more and more stupid and selfish things to be seen.

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> 10 years ago, traveling was that hype thing that everyone needed to do a lot to be more "open and inclusive" ... travel nowadays tends to become that super selfish adventure where the only things that matter is to come back with the best selfies

Traveling is still extremely important to personal development. The current development does not negate the importance of the first. It's like saying reading books is no longer important because everyone today just reads facebook posts.

I was privileged enough in my life that I traveled a lot over the last 15 years. I really feel it is more and more difficult to have a genuine experience sometimes because of all the tourist crowds behaving horribly.

So, yes, it is definitely still possible to go to a remote location in Asia and be exposed to a different culture, but if you go to any major city, you will mostly end up in a hostel with loud millenials that don't really care about anything else than maximizing their own experience.

> if you go to any major city, you will mostly end up in a hostel with loud millenials that don't really care about anything

Interesting, I tend to think the opposite. Often it's the tropical beach resorts that cater western amenities and mindless hedonism. Cities tend to bring a conglomeration of the country's culture together, and they offer far more non-hostel/traveler places to stay/eat.

If you're in any major city you can almost certainly go 30 minutes in the opposite directions the tourists are going and be exposed to a different culture or find a quite oasis. No need to go to Asia.

Exactly. You can always choose to walk around, or take public transport, and find things at your own pace.

Or you can watch documentaries to learn about foreign cultures. But anyone can do that. The true marks of a refined and worldly character are taking expensive trips to foreign resorts that only better people can afford.

According to whom? An authentic experience with locals is far more worldly in my book than dozens of nights spent in a 5-star hotel bubble of luxury.

I think you missed the sarcasm in your parent comment.

If you go where everyone else is going, and the "top 10 places to visit in <X area>", then sure. But I'd wager most places still have interesting things if you head away from where most tourists go, or simply visit a close by city instead if it's a -really- famous tourist destination like Rome.

No remote trip to Asia is necessary, unless you want to go there!

Hostels have always been filled with young people and young people have always been self-centered and oblivious. If you don't want to be around that, pay more and don't stay in a hostel.

It's not an age thing. Wealth people in fancy hotels are more of a disruption, as the tourism economy displaces the local culture.

I was responding specifically to warp_factor's complaint.

Living somewhere different is wholely different character from racing from photo op to photo op and never leaving the mulinational corporate bubble of popular destination amenities.

> 10 years ago, traveling was that hype thing that everyone neede

oh honey, it wasn't 10 years ago -- it was when you and your friends were 10 years younger. The post-adolescent wanderlust continues to cast its spell as it did 20, 30 years ago..

People used to come back from trips with obnoxiously long slideshows (physical slides) that you'd sit thru, because there was nothing better to look at.

even 10 years ago, it was impossible to get around d.c. without having to stumble through the reams of tourists scrambling to get their photo-op at every monument. i think the culture of personal brands has simply expanded what those same people perceive as monuments and things that would've been stumbled upon by a handful have become must visit sites even though they were never designed to deal with that kind of traffic. travel is still an incredibly powerful thing but the experience is only as valuable as what you do with it.

I think you may need to increase that 10 year mark to 15 :p

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