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Comment by warp_factor | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

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.

> 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 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!

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