Sadly, I've felt this many times while traveling the world.
There's no place to "discover". Anywhere you go, tons of others have been there before you. You can easily look up pictures on Instagram or wherever.
There's no place to "discover". Anywhere you go, tons of others have been there before you. You can easily look up pictures on Instagram or wherever.
hm. Here's a story: on our second visit to China, one of the main targets was Mount Emei, which is a well-known tourist hotspot. On the top, because of the buses and cable cars, there were probably thousands of people - we couldn't see due to the ridiculously thick fog.
And then we started to walk down. The shortest path down on foot is ~50km stairs. We met roughly 10 people, including the monks in the monastery we had to sleep midway.
Had there been people there before? Yes. Is it secluded? Yes. Did it feel like a discovery? Yes. And I'd even count it as a spiritual experience, despite the fact that we never really left the civilization.
Another story: when we were in Uppsala, Sweden, we visited a place called Norra Lunsen. The young lady in the ticket office literally asked as why do we want to go to the middle of nowhere - and indeed, we met a single person there.
The point to "discover" at our current stage of evolution - in the sense of we can't yet travel across star systems or galaxies - is not to go to places where no human has been before, but to find places that give YOU a new experience.
As I explored this incredible University town I discovered the most special treasure..
The “Silver Bible”, not a Christian bible but a collection of “all the knowledge of the day” encased in a silver cover. It had been lost for 500 years and discovered again under some floorboards. To this day one of the most amazing world treasures I’ve seen with my own eyes.
There’s much to discover in this world.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/f...
In a nutshell, you can intentionally choose to prevent others’ perception of a place from spoiling your own. One step further, you can even use their perception to enhance your own experience.
You’re standing in a place that your extremely distant ancestors and cousins once stood, in a place where your nieces and nephews and children might one day stand. You’re connected to the narrative of humanity.
The concept of “first” is a red herring in the narrative of humanity. It carries a lot less meaning than our current culture leads us to believe.
Few people are capable of *real* exploring anyway. Going where no human has been before. Shackleton, Amundsen, Mallory, Harrer, Bonatti, to name a few Euro-centric ones, did so. To do what they did at that time was extraordinary and way beyond any if our capabilities.
And what Insta calls an “Adventure” is merely a tightly controlled and carefully crafted theme park visit. It’s a joke.
That said, any place is there for you to discover. Nobody fucking cares if you visited the Grand Canyon or some fiery hole in Iceland. And even less so if it has been trodden on by humans yet.
All that matters is having a jolly time in an alien place, detached from anybody’s expectations. Don’t chase the next Insta spot.
Go early in the morning. Go in bad weather. Go off-season. Take your time and the rest will reveal itself.
It’s not that hard.
Plenty of truly "unexplored" territory in e.g. the Amazon. You can go off the beaten path if you choose.
I like to go to places and rent an apartment for a few weeks. Then discover your neighborhood. It's fun when you move, and it's also fun when you vacation this way.
That said, I'm not out trying to discover a previously undiscovered waterfall.
But to remark on those people as "ordinary middle class" is a bit misleading. I'd probably lean more towards "extraordinary, and possibly middle class." Otherwise, I think the appropriate label for any normal person doing cave diving explorations is "dead."
(Not serious criticism, hopefully you read in a playful tone)
- Hazelton Collegian, 1955
- Thomas a Kempis, 1400 AD
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/2018264052/1955-03-04/ed-...
With every day bringing more and more construction. Tearing down of historically important buildings for new contemporary condos and gentrification - cities have lost their soul to me. Its not there's nothing new to discover, for me, its the replacement of places people once wanted to go to.
I actively seek out abandoned places now. I try and think about what it was like when it was new, people bustling about. Or that abandoned mansion. How did those people live? Can I imagine what it was like to live in a huge house like that?
We have such a disposable culture now - architecture included, it has prompted me with a sense of nostalgia to seek out what has been left behind and why.
Vice did an incredible job in their series "Abandoned": https://vimeo.com/182703618
On the other hand I mostly dislike SF's old houses that have 1 bathroom for 4 bedrooms, creaky warped floors, paper tin walls, single pane glass, bad insulation, and are missing many modern conveniences. And I hate that the city doesn't build up ⬆
Tokyo is cheap because Japan treats houses like used cars - it's actually cheaper to sell the house if you tear it all down first.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8139424,-78.7400188,3a,75y,1...
To hell with The Golden Temple. ;-)