Bragging

What does it mean to travel the world today?

Are we just crossing countries off a list and whoever has been to the most countries has won?  Sometimes that's how it feels.  Recently I read that place dropping is worse than name dropping.  I'm starting to think that whoever said that might have a valid point.

On a plane home after visiting the Amalfi Coast, Italy (there I go again with the place dropping) I was talking to a couple about where they'd been and where I had.  I almost found myself in a competition as it didn't feel like sharing knowledge, more about how had been to the most places in the States.  After them mentioning they'd been to New York, Chicago and LA, they seemed almost smug with themselves.  "Have you done route 66?", I enquired.  You can see already I've gone into competitor mode.  They told me they'd been on route 66 in Chicago and again in LA.  I said "Oh you'd love it", trying my hardest to get out of the one upmanship loop.  But as they seemed to think they'd "done route 66",  I then somehow seemed the need to set them straight, and tell them all about my experience there.

I had an amazing time sailing around the Amalfi Coast, although it was never on my todo list and I don't feel like it was a destination to cross off my list.  This trip became more about the people I met than the things I saw.   Yet as soon as I came home all the photos were quickly posted on facebook, so all my friends could see what an amazing holiday I had.  Did I really need to do that?  Do I really need to brag about where I've been?  I'm considering putting my photos on flickr in future, so as not to rub people's noses in the fact I'm luckily enough to be able travel and then close friends who are interested enough can still see them.

Any of my friends know to steer any conversation away from Kenya.  I adored that holiday, so much so that I think it may be impossible to ever have a trip better than that one.  And because of that I can talk about my experience at length, and that never feels like I'm bragging, I'm just telling a story of an amazing moment in my life.

Recently I noticed on facebook that a friend of mine had done a trip on the trans siberian railway, which is a trip I had been hoping to do this year but had to postpone.  I had mixed emotions about seeing the pictures.  I want to visit somewhere that none of my friends had, and mongolia was a great candidate for that.  Is that to help me gain more "travel points"?  Partly, but I think it's more I just want to experience somewhere that I have no preconception of.  

I'd like to get out of this competition and just go where I want to go.  I love finding new things out about the world.  I enjoy experiencing a new culture and a different outlook from my own.  I adore finding more out about me.

So for my next trip, I'm going to somewhere that I've longed to go for so long, but will seem so dull to so many.  I'm not going to mention it on facebook, and no pictures will be posted.  We'll see if I stick to that....