Travelling: Culture and Travel

Why do people insist in taking their holidays in the same locations year after year? This is always something that puzzled me as surely the whole reason behind travelling is to experience different cultures and their unique lifestyles? Sure, you may have had a great time on your holiday to (insert destination! ) when you first visited five years ago but, does it surely the adrenalin fuelled excitement has started to wane with each passing year when you have visited? Of course you probably still haven't even done half of what is possible at your holiday hotspot but that still doesn't gauge the interest quite like going somewhere unique.

Take for example your everyday life. If you have ever moved to a new location it can be an exciting time for some. There are endless possibilities of new things to see, people to meet and, daily excursion. But, over time this excitement erodes although you probably haven't done as much as you really could! There are so many things to learn from visiting new places that it would be a shame to go to the same location. You can see the pyramids of Gaza, the Taj Mahal, or the Great Barrier Reef. Sure, going to Disneyland is probably a great thrill but you're not going to learn about Arabic culture there!

Travel is a valuable tool in educating oneself on other cultures and lifestyles. And, what's more, it will sure make the gifts you bring back for people more exciting. Those who like to lie on the beach all day and sunbathe would probably like to do just that. But for those of us interested in learning about other cultures, there's no excuse for not travelling elsewhere! Travel broadens the mind' Travel does broaden the mind. However it is what 'travel' means to the individual. Is it is the consequence of travel where the true expansion is achieved.

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Travel opens a doorway for the individual to seek the experiences and be open to the absorption of those experiences. Allowing to take from those to build on and develop. These journeys could be far afield or a walk to the corner shop- Muslims praying to the West or the tired eyes of the lady passed in the street Each experience opening a spectrum of further questions. It is the travellers personal reflection, interpretation and conclusion that 'broadens the mind'. Travel presents experiences of other lifestyles, cultures, values and convictions. Expansion is gained by personal deliberation reflected in their own lives.

Travel teaches diversity. The value of that cannot fail but to broaden the mind. ravelling enables many people to broaden their minds in certain respects. When you travel you gain new ideas and experience new things. However you do not have to travel miles to expand your horizons, and there are many disadvantages associated with travelling. Travelling makes it possible to experience new cultures; for example, observing different religions and customs, even if it just means traipsing round an Indian mosque, or visiting an Egyptian temple. While travelling, you an learn new languages, which may increase your confidence. If you learn a few basic phrases, you are given the chance to interact with the native people. Also you are more likely to experience the friendliness of the locals because language barriers are broken. This may lead to prejudice ideas being destroyed. A new language gives a different outlook on life. Travel also teaches you independence, because it allows you to escape the familiar surroundings of home and stay in a strange or alien place. Just arranging travel and accommodation can give you new responsibilities.

Often when people travel they leave everyday commodities behind and have to learn to cope without them. Improvising or making do without them teaches patience and determination, and when you return home you become more grateful for the things you left behind. Not only does travelling allow you to see new cultures, it also often allows you to learn the roots of your own cultures. Travelling enables you to become aware of differences in lifestyle – whether they are regional or national - and to learn how different people interact and generally what they base their ideas on.

Travelling lets people explore their own customs and way of life, and appreciate their countries’ history and traditions. Travelling introduces new ideas that can change your opinions on different topics and help you to become more open minded about things you would normally disapprove of. Such as exploring different political situations in countries you visit. By experiencing life in different social systems or under different governments, you can see how successful they are and form intelligent opinions. Travelling an also make you more aware of other traditions and help you understand different views and perceptions that foreign people have. Our neighbours in France, a mere twenty-two miles from our shores live diverse lives from our selves, socially, politically and legally. By visiting new places you are introduced to new etiquette, which you may be expected to abide by. This provokes awareness in many people on the correct rules of behaviour in society and broadens the mind. The opportunities of travel are expanding. Package holidays are becoming more popular.

And travelling to new countries is being made more accessible, and cheaper. In the future there will be orbital hotels in space offering ‘out of this world’ holidays. Ordinary holidaymakers will be able to travel to space and back. How could travelling to a different planet not broaden the mind? Space travel could put a new perspective on life and change the way you think and the way you live your live. However, travelling has many disadvantages and it is possible to take the view that it does not broaden the mind.

Travelling can be very expensive and you may have to be inconvenienced by having to get visas or a passport. Why would you want to go to all this bother when you are able to experience new cultures through media, such as television programmes, newspaper articles or the Internet? There are numerous travel programmes on the television and radio, and it is much easier and cheaper to see new places by this method. Also England is very international and there are many foreign people living and studying here.

So you do not have to go abroad in order to learn new languages or see different traditions. An example of this is ‘China Town’ in London. Here in this bustling town are many Cantonese and Mandarin speaking people. There are a variety of restaurants offering a taste of the eastern culture. There are also many dangers associated with foreign cultures. There are the hazards of diseases and you may have to go to the trouble of getting injections and taking malaria tablets. You are relatively safe in England as there is no risk of wars or terrorist attacks.

Some people could feel going abroad daunting because of the different laws and punishments for crimes. Also some might argue that there is no point in going abroad, as everywhere is becoming the same and homogenised. An example of this is the fact that in many countries there are ‘McDonalds’ restaurants situated everywhere. Moreover many countries’ cultures are modified to suit English tastes. So in fact you are not really experiencing the true way of life in that country. Also when you go travelling you often don’t meet people of new nationalities.

As Laurence Sterne expressed it ‘ As an English man does not travel to see English men, I retired to my room’. Guests staying in many resorts are urged to remain in the safety of the complex of the hotel, and urged not to venture out, because of disturbing sights of poverty or fear of the unaltered world outside the hotel. Many tourists are reluctant to venture forth and so seldom see the real country, and its people, which they are visiting. However I feel that it is much easier to broaden the mind by travelling than watching travel programmes. It is also much more enjoyable.

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