12 Dec 2016

It’s no secret that you’re going to meet a lot of great people while globetrotting, but it’s also inevitable that you’ll come across those who like to imply that you’re doing this whole travelling thing wrong. Aka. the ‘travel snob’.

Travel snobbery in a phenomenon that exists in every class of travel, from backpacker hostels to boutique villas, from Contiki tours to private catamaran charters. Travel snobbery usually rears its ugly head with condescending responses to simple questions. 

Do you know how much the tour costs? Oh, I don’t do package tours.

Are there any good clubs there? For me, travel is about more than just partying.

How much are flights to get there? I caught a 37-hour chicken bus like the locals do.

Within all these responses, the assumption is the same: the things you want to do while travelling aren’t right. They’re lame or expensive or unoriginal or “touristy”. Not only that, the way the travel snob travels is always more intrepid and more authentic.

Sometimes travel snobbery doesn’t even require prompting, and can come in the form of self-important platitudes:

I’m a traveller, not a tourist.

I’m on a journey, not a holiday.

That’s not the real Thailand, it’s just a tourist trap. (or insert the name of any other destination).

The travel snob says these things to show you that they’re better than you. And it’s easy to feel a little bit intimidated when they’re regaling you with accolades about climbing Mount Everest barefoot while staving off mountain lions. Or about rescuing street children from poverty and teaching them English. This sort of storytelling may sound cool at the time but it’s not always realistic or sincere. And even if such a thing was possible, how can someone else dictate what your travel plans should look like?

Travelling is subjective and personal. It’s an exercise in decision-making. It’s a medium to learn what you like to do and what you don’t. Through travel, you learn which choices will make you happy and this is so much more important than learning how to seem cool.

Travelling is about different things for different people. Some people like to wear fisherman pants and do yoga, while others drape themselves in local beer singlets and lounge at the hotel pool. Some people literally just travel to surf. Some people like to volunteer, some like to party and some like to do both these things consecutively. People seek myriad things through travel, whether it be adventure, relaxation or knowledge. All these are more worthy than one-upmanship and story-topping.

There are no hard and fast rules about travelling, short of being polite and respectful of local customs and learning to make the absolute most of whatever it is you choose to do with your travels.