Stop labeling travellers. Start labeling trips.
What type of traveller are you? Let me label you. You should label me.
Are you a backpacker? Are you a tourist? Are you an expat? Are you a nomad? Are you a digital nomad?
All these labels come with travel flaws.
A backpacker parties too much with fellow UK, Australian, US, and German travellers….
A tourist goes to only touristy places snaps a few pictures to return home and proudly proclaim, “they’ve done this.”
A condescending expat mocking people travelling through who don’t “go deep into a place and get to know locals.”
A digital nomad caught up in self-promotion they never look around past the bloggers, entrepreneurs, and amazon store-owners to see beyond their own self-interests. To see a local community and people struggling.
I’ve hated on all these groups. Then one day I realized, I’ve been one of these. I was the expat (mocking anyone who came to Indonesia and just hid out in Bali doing yoga and nomad retreats. Same goes for India). I’ve been the drunk backpacker (not proud of that). I’ve been the tourist with limited vacation time, immersing myself in snapping photos. Needing to hold onto something when I return to my job next week.
My goal is to stop judging travellers so harshly. It’s not the person; it’s the trip. Sometimes you can create the opportunity to linger, to immerse yourself in the culture, in the place, and the people. Sometimes you can’t. Life, work, family calls. Sometimes the trip is about healing. I accompanied one friend on a six-week trip while she dealt with heartache. I accompanied another dear friend as we summited peaks while she dealt with loss. We all might need our own version of Eat, Pray, Love, (as much I mock that book). Sometimes the trip is to escape, to learn, to grown, to listen, or to be heard. Sometimes it's to indulge, to experiment, and to stare down at something beautiful.
No one is simply a tourist. We are just on a tourist trip. No one is just a backpacker. We are on a backpacking trip. I'm okay with that.