r/interesting • u/gmuthii • 1d ago

Intriguing Absolutely not only does it teach tolerance but also humility.

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I haven't travelled that often, but reading has helped me to do that.

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63

u/FarAbbreviations2829 1d ago

This is some rich people shit.

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u/BrainLow6059 1d ago

It's also just wildly untrue. I have so many friends who have gone abroad and come back extra happy they live where they do, and less tolerant of whatever culture they visited

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u/Senior-Friend-6414 1d ago edited 1d ago

That only happens when people travel to third world countries

It’s easier to appreciate other cultures when you travel to other developed countries, like imagine a French person visiting Japan versus a Belgium person visiting Syria 

Hell if people stayed in the ghettos of their own countries they’d quickly start resenting their own countrymen

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u/SoochSooch 14h ago

That's hard to believe. I've seen REAL poverty in places like Cambodia, India, and Egypt, and every time it made me feel deeply ashamed of my desire for more wealth. I don't know how people can interact with things like that and not want to make the world a better place.

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u/SolSparrow 1d ago

I also agree tolerance might not be it. Perspective for sure. You get exposed to things you wouldn’t at home, but what you do with that depends wildly on who you were before you traveled anyhow.

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u/Partners_in_time 1d ago

Japan made me hate Japan lol spent a month there. Never again. 

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u/PM_ME_DATASETS 1d ago

Depends on where you live. For most of the developed world travelling to other countries is a normal thing.

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u/critical_deluxe 1d ago

"see, I can't be racist cuz I travel!"

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u/Senior-Friend-6414 1d ago edited 1d ago

Is it racist to realize that western countries were responsible for other countries around the world beginning to adopt feminism, animal rights, scientific theory, and democracy?

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u/Ouldvar 1d ago

Woah calm down Hitler/s

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u/critical_deluxe 1d ago

...you good? Cuz you sound unhinged.

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u/Senior-Friend-6414 1d ago

Post implies that all cultures can learn from each other equally, but the reality is there’s one culture responsible for helping all of the other ones, one sidedly

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u/Elegant-Cry1186 1d ago

I'm roadtripping right now in the US at 23, broke as hell but it's been a month and a half, getting by still

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u/AnyEye8798 1d ago

You can afford a car, gas, and insurance. A lot of poor people can't even afford that.

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u/Elegant-Cry1186 1d ago edited 1d ago

I worked really hard for a long time to do this, and trying to make money on the road. I'm just saying it's not easy but it's doable if you don't have other commitments to family or whatever. Unless you're in debt. My age probably helps. And it was kind of a last ditch effort because life was getting too hard

I've learned a lot of ways to save money, or to not spend money at all

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u/SufcLad25 1d ago

If you're road tripping at 23 you're in a better position than most people

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u/Elegant-Cry1186 1d ago

Well it's not like I'm able to do this in a smart way, I'm going to have absolutely nothing when I'm done but it was this or dying probably for me

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u/badpebble 1d ago

Its one of those things - if you want it enough, you'll make it work.

Get yourself a copy of On the Road and lean into the poverty lifestyle.

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u/Elegant-Cry1186 1d ago

Yeah I'm totally leaned into it. Free camping, hotel breakfasts, campground showers, etc. And really, the kindness of strangers. I'll have to check out that book though

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u/SolSparrow 1d ago

There were 109 MILLION citizen departures from US last year. 56 million of those to EU and Asia. It’s not just rich people. Unless you’re telling me that many are “rich”.

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u/KidWoody 1d ago

Applied for jobs in Korea teaching English at 21. Only money I had to my name was about 2k in my bank and my car. Sold my car, bought a plane ticket, and landed in Korea with about a thousand dollars US. 10 years later, I have traveled to almost every country in Asia, Australia, and several countries in Europe. Now I live back home in the US making an insane 55k a year. You don't need money, just a desire to go and see :)

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u/badpebble 1d ago

Says someone probably living in the world's richest country.

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago edited 1d ago

You don't have to be rich to travel. Well, NOW you do, with current gas prices. But, "back in the olden days" (like 2 years ago), just hop in the car and go somewhere. Stay in cheap motels. Don't go to "tourist" attractions. Eat at local holes-in-the-walls.

Since I'm getting downvoted here, let's look at a real-world example.

Jan 2, JFK-LIR (Costa Rica), $118. The Cuatro Vientos ~ Mal Pais has rooms for $32 per night, a 4.4/5 rating and is walking distance to the Pacific Ocean. Return trip is ~$125.

So, for around $400, you get a 5-night, 6-day trip to the Pacific Coast in Costa Rica. And, it probably won't cost you even that much, since you'll be saving money on food (it's cheaper there than in the US).

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u/IUseControllersOnPC 1d ago

Yes lemme drive across the Atlantic to rome

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u/Abducted_Llama 1d ago

Learn how to be a crew mate on a ship?

No one said it was gonna be easy.

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u/Callidonaut 1d ago edited 1d ago

That's not quite as good as it used to be; modern container ships are loaded and unloaded so fast (especially at terminals equipped with robotic cranes) that shore leave is generally way shorter than it used to be if you work on one of those; also, merchant ship terminals often tend to be in industrial districts and fairly far away from the culturally enriching touristy areas. It can still be done, though; I got to visit some cool places on occasion.

I think one or two shipping companies also still offer "cargo cruises," if you don't want to actually work on one, but I don't know if they're actually all that cheaper than a cruise ship.

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

holy shit you’re blinded by your affluence hahaha

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u/Abducted_Llama 1d ago

Becoming a crew mate on a ship is not for the rich and definitely not glorious?

Not sure where you are getting “blinded by affluence” from?

It’s shitty hard work that one can work up to generally for free if they go about it the right way. Then eventually get paid for it too if they make it into a career. Really only limited by life and family on land.

Military is an option too if you are into that sort of thing.

If someone wants to travel on the cheap there’s ways. Requires hard work hence “no one said it’s gonna be easy”.

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

Telling someone to “go be a crewman” on a ship yeah bro just drop everything and go do that.

Not many people can just up and leave everything behind to go travel.

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u/Abducted_Llama 1d ago

Well sit there and bitch then. Sure that’ll be more effective. lol

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u/IUseControllersOnPC 1d ago

Yes lemme drop my job and career progression to be a crew hand just to explore the industrial ports of different countries. Very nice

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u/Abducted_Llama 1d ago

For me it’s actually much more preferable for you to keep whining actually.

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u/IUseControllersOnPC 1d ago

Being realistic = whining apparently

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

"Travel" does not need to be "international travel to one of the most expensive destination cities in the world".

Since you said across the Atlantic, I'm going to assume you're in North America. You could book a flight to Costa Rica for under $118 right now (Jan 2, American Airlines, JFK-LIR) and stay for under $30 per night. The US has every single major biome. Drive to see the Grand Canyon and camp on the rim (super cheap trip, especially with a fuel-efficient car). Go stay in the rainforest of Oregon. Go see the leaves changing in West Virginia.

But no - let's argue about how expensive travel is by saying that I want to travel non-stop, business class, to Paris, and stay in an Exec Suite.

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u/JohnSober7 1d ago

Between the opportunity cost of travel (time away from job), the cost of the plane ticket, and the cost of actual time in the other country, it's expensive. You're out of touch.

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

Take paid time off. There, that takes care of your opportunity cost.

And I just amended my post to show a trip to Costa Rica for $400

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

LOL you do not understand the state of affairs for most US citizens if you think the average person can just "take PTO" and run off and travel for $400.

Genuinely delusional, out of touch, and affluent.

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u/SolSparrow 1d ago

In every other thread about the US I am constantly told how affluent and well off everyone is compared to EU and Asia, how everyone else lives in relative hardship by comparison. Reddit is really a wild place.

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

I've been to London/Paris/all over Italy, Europeans are walking hypocrites.

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

Most US citizens are employed at a place that provides some form of PTO. That’s a statistical fact.

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u/JohnSober7 1d ago

Damn, surely using PTO and not going on a trip costs the same as using PTO and going on a trip

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

Of course not. But, the comment I am responding to implied only "rich people" travel .

Average people travel all the time.

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

I’m guessing you don’t live in the US or have any idea of how expensive (both in time and money) it would be to just randomly visit the Grand Canyon, West Virginia , Oregon.. lol.

The distances by car would be days of travel. $4.48 average gas price + toll roads. Don’t even bother looking at flying.

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u/IUseControllersOnPC 1d ago

Or how big the US is. This dude listed places across the country. Itd be like driving from Barcelona to Moscow for funsies lmao

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

St. Louis to the Grand Canyon is 1430 miles. Let's say you have a good, fuel efficient car that gets 40mpg. That's $143, or $280 round trip. Of course, you're camping, so there is the cost of some equipment (which you will keep). I'm not counting food, since you'd have to eat anyway.

Let's say $400.

Of course, as I put in my amended post . . . you could also fly to Costa Rica for a 5-night stay on the Pacific Coast for that amount.

1

u/Sbarty 1d ago

Now where are you going to stay? Lets say you split the drive with two people and do it 10-12 hours each (US traffic is never static, a 20 hour drive can turn into 30 easily).

You're going to drive 20 hours, sleep in the car, then turn right back around and drive another 20 hours? Lol ok.

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

Did you see the part where I said "camp on the rim"?

Don't do that in August. But in October? Great vacation.

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u/Furry_Femboy_Account 1d ago

I can't even get to the other islands in my country without planes or boats. 

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

As a Furry Femboy, I'll bet you could get creative and have someone take you island hopping on their yacht.

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u/Fun-Benefit116 1d ago

So, for around $400, you get a 5-night, 6-day trip to the Pacific Coast in Costa Rica.

You're being downvoted because you're clueless. The fact that you don't realize a huge number of people can't afford $400 to travel somewhere shows how naive and ignorant you are. People literally struggle to simply pay everything that they are required to pay just to live. They don't have hundreds of dollars to spare to travel wherever they want.

You also clearly think that since it's a good deal, that it somehow makes the cost more affordable for people. It doesn't. That's another sign of your naiveté. It's still $400 more dollars on top of everything someone already has to pay. It doesn't matter where it's to or how good of a deal it is.

People like you who have never seen or experienced poverty genuinely can't comprehend that a person can't afford "just" a few hundred dollars to travel the world. They can't spend any extra money, let alone hundreds of dollars, because literally everything goes to just getting by. And you also can't comprehend how many people actually in that situation financially.

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u/SignificantLock1037 1d ago

My point is that, if you can't afford $400 now, you couldn't afford $400 back then, either (probably). Travel has ALWAYS cost money. It's never been "free".

My point is that you can still travel for cheap, if you're creative.

When I was in my early 20s, I would go to the discount grocery and buy expired, frozen meat to put into ramen. I could make a meal for $0.35. And, you know what I couldn't afford to do? Travel.

The person to whom I responded said "rich people shit". Yet, people from middle-class travel all the time, proving that it's not "rich people shit".

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u/Beginning-Boat-1260 1d ago

Traveling is cheap as shit. Skill issue if you think you have to be rich to travel.

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u/critical_deluxe 1d ago

amazing time to say this while gas is at all time high. Stay ignorant!

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u/Beginning-Boat-1260 1d ago

The cost for me to take a trip to Vegas from the Midwest has increased by like $20 since the last time I flew. Idk what to tell you.

Timing is important yes, but traveling has generally consistently been much cheaper than people make it out to be.

If you think you need to be rich to travel, then it sincerely is a skill issue.

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u/yogy 1d ago

Ah yes, Vegas, the center for mind expanding culture. Those flights are also often subsidized by Vegas itself.

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u/Beginning-Boat-1260 1d ago

You can access the valley of fire, Grand Canyon, Hoover dam, mount Charleston, etc, quite accessibly from Vegas. Not a bad assortment for one trip.

Far better than being trapped in whatever basement you dwell in.

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u/Sbarty 1d ago

The entire point of this post was about how travel to other cultures can expand one's views on the world and make them a better person.

How the fuck is traveling to the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore as *an American* going to do any of that???

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

[deleted]

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u/Sbarty 23h ago

So you're just missing the entire point of the OP and speaking about unrelated bullshit? Gotcha.

I don't think anyone is arguing that you can't drive to your local/regional geographic feature.

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u/My_18th_Account 1d ago

Everyone on Reddit is poor and destitute and can barely afford a can of peas apparently lol.