I did much of my travelling before Instagram was a thing (though I did go to Japan when I had it), so I wasn't as considered as I might have been with what the perfect photograph should look like. Back then, the photos were only ever going to be posted on Facebook (which wasn't curated or aesthetic in the way that Instagram was), so when everyone started posting really cool photos of their travels on Instagram, I started regretting the way my pictures turned out. They weren't as cool, or styled, or flawless. But reading this post made me realise that at least those quick snaps meant I savoured the destination, and didn't milk it for its currency or social value.
Yes, and I love that word you've chosen—savour. That's exactly why we used to travel, isn't it—to savour an experience, rather than to tell the world that we'd been somewhere, as if this will somehow make us more interesting. Travel probably does make us more interesting because we learn as we travel—we just don't necessarily need the beautiful photographic proof of it!
Hello Natasha. I so enjoyed reading your newsletter and could not agree more about tourism throughout the current world. So happy to have seen many sites and experienced places without these overwhelming crowds. The disrespect often becomes unbearable as many miss the holistic experience from visiting these places. I have to say though that one, I think from your 1994 I can lay claim to having had the exact same brown travelling boots 😆 must have been the fashion of the day; and two, at first glance, before I looked at the date, I thought it was of your daughter! My! My! Where have the years gone?
Lol - those brown boots were so trendy back in the 90s! I did laugh when I pulled the photo out, and my family all said that I looked like my daughter, so you weren't far wrong!
Your rant about rude visitors at shrines in Japan brought back a memory from my first (and only) visit to Japan. I was conveyed there courtesy of my uncle (Sam) and had a few brief opportunities to visit sights in mostly port cities. But on one occasion I rode the train up to Tokyo and, eventually, found myself at a shrine. I no longer recall the name; my visit was in 1962. But I do recall watching Japanese visitors approaching the shrine, standing almost at attention on a step in front, and clapping their hands once. They then bowed their heads for a few moments, then slowly left.
After a bit, I decided that it would not be inappropriate for me to do the same (although I was in uniform so I waited until I was alone). I approached, clapped, and bowed my head. No voices from beyond, no great insights came to me, but I did feel the slightest bit connected to a culture that was utterly foreign to mine.
I'm not sure I would do this today, especially under the conditions you described. I'm glad you got to see a nicer Japan in 1994.
How incredible to have been there back in 1962! It must have been so difficult to travel then as I imagine English wouldn't have been spoken by many in Japan; it certainly wasn't in 1994, and English language directional signage was virtually non existent, as you'd expect. You'll be pleased to know that many of the Japanese people that I saw at the temples and shrines were still praying in exactly the way you described.
We (as in the human race, not as in you and me!) seem to have become consumers of everything, even culture. But consuming things doesn't allow for pause and reflection. It doesn't allow for the pleasure of just 'being' in the moment in a gorgeous place.
From what it sounds like, the beautiful places in the world are fast becoming nothing more than social media-worthy feed, and that can't be a good thing.
I travelled through Europe in the mid-1990's and perhaps it's good that I did. At least I could see what I was looking at then...
Increasing the cost of visiting these places won't help, either. Making culture only accessible to the wealthy is blocking out access to those who might appreciate it most.
I don't know what the answer is.
Social media drives a lot of weird human behaviour. Maybe we should get rid of it?
Yes, it's a real problem to work out what the answer is. I think it's probably for everyone to put down their phones and remember the joy of fully being in a moment, rather than seeing everything via the screen of their phone as they snap a picture, but I'm not confident that this is going to happen any time soon.
Thanks for a fascinating & informative newsletter, as always! My journey with George Saunders was the opposite direction to yours ie discovered his newsletter & short stories AFTER reading Lincoln In The Bardo and absolutely loving it. A few years later, it’s still knocking around in my brain, which I think is the sign of a genuine masterpiece. It’s so rare for an author to do something genuinely original, as I think Saunders did with Bardo, while retaining real human warmth & powerful emotions. But he did. The connection between Lincoln & his son and the father’s inability to let him go - still gives me goosebumps.
I'm excited to hear what you said about Lincoln in the Bardo! It makes me think that, now I've got back into the flow of the narrative, it's really going to be impressive. The scenes with Lincoln and his son are so touching; Saunders really is a masterful writer of human tenderness and loss.
Thank you, once again Natasha for your detailed and most interesting newsletter. I’ll certainly take a few of your recommendations away as I’m always looking for a new and interesting book.
I acknowledge your comments regarding the tourist topic too because there are places in the world at this very moment, where the locals have had enough of tourist crowds. There’d be no possibility of sitting and enjoying your surroundings, unfortunately. It’s why we travel. How it’ll be changed for the better, is a mystery. And now I’ll do the survey. 💐
I hope you enjoy the books I've mentioned if you do have the chance to read them. And yes—exactly how we manage the issue of permitting people to travel and see all the wonders of the world versus the harm so many people can do to places that were just never meant to hold so many bodies is a real conundrum. Nobody wants to create a system where only people with money have access to historic sites, and many of the religious sites are there for the people, so you can't take them away from the people; it would go against the very reason for their existence. It's very tricky.
I just wish we were still able, as humans, to appreciate things quietly and simply for what they are, rather than as a trophy to hold up to mark that we were there. Travel, take a selfie and then take a moment to just marvel at the beauty of whatever is in front of you.
I did much of my travelling before Instagram was a thing (though I did go to Japan when I had it), so I wasn't as considered as I might have been with what the perfect photograph should look like. Back then, the photos were only ever going to be posted on Facebook (which wasn't curated or aesthetic in the way that Instagram was), so when everyone started posting really cool photos of their travels on Instagram, I started regretting the way my pictures turned out. They weren't as cool, or styled, or flawless. But reading this post made me realise that at least those quick snaps meant I savoured the destination, and didn't milk it for its currency or social value.
Yes, and I love that word you've chosen—savour. That's exactly why we used to travel, isn't it—to savour an experience, rather than to tell the world that we'd been somewhere, as if this will somehow make us more interesting. Travel probably does make us more interesting because we learn as we travel—we just don't necessarily need the beautiful photographic proof of it!
Hello Natasha. I so enjoyed reading your newsletter and could not agree more about tourism throughout the current world. So happy to have seen many sites and experienced places without these overwhelming crowds. The disrespect often becomes unbearable as many miss the holistic experience from visiting these places. I have to say though that one, I think from your 1994 I can lay claim to having had the exact same brown travelling boots 😆 must have been the fashion of the day; and two, at first glance, before I looked at the date, I thought it was of your daughter! My! My! Where have the years gone?
Lol - those brown boots were so trendy back in the 90s! I did laugh when I pulled the photo out, and my family all said that I looked like my daughter, so you weren't far wrong!
Your rant about rude visitors at shrines in Japan brought back a memory from my first (and only) visit to Japan. I was conveyed there courtesy of my uncle (Sam) and had a few brief opportunities to visit sights in mostly port cities. But on one occasion I rode the train up to Tokyo and, eventually, found myself at a shrine. I no longer recall the name; my visit was in 1962. But I do recall watching Japanese visitors approaching the shrine, standing almost at attention on a step in front, and clapping their hands once. They then bowed their heads for a few moments, then slowly left.
After a bit, I decided that it would not be inappropriate for me to do the same (although I was in uniform so I waited until I was alone). I approached, clapped, and bowed my head. No voices from beyond, no great insights came to me, but I did feel the slightest bit connected to a culture that was utterly foreign to mine.
I'm not sure I would do this today, especially under the conditions you described. I'm glad you got to see a nicer Japan in 1994.
How incredible to have been there back in 1962! It must have been so difficult to travel then as I imagine English wouldn't have been spoken by many in Japan; it certainly wasn't in 1994, and English language directional signage was virtually non existent, as you'd expect. You'll be pleased to know that many of the Japanese people that I saw at the temples and shrines were still praying in exactly the way you described.
We (as in the human race, not as in you and me!) seem to have become consumers of everything, even culture. But consuming things doesn't allow for pause and reflection. It doesn't allow for the pleasure of just 'being' in the moment in a gorgeous place.
From what it sounds like, the beautiful places in the world are fast becoming nothing more than social media-worthy feed, and that can't be a good thing.
I travelled through Europe in the mid-1990's and perhaps it's good that I did. At least I could see what I was looking at then...
Increasing the cost of visiting these places won't help, either. Making culture only accessible to the wealthy is blocking out access to those who might appreciate it most.
I don't know what the answer is.
Social media drives a lot of weird human behaviour. Maybe we should get rid of it?
(gasp....)
Yes, it's a real problem to work out what the answer is. I think it's probably for everyone to put down their phones and remember the joy of fully being in a moment, rather than seeing everything via the screen of their phone as they snap a picture, but I'm not confident that this is going to happen any time soon.
Thanks for a fascinating & informative newsletter, as always! My journey with George Saunders was the opposite direction to yours ie discovered his newsletter & short stories AFTER reading Lincoln In The Bardo and absolutely loving it. A few years later, it’s still knocking around in my brain, which I think is the sign of a genuine masterpiece. It’s so rare for an author to do something genuinely original, as I think Saunders did with Bardo, while retaining real human warmth & powerful emotions. But he did. The connection between Lincoln & his son and the father’s inability to let him go - still gives me goosebumps.
I'm excited to hear what you said about Lincoln in the Bardo! It makes me think that, now I've got back into the flow of the narrative, it's really going to be impressive. The scenes with Lincoln and his son are so touching; Saunders really is a masterful writer of human tenderness and loss.
Thank you, once again Natasha for your detailed and most interesting newsletter. I’ll certainly take a few of your recommendations away as I’m always looking for a new and interesting book.
I acknowledge your comments regarding the tourist topic too because there are places in the world at this very moment, where the locals have had enough of tourist crowds. There’d be no possibility of sitting and enjoying your surroundings, unfortunately. It’s why we travel. How it’ll be changed for the better, is a mystery. And now I’ll do the survey. 💐
I hope you enjoy the books I've mentioned if you do have the chance to read them. And yes—exactly how we manage the issue of permitting people to travel and see all the wonders of the world versus the harm so many people can do to places that were just never meant to hold so many bodies is a real conundrum. Nobody wants to create a system where only people with money have access to historic sites, and many of the religious sites are there for the people, so you can't take them away from the people; it would go against the very reason for their existence. It's very tricky.
So true. 💐
What a fabulous newsletter Natasha.
I agree with you regarding tourists taking selfies and photos and having no interest or regards to the place they are visiting, it is quite annoying.
I just wish we were still able, as humans, to appreciate things quietly and simply for what they are, rather than as a trophy to hold up to mark that we were there. Travel, take a selfie and then take a moment to just marvel at the beauty of whatever is in front of you.