Tourism

Years of traveling across Asia (during the time I spent living in Seoul, South Korea) have made me appreciate many beautiful places and wonders from all across the world - and then hate the sweaty, pungent, and boisterous nature of the crowds that almost always unfortunately surround them.  It was breathtaking, and I was incredibly lucky to be able to have the experience of traveling to Cambodia and see the Angkor Wat Temple.  Out of all the trips this one by far was my favorite.  Being able to actually go in and explore inside the temple was certainly a once in a lifetime experience.  As I continue let the record show that I am very glad and appreciative I was able to travel there and see it.  But the tourism side to it all was horrible.  In his piece “Consider the Lobster” David Foster Wallace talks about the gridlock and lines and all the transactions that are made when a tourist.  This description could not be more true based on my experiences.  Going to get passes to go to the actual site meant going through lines of hundreds of tourists packed together - from all over the world with the same goal - get those passes from the single small shack selling them.  This part of the experience really takes away from the authenticity of the trip which is also mentioned in the same footnote in DFW’s piece.  After so long of this, my idea of a good vacation has slowly turned from a trip like this, to a more secluded trip, like a hike in the mountains, far from any line up of tourists.