Benefits of slow travel

[jonathon]

Hi, I am new to slow travel.  Hadn't really thought too much about it till I read this website.  I always liked to make the distinction between a traveller and a tourist. And insisted I was a traveller.  I saw a traveller as more connected to the local environment and slower, but now that I think about it in light of the info on this site, I see that I was a fast traveller.

Sure, I didn't go to the tourist places. And sure I didn't stay in swanky tourist accomodation - mine was the low cost accomodation where sometimes you competed with the roaches and occasional rat. But I didn't often stay more than a couple of days in any one place. I would 'do' a country or state. That is, I would see a lot in a short period of time.  My holidays were seldom less than a month but I would move around quite a bit in that time. For example, I have 'seen' Vietnam in a month.

Now, I have had my first slow travel experience.  I chose a town in Indonesia's main island of Java, and I stayed there for 2 weeks.  I got to know the local way of life - the daily happenings for local families. I even got to know a few locals and was invited to their home to meet the rest of their family and enjoy a meal together.

I am now wrapped in slow travel. This holiday was one of the most enriching, and rewarding I have ever had. I feel I have a much better understanding of the Indonesian way of life than a fast travel could have given me.

I feel I am only just touching the surface of what slow travel can be, and am keenly looking forward to my next experience. 

Anybody got ideas for other places or ways of travelling slow?

[greentraveller]

Hi Jonathon

Great to read your post, an inspiration to the rest of us! Slow travel really is the way we were meant to see the world, not just scratch the surface. Few people realise how much sense it makes for them to take more time visiting fewer places - they actually get MORE from their time and money!

A couple of other inspiring websites for you that you may have already seen:

www.lowcarbontravel.com is Ed Gillespie's blog about his and partner Fi's trip around the earth without flying. It's brilliant! Parts of this will also soon feature on www.greentraveller.co.uk, the forum providing information and inspiration for the aspiring green traveller. Parts of Ed's journey will be featured alongside advice and tips on how to travel between the places they visited without taking a flight.

And then there's the old favourite, www.seat61.com for a whole day's worth of entertainment working out where you can get to around the world by train, it's addictive!

Hope this goes to support your new-found passion for slow travel, keep it up and keep in touch,

Green Traveller Sally

[manuelrodriguez]

Glad your here.