Local Lenses

 

By: Jonathan Seidel

The spectacle of travelling: sights and everyday routine

Travelling abroad is a hobby. Seeking the famous sights to picture and capture. Seeing another place is intriguing and fun. With limited time, certain areas are designated. Historical relics take precedence. Prime time areas are crowded with tourism. Trying to learn the history and culture from engagement. Walking around with a guide to show the way. Yet frequently left out are the alleyways. The random outlets not found on classic websites.   

Travelling is a spectacle. The desire to see another culture is generally derided for a beautiful hotel on the outskirts of the city. Ordering in food and spending time by the beaches. The intent is bound by the location. Cyprus is a destination for relaxation and enjoyment. The back city historical landmarks are secondary to its sandy beaches. Seasonal visitations find accommodations while the winter months are deserted. An area with a coastline finds more tourism in kicking back than actually getting a feel for the land itself. Beach culture is its formal mission. Visiting areas solely for the oceanic experiences. Avoiding the native aspects for the luxury.

Another inadvertent reason is the party scene. Nightlife is a good excuse to visit a specific area. The landmarks are corollary to the eventful bars and clubs. Bypassing the museums exhibiting the long history for a good time. Dressing up for a scene so prevalent in most countries. While the visiting county has a nuanced culture the party culture does match most western countries. It may be more loose and persistent but the expressive agenda is mimicked throughout. The irony does shine in its reflective axis. There is an exposure to more extensive nightlife with the unique native spin but the specific haul is not exclusive nor redundant.

Leading to the genuine tourists. Those who travel to learn. Those who wish to frame the historical landmarks. Wandering through museums. Folks who truly wish to study the visiting country. Spending their days hopping from place to place. Ensuring they see tripadvisors top places to see. Fondling through the list to cover the entire basis. Committed to the craft. Endearing to supplement journey with the classic must sees. Finding a local tour to educate or buying tickets to the museum to get a deeper appreciation. The city is seen and reflected. Camera rolls fill the instagram page. The city is covered in a few days. Each area traversed and conquered.

The final group are those who ascend to pay for more luxurious outings. Renting a guide to see beyond the classic sights. Places only possible with an organizational backdrop. Events include breweries and monasteries. In many bigger countries these are the trips outside the main city. In Barcelona it would be Costa Brava and Paris it would be Champagne. Yet in Cyprus it was the old city of Pathos. For the latter it falls into the first group accompanied by limited transportation and such travel is mitigated. Concerning the former areas, the main hub branches out to other historically popular areas. They could be visited independently but the main city receives the tourists and then groups are dispatched to visit the out of town.

Each of these categories misses the most simple of experiences: the simple walk. Caught up in the fancy and flourishing, the cobblestone alleyways and hole in the wall cafes are simply ignored. The local experience is negated. The tourist is a tourist and will visit tourist sights. The goal is to see the big and old not the routine boring. Even the nightlife has its own uniqueness that marvels against the daily work affairs of locals. Observing their routines and monitoring their priorities. The spectacle of the classy areas encourages centricity for tourism. Souvenir shops set up along the main walkway just waiting for pesky tourists. Planning to ambush them with chotskies. A store selling I love x country is pandering. The whole mindset is whitewashed with requirements.

Normal is tedious. Grand trips and fun adventures capture the passion and direct it. Prevalent in the classical models compelling the historical advertisement. Diverting from such ecstatic benefit muddles the possible experience. Camera angles of random streets does not hold the same weight as the off shaded road. The lack of historicity and emblem deregulates its prowess. A routine for the average native is a waste to a visitor. What is relevant is the core of the natives history not the native’s presence. What his ancestor’s achieved not his current dilemma. 

Strolling to the streets is a naive attempt. It fails to capture the city. The history is what makes the city. The incredible landmarks and vast culture. Yet what is culture workout walking in a native’s shoes. What is really taking in the city if the alleyways are not followed. Observing the city holistically is stepping beyond the named sights and their lavish endurance. There is a strong pull to experience but it is parcel of elaborate exploration. To truly experience is to act natively. Though the language may be quite foreign. Enjoying a coffee at a local cafe in the strongest obscure tongue is a starting point.

Tourists gravitate toward the memorial aspects. The structures that consume the curious adventurer. The spectacle is encased in periodic proportional elements. New York is more than just Manhattan and more than just the city. Philadelphia is more than the Liberty Bell and Rocky’s statute. Every location has a tenuous relationship with certain areas. Time Square is jam packed as is the Statue of Liberty. The tourist grows lost in the larger iconic aspects losing the local experience. As simple as walking around the city grabbing a hotdog from a street vendor and resting in central park. The spectacle ought to be mirroring the local hero.

Historicity does have its merits but when it becomes the sole rationale for travel, the icon and not the location are focused. The spectacle of Six Flags bypasses much of middle Jersey. Icons are more enigmatic and popular. Everyday life is boring and yet identifying with it manifests an enamored  spirit. What differentiates locations is not the icons but locals. The icons are stale relics. Models of a bygone past. Relishing in what was. Yet the hyper focus on the relics closes the eyes to distinguished people and the ears to a foreign terminology. The spectacle undermines outsourcing to the vibrant present.

Tasting difference is the foundation of human experience. There are numerous arc de triumphs. Each city has their docile structure and their fabulous museum. Each is a little different but all serve the same purpose. A unique landmark from the native city. Yet, routine while the most categorically symmetrical is the most concretely asymmetric. The way language and culture manifest is a musical arrangement so foreign to the natives next door. Even in a globalized world with Coca-Cola and McDonalds covering every city, the cities still possess their own cultural expression unifying their evolution. Something only to be truly captured on spontaneous strolls down the mediocre streets, the unbeaten tourist path. The park following the locals to their hub.

So long as a tourist draws directly to icons he is forever a visitor. He is a scientist only wishing to observe from afar. He does not wish to engage solely to study. He plays it safe in his hotel. The inflector recognizes the foreign nature. A backpacker in the center of town just trying to get a feel for the city. A tourist wishing to rid himself of such stigmas. Mirroring the locals he “blends in”. He is a foreigner but he is justly attempting to glide into the natural habitat. Reflecting the present locality determines the breeched matrix. Choosing to identify with this population instead of using their icons for social media or knowledge posts.