In his book, Riding the Iron Rooster, Paul Theroux comments,
“Sight-seeing is one of the more doubtful aspects of travel, and in China it is one of the least rewarding things a traveler can do–primarily a distraction and seldom even an amusement. It has all the boredom and ritual of a pilgrimage and none of the spiritual benefits.”
Sightseeing is defined as “the act of visiting the famous or interesting sights of a place”. For some tourists, travel and sightseeing are interchangeable terms, or at least inextricably linked. Theroux rightly distinguishes them, assigning sightseeing to a subordinate position within the overall activity of travel. It is one of the many activities a traveler may engage in. And not necessarily the most fulfilling of activities, especially if the sightseers are herded by a local tour guide, or worse, by someone non-local but who has been hired to lead successive groups to a particular destination.
All tourist destinations have identified or created “famous or interesting sights” that local businesses can take advantage of. These may be sites of natural beauty, unusual or pristine environments, or places where historical events occurred, or really anything that a tourist can take snapshots of or be told a story about. In more than a few cases, locals have made up stories that they think will attract tourists or enhance the experience of a place. I’m thinking here of the smaller plantation homes in the Deep South of the US where the current owners tell stories about certain buildings or rooms being haunted by the previous occupants. They think the house and garden are not sufficiently interesting in comparison with the larger, more elaborate plantation homes. So a ghost or two adds some needed color to justify the tour charge.
The typical scene at a famous tourist destination is a large tour bus or cruise ship disgorging hordes of passengers at the front entrance or a nearby wharf. They have been given a limited amount of time, so scurry around with their cameras taking pictures of the sights and/or of themselves standing in front of the sights. These photos are virtually identical because they are invariably shot from the same position and framed in precisely the same way.
The mind boggles at the idea of the thousands, perhaps millions, of images in existence of famous places…all exactly alike except for the people and weather.
We’ve encountered both tour bus and cruise ship crowds, who overwhelm the museums, nature trails, shops, restaurants, and other local spots where those individual travelers (like us) were hoping to experience the place alone, or at most, with a few other isolated visitors.
In a way, the cruise ships are the worst because the passengers are dropped off and left to their own devices.
Yesterday, we encountered several people from a cruise ship parked just offshore from Paihia and Russell. We were hiking the Haururu Falls or Mangrove Boardwalk (depending on your focus) trail. Two young Americans came jogging along from the opposite direction and stopped to ask where the other end of the trail terminated in relation to the wharf. They were worried about missing their ride back to the cruise ship and were considering turning around and going back the way they had come.
When told that they were probably more than halfway, one of them asked how we knew this. They seemed surprised when we pulled out a brochure with a map showing the trail, the boardwalk over the mangrove creek where we were standing, and the two trailheads, which were several kilometers apart. It was clear from the map that going the way we had suggested would be much faster than retracing their route. They thanked us and jogged on.
After this and many other encounters with tour groups, I have become grateful for the freedom that comes with a rental car. We can sleep late and head out when we wish and then spend as much or as little time as we want at any particular destination.
Most importantly, we can pick which “sights” are most worth seeing and not have this decision foisted upon us by a tour guide. I might be interested in one or more of the local, famous sights, but am more often interested in seeing things that the typical tourist is not. As Theroux aptly describes, sightseeing, especially as envisioned by tour guides, is more often like a crowded pilgrimage in which you are forced into a ritual with strangers who can often be noisy, rude, and in a hurry.
And even if the other people are well behaved, just their mere presence spoils the experience, especially when visiting natural areas. A recent example was our trip to Doubtful Sound. This is one of the more remote places on Earth, which means that one can experience an environment devoid of human sights and sounds. The tour boat company attempted to create this experience by shutting off its engines in one of the remotest arms of the sound and requesting complete silence….from the 100 or so passengers…for several minutes. As you might guess, total silence from such a crowd is impossible. Someone is always coughing, murmuring, shifting position, or breathing. Even if parents manage to keep their children silent, you can’t relax because of the anticipation of a baby crying or a toddler whining.
I’ll have more thoughts on how to escape the “madding crowd” in future posts.
Wines and Wetlands 