Move Less, See More
Posted on 06. Nov, 2011 by Steph in Advice, On the Road, Philosophy
A lot of things about travel are counter-intuitive: when you travel alone you meet more people, when you spend less money you experience more and the more hidden, dingy and local a restaurant looks, the better the food is guaranteed to be. The hardest travel paradox for most people to grasp though is that the more you move around, the less you’re going to see.
It’s a common mistake that I’ve made and I’m sure you have too: people just want to do too many things in too short a time frame. You end up with an itinerary that speeds you through a country in a week, through six cities in 12 days, or all of South East Asia in a month. Exhausting. You might power through with a tiny taste of each place you breeze through, but to really get to know a place you’re going to have to slow down.
This has really hit home for me over the past month. If we hadn’t been offered a house-sitting gig in Bogota we probably would have breezed in and out in a couple of days. Bogota would have just been another enormous capital city with a neat historical area and crappy weather. Instead, over the past month we’ve gotten to really explore the city, to get to know parts that most tourists never happen upon.
If we hadn’t stayed we wouldn’t have visited the bright and funky northern neighborhood of Usaquen, with it’s cute restaurants and giant Sunday flea market.
I wouldn’t have gotten a chance to photograph all of the beautiful graffiti that lies hidden around the city.
I wouldn’t have experienced the biggest, most elaborate Halloween celebration I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously, the US has nothing on the Colombians when it comes to drunken costume bashes.
I wouldn’t have met so many cool locals, or developed a favorite restaurant. I wouldn’t have witnessed the student protests, or the long, prohibition style election. Maybe I wouldn’t have made it to Zipaquira, or tried chicha. Even though I felt like I spent a lot of time hanging around typing on my computer, I actually got a chance to do a lot, and to develop an understanding of what it is to live in Bogota.
I’m anxious now to get out of Bogota and go see the rest of what Colombia has to offer (which by the way, looks like a LOT). I know it’s not realistic to spend a month in every place you visit (and many places you wouldn’t want to), but there is something to be said for slowing down and having the flexibility to spend extra time in a particularly intriguing place. To explore deeply instead of broadly.
New Friends
It’s a paradigm shift, and it’s particularly important for longer trips: on a one week trip you might be able to jam pack a ton of stuff in, then recover later at home. If you are traveling longer though, you can’t be rushing around, switching cities every 2 days, unless your goal is to end up exhausted. Instead of quantity, you have to start thinking about quality.
Even if you could keep up a continuous pace like that, who would want to? Because when you slow down, you get the chance to look more closely at a place- to really get ti know it. Instead of traveling wide, you travel deep- and that leads to some excellent rewards.
37 Responses to “Move Less, See More”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- - November 7, 2011
[...] to capture all of our ridiculous adventures for posterity. But we are also excited to travel slow, move less, and see more. That way we will be sure to enjoy everything in the moment and then after through our pics. If [...]
- - December 29, 2011
[...] Move Less, See More by Stephanie Yoder After a year with two separate whirlwind sojourns in Europe, I’ve decided that traveling slowly really is best for me. And just like that, as though she’d read my mind, Stephanie ups and writes an incredibly insightful piece on the benefits of slow travel. So said, so done. [...]
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Phil
06. Nov, 2011
I’m pretty religious about slow travel these days, so I’m always glad when I come across a post like this. And by addressing the paradox, you did a good job articulating the value of this travel mode.
For the past two years I’ve just been looping back to the same handful of places, reconnecting with friends, trying to become fluent in languages, learning dances, listening to music, trying to get in deep. Ironically, though, the only time I have spent in Bogota was a brief 4.5 stay a few years ago, so this post definitely has me wanting to go back for an extended stay!!
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
It’s funny, having done this I’m so curious about all the other places that I’ve only spent a small amount of time in. What have I missed out on?
Amanda
06. Nov, 2011
I think you made a good point in saying that traveling quickly might work for a short trip of a couple weeks, where you’ll have time to “recover” once you get home. But when you’re traveling long-term (or indefinitely), it’s not realistic to zip through everything. That’s when you get burnt out and start to hate what you’re doing.
Great post! It’s good to hear you’re enjoying your shift to even slower travel in South America.
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
Exactly- for a short trip I think it’s fine to rush around a bit (although there are still merits from just choosing a couple places and seeing them in depth). But for a longer trip you just HAVE to slow down or you’ll lose your mind.
Alouise
06. Nov, 2011
I’m always disappointed when I try to see a lot in a short amount of time. You end up feeling rushed, and stressed. I think slow travel, at least for longterm travelers would be the way to go.
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
Yeah, the trips I’ve done super fast have just been a whirlwind. It’s hard to even remember later what I saw.
Christine
06. Nov, 2011
You summed up my whole travel philosophy SO WELL right here! I’d much rather go to fewer places but really experience that place, like my six month stints in Nice and Melbourne. I think the best part is being able to travel more in the region as well. So often we just hop from big city to big city–if you live in the big city, you can take long weekends and day trips to the surrounding areas and see a totally different aspect of the culture.
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
That’s definitely a good point- if you have a home base it’s a lot easier to explore further afield.
Nancy
06. Nov, 2011
Very good post–as my life changes, I am looking forward to lots of slow travel. Funny, though, my colleagues in the States think that my 14-18 day trips are incredibly long!
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
Yes, I remember back when I was working I took a 12 day vacation and everybody thought that was craaaazy!
Amy
06. Nov, 2011
We always travel slowly. Even with travelling slowly, we still have to stop sometimes and have a bit of time to just relax and take it easy.
Jarrad
06. Nov, 2011
It is different when you travel long-term to the short-term travels. We saw a family the other week trying to go around Australia in three months. In the three months they’d been away, they’d driven about 200 to 300 kilometers on average each day – there had only been two days that they had not driven! I felt tired just thinking about it!
Steph
06. Nov, 2011
Yikes! Yeah sometimes you really have to limit yourself to really enjoy.
Alex
06. Nov, 2011
Yeah, I totally agree with this. My boyfriend and I left for a six week trip to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, and three weeks later…. we’re still in Cambodia and tomorrow I’m putting a poll on my blog to let readers decide between Vietnam and Laos, because we were on crack to think we could do all three!
And I STILL feel like I’m rushing!
Steph
15. Nov, 2011
My vote is Vietnam!
Todd @ Visit50.com
06. Nov, 2011
I’m a prime offender! I just went on a 5 month trip and visited more than a dozen countries. I treated each week like a 1-week trip. I loved it, but it’s certainly a tradeoff. I covered lots of ground, but you end up spending lots of time being a tourist, and not enough just soaking in the essence of the place.
Steph
15. Nov, 2011
Gah! That sounds exhausting, but maybe I’m just lazy…
Todd @ Visit50.com
15. Nov, 2011
treating a marathon like a series of sprints is truly exhausting, yes. I eventually slowed down with month straight in the Philippines, but even that was spread into multiple (beautiful) islands
Todd @ Visit50.com
06. Nov, 2011
also – I just posted about Halloween Around the World – about how people celebrate outside the US. I didn’t realize they celebrate in Columbia, or a bunch of other countries. Do kids “trick-or-treat” ?
Steph
15. Nov, 2011
Yeah that’s been a big surprise for me too. They do the whole 9 yards: trick or treaters, decorations, costume parties and lots of drinking.
Erin
07. Nov, 2011
We totally agree. Not only does slow travel save your energy but you get to discover a lot more about a place. We spent 3.5 weeks house sitting in Kyoto and loved it there, but I know many people who don’t like it. I think it’s because in a few days you don’t have a chance to see everything the city has to offer and get stuck in the rather unattractive downtown area.
Steph
15. Nov, 2011
I love Kyoto, but if I’d had three weeks there I would have loved it even more!
Colleen Hayward
07. Nov, 2011
Knowing all of this, I think I’m going to have to adjust my future itinerary by a lot
Jason Stearns
07. Nov, 2011
This is so true! Spending more time at a place really gives you a much better sense of it. You enjoy yourself more and meet more people (usually locals instead of other travelers).
Gerard ~ GQ trippin
08. Nov, 2011
I’m dreading the fact that my upcoming 8-month trip is going to feel so rushed as Q & I are planning to cover 11 countries during that time. Not sure exactly how I should tackle it, it’s tough when there’s so much you want to see!
Steph
15. Nov, 2011
My advice is leave your plans as flexible as you can- just in case you decide to drop a country or spend long somewhere. That said 11 in 8 months doesn’t sound TOO absurd.
Kathy
10. Nov, 2011
So true! Quality not quantity is essential to travelling that you actually enjoy, and don’t just fly through. Your experiences are more important than the number of stamps in your passport!
Jessie
11. Nov, 2011
Such true words, slow travel does let us examine a place in a closer (and dare I say) more realistic manner. Personally, I prefer travel in the form of hoping around and living in places.
travelingnatural
21. Nov, 2011
If time permits I agree slowing down is best.
Priyank
26. Nov, 2011
Hi Steph,
This is a great post and I like how you have articulated the advantages of slow travel. However, for lots of people, long term travel is not an option. So when I hear from folks who “saw Europe” in 3 weeks, I understand their perspective too. It’s the greatest and most expensive thing they have ever done while keeping their jobs and families and all those things. I always struggle to find a proper balance.
Steph
04. Dec, 2011
Indeed, it’s better to get out and see something than to stay at home wondering. But I do think those people might have a better, deeper experience i they just chose a couple countries to focus on.
Bobbi Lee Hitchon
12. Dec, 2011
Soooo agree! I remember on my first backpacking trip, all I cared about was hitting as many countries as possible. I did two actually in just one day. Well I obviously didn’t complete them. I thought I would do the same on my recent long term trip to SE Asia, but I actually ended up spending a lot longer in two countries then I thought. I’m really happy too. I met some great people, learned things, picked up a bit of the language and left really feeling like I knew those two countries. It meant not visiting another country on my list and getting limited time at two other countries I did visit, but for me it was worth it!
Lindsay
09. Jan, 2012
I really like your travel philosophy. I’m working abroad, so sometimes I only have a long weekend to spare for a trip, but I’m discovering that I like to take my time and not rush through each city in a day or two. Sometimes being lazy on the road is fun… I could spend all day walking around shopping, eating, and people watching! Even if I miss out on some of the sights, I love not feeling so rushed…. and if I don’t get enough sleep and I’m running around like a crazy person all day I just get crabby, and that’s no fun, haha.
Steph
09. Jan, 2012
It’s great that you are discovering your travel style. I for one truly love sleeping so it’s a big priority for me.
Jen
26. Jan, 2012
Really good article and excellent point about travel. I spent a month on the Bay Islands of Honduras last year and was definitely thankful that I got to see so much more than the cruiseship passengers that spend ONE AFTERNOON on an island. I think if you have the time to do it, spending a couple weeks in a place is ideal.