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I mean you can go to all kids of places without actually going and paying 1000s. Also without the hassle of flying, airports, and all the other things to deal with in a foreign country.
oh, yes! Just like I'm saving oodles of money watching cooking shows -- no need to deal with grocery shopping, food bills, or washing the dishes when I can just watch my dinner on TV.
There are ways of traveling without spending a bundle.
I travel a lot for work and this past year used frequent flyer miles for two first class round trip tickets to Europe. We ventured out of the ridiculously expensive tourist areas into the local neighborhoods for meals and ate better food at half the cost.
In 2013 we'll be flying to California on free tickets and staying in free hotels (with free breakfast and maybe evening happy hour depending on where we stay) thanks to points earned through work. I've even got a $50 coupon towards our rental car after a problem with rental car I had on a business trip. Even the airport parking will be free.
We're budgeting about $1000 for two people for 10 days, but we could do it for less if we wanted to be more frugal with meals and places we want to see. (A scheduled day at Disneyland is really driving our budget up.)
You can couch surf, camp, stay in hostels, and eat meals from markets.
There's a guy named StealthRabbit on these boards who travels a lot and very, very frugally. I don't agree with everything he does (he'll work on a farm in exchange for room and board, which to meet isn't a vacation) but he can offer some great insight into frugal ways to travel.
There is zero comparing watching something on TV and experiencing it in real life.
You don't get the smells, the vibe, or the feeling. You lose perspective on size. You don't get the emotion.
People who think they get the same experience from an armchair make me quite sad.
I know someone who has very little money and some rather bad health issues -- and saving money for travel just isn't possible. He loves to watch something on TV and then "visit" the area via Google.
While it may seem sad, it does keep his window on the world open, which is something I don't often see with older people. He's more positive and happy than a lot of the seniors I run into.
I know someone who has very little money and some rather bad health issues -- and saving money for travel just isn't possible. He loves to watch something on TV and then "visit" the area via Google.
While it may seem sad, it does keep his window on the world open, which is something I don't often see with older people. He's more positive and happy than a lot of the seniors I run into.
The difference is that he knows it's not the same. For people like him, I think it's great that he has the motivation to look and learn.
The OP seems to think you can get the same experience by watching it on TV. You can't.
You know, I used to think the same thing once Google Earth and Flickr came into being (at about the same time). Would they reduce my incentive to travel, especially to famous sights like, say, Sacre-Coeur, which has about a million megapixel-sized photos of it online? Even worse was when Google started to add the Street View feature to its maps.
However, reflecting further, experiencing things through a computer screen is a qualitatively totally different experience from actually being there.
Better than nothing and as mentioned, some people simply aren't able to travel for various reasons so I'm glad they have options to 'see' different places. No real substitute for the real thing however.
As an aside, are there any travel shows left? I used to love the travel channel but anytime I turn it on now it's nothing but shows about the fat guy eating or the former coke-head heating somewhere. I know the local food is a draw for some travelers but I miss the old shows that were more focused on the destination than what you can eat when you get there.
Second aside - for those who want to 'get out' from the computer, Nature Valley put a few hikes from Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and the Smokies online awhile ago. It's a neat way to take a little virtual hike when you're otherwise unable to do the real thing. Nature Valley Trail View
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