I don’t deny there’s a draw to visit places that aren’t well known. One of the most revelatory weeks of my life was trekking alone through the hill-tribe areas of northern Laos, very off the beaten path. But it’s possible to find true adventure and insight even in the Louvre on a scorching August day, surrounded by a thousand other people quietly disappointed by the Mona Lisa. (Strike up a conversation with the security guard who has to stare at that smile all day.) Travel is about personal interaction, not getting into a passport-stamp race. Too often I’ve heard diatribes on what separates tourists from travelers, but it’s not how expensive the hotel was, how strange the food, or who got the best native tattoo–it’s the impact of the visit, and whether you are a responsible traveler.

It’s a standard law that if we travel somewhere, we change the place. But just because you’re not the first Western traveler to step off the bus, that it’s “ruined.” Nor does that justify swarms of global nomads and trustafarians taking over an island. Responsible travel is taking the power one has as a traveler (as a cultural ambassador, as a walking financial institution, as an individual) and using it in ethical ways, while still having fun. Damn it, travel for the traveler is supposed to be fun, as well as enlightening, challenging, and all that other stuff.

So I guess I can tell you where my favorite spot it, as long as you promise to travel there the right way. Just grab yourself a world map, a dart, and a blindfold…

Travel well,
Jeff