The best read this morning is this amazing piece by Rolf Potts titled "Death of an Adventure Traveler" (via Arts and Letters Daily). The narrative traces his decision as a writer for what he describes as "a Major American Adventure Travel Magazine" to abandon his trade. The immediate reason: the disappearance, and perhaps death of a beloved Burmese friend.

The article delineates the stark and shameful contrast between the faux adrenalin-raising thrills sought by adventure tourists and the very real dangers faced by the people who call these "exotic" destinations home.

Here are some excerpts to encourage you to click through and read the article:

"Readers of Major American Adventure-Travel Magazines, [my editor] told me, didn't want to read about journeys that were obscure or complicated; they wanted exotic challenges wherein they might test -- or, at least, imagine themselves testing -- the extremes of human experience. ... The Major American Adventure-Travel Magazine, it seemed, wanted me to create a tantalizing recipe for the exotic and the unexpected, but only the kind of 'unexpected' that could be planned in advance and completed in less than three weeks. ...

Every time I researched some upscale mountain trek in the Nepal Himalayas or two-week scuba diving excursion off the coast of Papua New Guinea, I couldn't help but ponder how pointless it all was. I began to e-mail my editor pointed questions about how one should define the 'extremes of human experience.' How was kayaking a remote Chinese river, I asked, more notable than surviving on its shores for a lifetime? How did risking frostbite on a helicopter-supported journey to arctic Siberia constitute more of an 'adventure' than risking frostbite on a winter road-crew in Upper Peninsula Michigan?"

All good questions we should ask ourselves when we make our holiday plans.

Comments (32)

1. I guess some people think that going to a place with a travel advisory makes them "Adventurers" rather than ordinary tourists.......

   makes one wonder what percentage of these "adventurers" will expect the US embassy to send the marines to rescue them just as soon as they run into trouble....

   My guess is, 100% of 'em....

   Posted by davebarlett at 10/03/2007 @ 2:33pm

2. at least spoiled americans see reality...

   my last near death vacation to the third world reminded me of some very profound realities...

   "third world slum survivor! see if these spoiled, self absorbed, fifteen minute fame whores can survive DEATH DEALING POVERTY, OPEN RUNNING SEWAGE, UNPOLICED (EXCEPT FOR POLICE WORSE THAN CRIMINALS) SHANTY TOWNS, BIZARRE LITTLE UNDERSTOOD DISEASES WITH NO MEDICAL HELP IN A TROPICAL HELL HOLE THAT GETS HOTTER EVERY YEAR!

   nah...been there, done that. seen the death and sufering. think i'll stay home this year, or take a trip to the blue ridge...the severe diarhea and urinary infection in 110 degree heat was enough for me...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/03/2007 @ 2:38pm

3. If you want to be an adventure tourist then you should enlist.

   Posted by i'm nobody at 10/03/2007 @ 2:43pm

4. I've been on what might be called "adventure vacations" to Chile (white-water rafting) and Morocco (traversing Atlas Mountains). If I could do it all over again, I would still take those vacations.

   Getting out in the world and 1) pushing yourself physically and 2) encountering diverse cultures makes us much more aware of our global surroundings and how we as Americans relate to other citizens of the world. I'd venture to say that those who have had the priviledge to travel outside the comfortable confines of the lower 49 states are much more aware of global issues than those that "vacation at the Gulf of Mexico" (Mellancamp).

   Looking at the number of Americans without passports gives a pretty good indication of how clueless Americans are about happenings in the world.

   As for adventure traveling, I would only suggest using companies that have a good track record of boosting the local economy by employing local employees at fair wages and that contribute to environmental awareness in those counties.

   Posted by BlueTexan at 10/03/2007 @ 2:45pm

5. Don't get me wrong, horseback riding and ATV'ing in the rain forest in Costa Rica is not to be compared with an African adventure in Darfur...Maybe people who want the latter type of adventure should volunteer to help some international relief organizations.....

   It's those who ask for trouble and then, when they find it expect the US embassy to bail them out of it, those are the ones I'm referring to, perhaps that's a step beyond the topic here....

   Posted by davebarlett at 10/03/2007 @ 2:57pm

6. Zero-You weren't supposed to take my post seriously.

   Posted by i'm nobody at 10/03/2007 @ 3:08pm

7. I read the linked article, and I sure am having trouble making the connection that Chaudhry is trying to make in this post. I don't think Potts is making the point that "adventure travel" is bad. I think more than anything I take away the point that the editor of his magazine is trying to sell magazines and Taiwanese adventurers are poachers.

   Posted by BlueTexan at 10/03/2007 @ 3:25pm

8. Posted by DAVEBARLETT 10/03/2007 @ 2:57pm

   costa rica is an anomaly...life expectancy and literacy rates about the same as here.

   shining beacon of hope...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/03/2007 @ 3:46pm

9. Zero-No need to apologize.My type of sarcasm can be easily missed.

   Posted by i'm nobody at 10/03/2007 @ 3:51pm

10. Ibbleblibble-The wife and I are looking at Costa Rica as a possible place to retire.Haven't been there,though.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/03/2007 @ 3:52pm

11. hey there folks.

    before embarking on a world tour, perhaps it would be wise to think about the cost in terms of pollution in getting there.

    there are so many beautiful places in america. no need to go very far at all.

    here are some that i remember:

    sleeping bear dunes, michigan.

    ocala national forest, florida.

    blue ridge parkway, west virginia.

    cumberland island, georgia.

    acadia national park, maine.

    great falls park, virginia.

    many more can be found here:

    http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

    or check your local state parks.

    too many times we fail to see the beauty in our own backyards.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/03/2007 @ 4:01pm

12. Posted by IBBLEBLIBBLE 10/03/2007 @ 2:38pm

    i went on vacation to méxico once and stayed for 10 years, got married and had a kid.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/03/2007 @ 4:03pm

13. Posted by I'M NOBODY 10/03/2007 @ 3:52pm |

    its not as cheap as advertised, so make sure you have more money than you would think you need, but...

    you can drink the water, get universal health care, and as long as the volcanoes dont blow, live at least as safe as here. and the climate in the mountains is truly paradisical...reminds me of the appalachians in early summer...

    wonderful little country.

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/03/2007 @ 4:06pm

14. Blue,

    " I'd venture to say that those who have had the priviledge to travel outside the comfortable confines of the lower 49 states are much more aware of global issues than those that "vacation at the Gulf of Mexico" (Mellancamp). "

    I agree.

    Posted by john maasch at 10/03/2007 @ 5:31pm

15. FZ: Que parte de Mexico?

    Posted by ZERO 10/03/2007 @ 8:24pm

    yo viví, en orden cronológico en El Distrito Federal, Acapulco, El Distrito Federal, Cancún, Cuernavaca, Cancún, Pachuca (go Tuzos!), Tunlancingo, y en la ciudad mas bella de México, Xalapa.

    it was cool. i miss mexico everyday.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/03/2007 @ 10:32pm

16. Here's a book to recommend to all of you: Amy Tan's book "Saving Fish from Drowning."

    It's all about a trip of a bunch of well-to-do US-Americans to Burma that goes terribly awry. First of all, the knowledgeable woman who is supposed to be their guide, Bibi Chen, dies unexpectedly before the voyage begins. Fortunately, this woman is present in spirit -- as a ghost -- to let the reader know what happens.

    It's an extremely entertaining, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-rending, overall tragicomic book.

    Posted by JakobFabian at 10/04/2007 @ 07:21am

17. For some people, I guess, kayaking down a Chinese river, just to say they did it, is more important than just living on the rivers' shores. Either lifestyle is fine, although I tend to admire the former.

    I've done a fair amount of traveling, I guess. But last year was a clincher: Got to Bejing & climbed the Great Wall, walked on the ground in Mongolia where Chingiz Khan and numerous other Turko-Mongol Khans going back 2400 years walked, including the Huns. Saw the ruins of their palaces. Spent a week living in the Gobi Desert living in a Ger and eating mutton. (Although, fortunately Coca Cola has reached even Mongolia.) :) Met two women who had just arrived from horseback riding in Kirghizia, for Christ sake. For me, I would no more trade that experience for "sitting on the shore" for anything: I get to do that all the rest of the year. Can't wait till the next opportunity comes up.

    Chip

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/04/2007 @ 07:28am

18. Posted by CHIP THORNTON 10/04/2007 @ 07:28am

    fortunately?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 08:28am

19. Chip,

    Outstanding!!! I just returned from China yesterday...I am going to Bejing next month on a separate deal and would like to experience something as you!!

    I also paid up to $3 for a Coke when there..I guess I am so American...missed cheeseburgers, too...(real ones)

    As a side note, I can't stand McDonalds..makes shitty hamburgers, however, a friend made me try one in Japan during a lay over...all I can say, is, I was shocked...Japan should give McDonalds a refesher course so they can relearn what a hambureger is.

    Posted by john maasch at 10/04/2007 @ 08:47am

20. FROSTY, What, fortunately, about Coke you mean? Most times I drank water or apricot juice & the national drink, fermented mares milk. The Capital gets coke in and ships it to various places, so I didn't have to go COMPLETELY native :)

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/04/2007 @ 08:48am

21. Posted by CHIP THORNTON 10/04/2007 @ 08:48am

    i'm quite worried about the homogenization of culture.

    in the beginning, culture was determined by one's family.

    then came the clan.

    then the village.

    then the tribe.

    then the region.

    then the country.

    very different cultures flourished all over the earth, each one with the possibility of enriching the others.

    now, what determines north american culture?

    1,000 people in hollywood. a thousand people with cultural domination over 400 million.

    and it's spreading.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 09:35am

22. John, if you get a chance to do the Wall, The Ba Da Ling Section is one of the more common ones to go to when in the city. A lot of the pictures, but not all,we see here taken are from there or close by. Allow as much time as possible because its crowded and you actually climb this thing cause it follows the contour of the mountain it's on so the going is slow. Great stuff, though.

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/04/2007 @ 09:38am

23. Don't worry, FROST Hollywoods culture will never spread to me (or you apparently) I wouldn't care if Hollywood and all it stands for seceded from the Union. (Hey, Wait!!) :)

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/04/2007 @ 09:42am

24. Maybe I missed it, but did anybody point out that WITHOUT such "exotic tourism"...

    that locals wouldn't get access to tourist DOLLARS, improve their lives, etc. Or is better that they open a Nike plant in Papua New Guinea?

    Posted by Mask at 10/04/2007 @ 09:44am

25. Posted by CHIP THORNTON 10/04/2007 @ 09:42am

    yes.

    nonetheless, people all over the world are being seduced by a false american dream all packaged up in a glossy plastic wrapper.

    and in the particular case of coke, perhaps you should read this:

    http://killercoke.org/

    [don't be frightened by the name. be frightened by the moral emptiness.]

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 09:58am

26. Posted by MASK 10/04/2007 @ 09:44am

    that's something i think about all the time.

    here's an example of something i've lived through:

    are you familiar with the "mayan riviera"? this is part of mexico's Caribbean coast in the state of quintana roo found south of cancún.

    when i lived there 10 years ago (in cancún), it was mostly unspoiled jungle with scattered fishing villages and isolated communities of corn/lime/watermelon/okra farmers.

    now it is THE MAYAN RIVIERA.

    well, the mayan's don't fish anymore. and they don't plant crops.

    they wash toilets for the white people.

    and their standard of living?

    same as it ever was.............................................

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 10:04am

27. Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/04/2007 @ 10:04am

    FZ, you think that "fishing" and "planting crops" would be their choices with no "turistas"?

    Or would it be trying to head across the Rio Grande for "El Norte"?

    Posted by Mask at 10/04/2007 @ 10:14am

28. Posted by MASK 10/04/2007 @ 10:14am

    these people are indigenous mayans, the majority of whom have no desire to cross the rio bravo (that's what they call it in mexico.). plus it's very far.

    many of the people flooding the u.s. from mexico are farmers (usually from the northern half of the country) put out of business by NAFTA.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 10:23am

29. FROST, sounds like you're blaming America for America's immigration problem. Maybe you can: Explain to me if you don't mind how that is. Not being sarcasitc but serious-NAFTA comprehension is not my forte.

    Chip

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/04/2007 @ 10:46am

30. Frosty, most fun I had on a 3 day trip to Cancun was not the 2 nights in the RJ Marriot on the beach, but the night we missed the ferry back to the mainland from isla de las mujeres, and had to get a cheap hotel and a real mexican breakfast next morning.....

    not exactly roughing it, but a spontaneous diversion from an otherwise vanilla experience....

    Posted by davebarlett at 10/04/2007 @ 11:59am

31. Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/04/2007 @ 10:23am

    FZ, so, back on topic, is the idea that if the turistas stay out of the "out of the way places"...

    the folks living there will be....better off?!??!?

    Posted by Mask at 10/04/2007 @ 12:10pm

32. Posted by ZERO 10/04/2007 @ 4:09pm

    orale, compay.

    ¿que tal la comida?

    unos salbutes,

    pan de cazón.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/04/2007 @ 11:19pm