On the Fringe (A Rant)

ON THE FRINGE

In my research in building an itinerary to discover a small slice of the eastern side of Puglia this spring, it dawned on me that the itineraries out there come from homogenous sources, and therefore, articles and blog posts I’ve dug up online are just basically various reiterations of each other. There’s no originality or diversity in recommendations and if you’ve read one, it does seem like you’ve read them all. What it also means is that what they recommend you do is do what everyone else does. It’s a shame because a piece of Italy that is seemingly dreamy, flanked by the Adriatic and Ionian coasts on one side and of mountains on the other, is reduced to 5 towns you should visit according to bloggers where you should do the same freaking thing as everyone else.

Which brings me to another point. I worry sometimes that with the inundation of content – all seemingly experts at everything – it has been so difficult to sift through all the noise and find quality, researched travel advice out there anymore. I have subscribed to National Geographic Traveler for years, and even they have disappointingly resorted to top 10 lists of this and that and the other, that I have found them lacking anymore in the high quality publishing revealing places and experiences that have inspired me for so long. Sell outs.

There are a handful of sources out there whose traveling style resonates with me, and whose stories still provide provocation and inspiration. Publications like the New York Times Magazines, sometimes Roads and Kingdoms, or small-scale ones like Beyond Ordinary Guides. The rest, I’m afraid, is just white noise. I am starving for consuming something both substantial and aesthetically pleasing, so PLEASE, if you have any recommendations where I can find both, send them my way.

Blogging and social media have influenced the way how the world travels undoubtedly. But it has been very crowded, and honestly, crowded with mediocrity and lack of depth. Click baits and the perpetual and cheap desire for likes and followers have dominated whose voice gets heard. And frankly, I’m just tired of it because that middle spot in the bell curve does not do anything for me. Never has and never will.

And this just reinvigorates the values of this blog and why I choose to keep doing this. It is to try and cover as much of the world out there you would hardly see anywhere else. It's a departure from the echo chamber of various voices saying the same thing. If they say go left, guess where I'm going? Fucking right. It is the courage to explore beyond the obvious and to do something different from what other people tell you you should be doing. And while I will go to places considered "touristy", my hope is that I am always able to do so more thoughtfully and meaningfully.

So I choose to stay happily on the fringe where the ideas are more concentrated and the experience is truly more meaningful.

And yes, the quality around these parts are so much fucking better.

#travel #italy