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bookishtraveler's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
"Rediscovering Travel" is all about perspective and mindset of the traveler. In this book, Mr. Kugel makes a case for the "Road Less Traveled" and compares the pros and cons of how travel has been influenced by social media.
However, Mr Kugel's tone is often condescending to those of us who haven't had the opportunity to travel as a writer or are otherwise hamstrung in travel by family, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Published in 2018 before the Plague, Chat GPT, AI and the like, it has already become a bit outdated. It is also replete with dad jokes and corny humour.
Often repetitive, the theme and advice throughout are still sound: ditch the lists: the bucket list, the check the box, the TA must dos and sees and focus instead on being present in the moment, creating organic experiences and opening yourself up to the people and cultures you visit.
There is also a very thought provoking discussion of exploitation when traveling and relative risk when traveling.
Overall, I found it interesting but it took a long time to get through it.
However, Mr Kugel's tone is often condescending to those of us who haven't had the opportunity to travel as a writer or are otherwise hamstrung in travel by family, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Published in 2018 before the Plague, Chat GPT, AI and the like, it has already become a bit outdated. It is also replete with dad jokes and corny humour.
Often repetitive, the theme and advice throughout are still sound: ditch the lists: the bucket list, the check the box, the TA must dos and sees and focus instead on being present in the moment, creating organic experiences and opening yourself up to the people and cultures you visit.
There is also a very thought provoking discussion of exploitation when traveling and relative risk when traveling.
Overall, I found it interesting but it took a long time to get through it.
dmsreader09's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
stevensawtelle's review against another edition
4.0
preachy at times, but overall some good insights and perspective shifts
tamilynn1313's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
dbg108's review against another edition
4.0
Kugel's winsome stories are fun to read. And I enjoyed some of the overall values he champions, particularly the emphasis on connecting with people in organic ways. The risk and safety chapter is helpful. That said, I didn't always resonate with his overall approach. Still, it helped me identify what I value and why.
willwork4airfare's review against another edition
5.0
A fun collection of researched essays on traveling tips with lots of fun anecdotes. It made me desperately want to be traveling somewhere!
niniane's review against another edition
4.0
Illustrates how going to lesser-traveled places yields more spontaneous adventures, partly because locals are more friendly if there are few tourists.
The section about romance with locals was disappointing. He spends all this energy getting to understand others' mentalities, and it still takes him 15 years to understand how it's exploitative for him to sleep with a much poorer local who wants to escape their desperate situation?
He seems to want adventures with locals *as equals*. That is great when he is having an adventure in Europe. It is challenging when he has 1000 times as much money as them. I wish he addressed this more. He just tells story after story of enjoying hospitality from poorer families.
The sections criticizing luxury hotels made valid points. The hotels optimize for business travelers (efficiency and privacy) and also tourists (spontaneous friendly fun). It results in manufactured fakery.
The section about romance with locals was disappointing. He spends all this energy getting to understand others' mentalities, and it still takes him 15 years to understand how it's exploitative for him to sleep with a much poorer local who wants to escape their desperate situation?
He seems to want adventures with locals *as equals*. That is great when he is having an adventure in Europe. It is challenging when he has 1000 times as much money as them. I wish he addressed this more. He just tells story after story of enjoying hospitality from poorer families.
The sections criticizing luxury hotels made valid points. The hotels optimize for business travelers (efficiency and privacy) and also tourists (spontaneous friendly fun). It results in manufactured fakery.
manny_calavera's review against another edition
5.0
One of the beat books on travel. Seth has a series of essays on various aspects of travel in todays day and age. While he does have a certain bias but he does give sufficient points to ponder on. It is a book which you can spend a lot of time reflecting on . I liked the comparison on travel through the ages and how the modern tourism industry has shaped up.
Would recommend for everyone to read in the next travels
Would recommend for everyone to read in the next travels
scottflanary's review against another edition
4.0
A fun read from a well-traveled travel writer. The chapter focused on “why we travel” is a knockout; others are interesting albeit a tad meandering. I found myself enjoying the author’s anecdotes more than his advice, probably because much of the advice is for beginner travelers rather than those who have ventured internationally already.