# Trip AdviSer

**Published by:** [qreator](https://paragraph.com/@qreator/)
**Published on:** 2023-02-21
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@qreator/trip-adviser

## Content

Having been born in 1984, I would say that my first coming of age as a young man occured during my backpacking days in my early 20s. I finished University in a coastal Australian town, with decent (but not outstanding) grades and decided it was time to get out of there. The next 2-3 years led me to work a range of odd jobs starting with pulling pints of chilled Stella Artois to patrons visiting the nearby Chessington World of Adventures. It wasn’t glamorous work and it dented my self-esteem a little but that was ok since it also formed the money-line to fund my travel dreams. The travel during the European Summertime was great and included extensive time in Spain and Eastern Europe across both the Balkans and the Baltics (I would go on to marry a Lithuanian woman, my first wife). However, it’s my memories of South-East Asia that really stuck and it’s probably why I live here today. Singapore is home for the moment but there’s a plethora of other interesting places to live around the region, and nomad culture enables that. And I like The Beach. …. I didn’t write this to tell my life story. But to explain how I remember things during this period (let’s say 2004 - 2010) when the Internet was steady and slow, and the most exciting ‘social’ app was probably Hotmail. These were nostalgic times, and very different from what it seems to me, today. …. I get it that the Instagram holiday-porn shots of beautiful beaches and bitches bring in the views, clicks, thumbs and swipes but a lot of the magic of the mystery tour has definitely been stifled away. The sheer wealth of information online, from social media, to search engines, to review sites make decisions easy - but in other ways it also robs us of both the fun, and the art, of decision making away which of course is a fundamental human right. If I could opt to put my Internet back into into a ‘Nostalgia Mode’ where only 1% of such information existed from various sources I’d give it a try. The objective is to bring back what it feels like to be adventurous - surely the primary reason of leisure travel for most. … ‘Back in my day’ you’d have no communications at all whilst undergoing the mode of transport and upon reaching the location, an Internet Cafe would need to be located (probably by asking someone) … and then you’d have to make a careful choice as to whether to book 2x 15 minute slots for 30 minutes, or 3x 15 minute slots for 45 minutes. The difference equating to an evening Singha Beer or not. We would use a Lonely Planet “Exotic Country X on a Shoestring”. But such books were expensive so you’d end up borrowing one from a friend or book exchange, and it’s probably 3-5 years old already and everything would be out of date except the Nightlife section. And that was the most glamourous part… the dog-eared pages, the biro marks and sticky notes of the previous holder. Provenance. So you’d really end up travelling based on true ‘word of mouth’. That is, to say someone that you know, or even met briefly but decided to trust, has given a recommendation which determines your next move within the unknown frame of travel. You go based on their word, and it usually ends up being an incredible, if not unique experience. I’ve got some great memories - from the a kebab shop in Byron Bay, a rare bottle of beer in Brussels, a …errr.. blowjob bar in Bangkok and a hidden park in central London. These memories play back to me in high-fidelity because they are essentially shared experiences. There is one more wonderful thing about this approach. It’s because the person from whom you are receiving the reference from is doing exactly that; telling a story, or in more simple terms; communicating with another person. And through this act, they have the opportunity to deliver a miniature ‘performance’ which in turn probably has a bearing on whether their recommendation is acted upon or not. Compare to how we travel today… best described as: Flick Up Face ID - incorrect, incorrect Enter Passcode Flick Left Twice Click App Click Home Click Beach Flick Up/Down/Left/Right Sort by Reviews Filter by Budget Click Buy Go Visit Maybe Write Review (but only ever if it’s a really good, or really bad experience) … and so the cycle repeats itself. This is travelling in bot mode. What about the hidden gems? …. Today in Thailand I took a different approach, mostly because I am currently low on funds. I went to Hotels.com app and booked something in my chosen beach location. I chose the first search result within my budget - 5.4 out of 10 or something on the reviews, which were very mixed. What I got met my needs entirely. A slightly run-down hotel which reminded me of the bygone days above. A comfy bed, a working air-conditioner, complimentary water … and the most beautiful beach-front location of all the other establishments. All this for the princely sum of SGD 38 per night. Trash Travel - The 2023 Guide to Exotic Country X on a Shoestring. …. So the point here is that one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. Over-posted and overpriced does not always mean reassuringly expensive. Next time you travel don’t be afraid to - 1) ask someone and or 2) go ‘off-algo’ and just book a place because it intrigues you, and not just because ‘some one’ or ‘some thing’ said so. After all… no one ever died from bed bugs. 💎 A note to my readers - I have redacted the name of this hidden gem. If you would like to know the location, you can claim this entry and dm @low_salad for the mystery location in Phuket, Thailand ;)

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