I can't travel - armchair traveller's give me your tips!
May 14, 2011 10:11 PM Subscribe
I am unable to travel because 1) I lack money (I'm unemployed) and 2) my fiancee is unable to travel due to illness (chronic fatigue syndrome). However I'd like to have some fun, even more than I do at the moment, through "armchair travelling". What been your most fun armchair travel experiences? Is there a foreign-set movie, a particular travel book, web site or a particular way you bring back memories of a holiday you actually you went to that I might enjoy?
Some people (including myself) can't travel through various reasons such as disability or lack of money, or they live alone and don't want to travel on their own in case they feel homesick and lonely, yet are interested in other countries. I am not a great real-life traveller on my own though in the past I have greatly enjoyed travel to spanish language schools where I got to meet and chat with others (maybe because I find it hard to meet people in my "real life" at home). However I really do enjoy being able to travel from my armchair without the expense, the worry about getting mugged and left stranded, or catching tropical diseases!
For example on Friday I saw the Martin Sheen film "The Way" which has many beautiful location shots of northern Spain - you can get a hint of it by viewing the trailer at IMDB.com
I like watching films set in Spain and in Japan especially even just the diversity of seeing people looking and dressing different from the ones I see here at home, as well as the sounds of people speaking other languages - I actually like watching subtitled films and would never want to see a dubbed film.
I also like eating foreign food - Indian, Spanish or Mexican (and Italian too - I like my pizza).
And just today I discovered a little UK web site called "Holidays From Home" which tries to offer a holiday experience from home for those unable to travel. I discovered this in an article for sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (my fiancee is a sufferer not me) as the company was set up by a women who has ME/ CFS and was frustrated when she couldn't go to a holiday some of her family went to. She recreated the experience at home by eating Greek food for a week, throwing down paper plates (instead of smashing plates which is a Greek custom at celebrations) and using a foot spa instead of paddling at the beach. She genuinely had a good time instead of feeling negative about missing the holiday. Eventually she researched enough to create a commercial product (there are virtual holidays available for New York and Australia and a World Chocolate Tour - tonight I bought the New York one and I'm looking forward to it arriving soon!). Some museums now have good online sections and there are webcams available so I guess doing your own research, maybe buying a visitor's guide DVD or guide book, you could do the same thing for wherever you wanted to "travel" to.
I am now trying to expand my imagination and get more ideas for fun armchair travel experiences which I can do since it could be several years before I travel properly again. If you are a fellow lover of armchair travelling please give me your best tips!
Some people (including myself) can't travel through various reasons such as disability or lack of money, or they live alone and don't want to travel on their own in case they feel homesick and lonely, yet are interested in other countries. I am not a great real-life traveller on my own though in the past I have greatly enjoyed travel to spanish language schools where I got to meet and chat with others (maybe because I find it hard to meet people in my "real life" at home). However I really do enjoy being able to travel from my armchair without the expense, the worry about getting mugged and left stranded, or catching tropical diseases!
For example on Friday I saw the Martin Sheen film "The Way" which has many beautiful location shots of northern Spain - you can get a hint of it by viewing the trailer at IMDB.com
I like watching films set in Spain and in Japan especially even just the diversity of seeing people looking and dressing different from the ones I see here at home, as well as the sounds of people speaking other languages - I actually like watching subtitled films and would never want to see a dubbed film.
I also like eating foreign food - Indian, Spanish or Mexican (and Italian too - I like my pizza).
And just today I discovered a little UK web site called "Holidays From Home" which tries to offer a holiday experience from home for those unable to travel. I discovered this in an article for sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (my fiancee is a sufferer not me) as the company was set up by a women who has ME/ CFS and was frustrated when she couldn't go to a holiday some of her family went to. She recreated the experience at home by eating Greek food for a week, throwing down paper plates (instead of smashing plates which is a Greek custom at celebrations) and using a foot spa instead of paddling at the beach. She genuinely had a good time instead of feeling negative about missing the holiday. Eventually she researched enough to create a commercial product (there are virtual holidays available for New York and Australia and a World Chocolate Tour - tonight I bought the New York one and I'm looking forward to it arriving soon!). Some museums now have good online sections and there are webcams available so I guess doing your own research, maybe buying a visitor's guide DVD or guide book, you could do the same thing for wherever you wanted to "travel" to.
I am now trying to expand my imagination and get more ideas for fun armchair travel experiences which I can do since it could be several years before I travel properly again. If you are a fellow lover of armchair travelling please give me your best tips!
Best answer: The Fall is a sort of escapist fairy tale that was filmed on location in 20 countries, in some of the most breathtaking places I've ever seen on film. If you watch it, keep in mind that there are no computer-generated special effects; it's all real.
Until the End of the World is a great film with a story that spans Europe and Australia. Unfortunately there is no DVD because it's in some kind of legal limbo, only VHS. But it does seem to exist as a torrent.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:52 PM on May 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Until the End of the World is a great film with a story that spans Europe and Australia. Unfortunately there is no DVD because it's in some kind of legal limbo, only VHS. But it does seem to exist as a torrent.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:52 PM on May 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
This Truman Capote book contains some really beautiful travel journals. The one about Brooklyn is one of my all time favorite short stories.
posted by Saminal at 11:22 PM on May 14, 2011
posted by Saminal at 11:22 PM on May 14, 2011
Best answer: I used to volunteer at an ESL program; there was a student I saw regularly. She was from Somalia, and was speaking English at a fairly high level, and she just enjoyed practicing speaking English in a non-judgmental situation. She talked mostly about her life as it was then, but I heard lots of great stories about her life in East Africa: the small town where she grew up; traditions; stories from her childhood.
The university I attend now has a similar program with international students. I volunteered with it last year, and found all the students very outgoing and engaging. It was an interesting way to learn about different cultures from someone else's point of view, and one of the Japanese students I saw recommended some outstanding Japanese books (in translation) for me I wouldn't have otherwise read.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 11:28 PM on May 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
The university I attend now has a similar program with international students. I volunteered with it last year, and found all the students very outgoing and engaging. It was an interesting way to learn about different cultures from someone else's point of view, and one of the Japanese students I saw recommended some outstanding Japanese books (in translation) for me I wouldn't have otherwise read.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 11:28 PM on May 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Two island/water books for your enjoyment: An Embarrassment of Mangoes and The Sex Lives of Cannibals.
In An Embarrassment, a couple from Canada buys a live-aboard and sails south to the Caribbean, telling tales of learning to sail and experiencing life on the islands. It made me want to follow their example even though I've never sailed.
The Sex Lives... is a funny book in which a man follows his wife to a tiny island nation in the South Pacific called Kiribati. His take on the local culture and his day-to-day experiences there are hilarious, and the book was a fun, quick read. Not risque at all, despite the title.
posted by nadise at 11:52 PM on May 14, 2011
In An Embarrassment, a couple from Canada buys a live-aboard and sails south to the Caribbean, telling tales of learning to sail and experiencing life on the islands. It made me want to follow their example even though I've never sailed.
The Sex Lives... is a funny book in which a man follows his wife to a tiny island nation in the South Pacific called Kiribati. His take on the local culture and his day-to-day experiences there are hilarious, and the book was a fun, quick read. Not risque at all, despite the title.
posted by nadise at 11:52 PM on May 14, 2011
How about some travel series? I think The Long Way Round and The Long Way Down would be great for this. Both are travel documentaries, about Ewan McGregor and his friend Charlie Boorman, taking long trips by motorcycle. In the first (round) they go from London to New York over land (Europe, Asia). In the second (down) they go from London to Cape Town, through Europe and Africa. Compelling stuff, and you see some amazing scenery and get a sense of some countries that barely register on your average westerner's radar.
posted by Joh at 11:54 PM on May 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Joh at 11:54 PM on May 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Let me (maybe) be the first, but probably not the last, to mention Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations series on the Travel Channel, which is as much about travel as it is about food. Most episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
posted by carrienation at 12:08 AM on May 15, 2011
posted by carrienation at 12:08 AM on May 15, 2011
On the web: National Geographic and Atlas Obscura.
posted by various at 3:35 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by various at 3:35 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I love Bill Bryson's travel books, and speaking as someone who's traveled around the US quite a bit for work, the description of what it's like to travel around in the US is spot-on.
Have you tried looking for subtitled foreign TV series to try? I know Hulu has some Korean series one of my friends is very into, and watching a series can give you a lot of cool little glimpses into what it's like somewhere else.
posted by pie ninja at 5:13 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Have you tried looking for subtitled foreign TV series to try? I know Hulu has some Korean series one of my friends is very into, and watching a series can give you a lot of cool little glimpses into what it's like somewhere else.
posted by pie ninja at 5:13 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Pedro Almodovar movies are excellent slices of Spain.
First book that came to mind for a flavour of a place was Gerald Durrell's book My Family and other Animals that covers his childhood in Crete.
posted by arcticseal at 6:28 AM on May 15, 2011
First book that came to mind for a flavour of a place was Gerald Durrell's book My Family and other Animals that covers his childhood in Crete.
posted by arcticseal at 6:28 AM on May 15, 2011
I came here to mention The Fall as well. Apart from breathtaking scenery, it also specifically builds on the idea of 'travelling with your mind'.
posted by cerbous at 6:34 AM on May 15, 2011
posted by cerbous at 6:34 AM on May 15, 2011
When I didn't feel like studying for exams in undergrad, I would hop on Google Earth and follow rivers across continents and look up all of the towns that the rivers passed on Flickr and Wikipedia. The Amazon, the Nile, the Congo, the Zambezi, the Yangtze, the Mekong ...
posted by ChuraChura at 7:44 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ChuraChura at 7:44 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seconding Joh's recommendation of the Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman series Long Way Round and Long Way Down. Michael Palin's many travel documentaries are also engaging.
I'm a big fan of bicycle tour narratives. There are some good published ones, including Barb Savage's Miles from Nowhere and Neil Peart's The Masked Rider. There are also lots of ordinary bike tourists' journals on the website CrazyGuyonaBike.com. Some of them are fine reading; others are quite dull. The creator of the site, Neil Gunton, started it as a way to post his own trip journal, the original Crazy Guy on a Bike (well worth a read).
Neil picks a featured journal every week; those are good places to start. You can also search the site by location and several other parameters.
Shameless self-promotion: I posted a journal on Crazy Guy about my tour in Ireland last August.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:47 AM on May 15, 2011
I'm a big fan of bicycle tour narratives. There are some good published ones, including Barb Savage's Miles from Nowhere and Neil Peart's The Masked Rider. There are also lots of ordinary bike tourists' journals on the website CrazyGuyonaBike.com. Some of them are fine reading; others are quite dull. The creator of the site, Neil Gunton, started it as a way to post his own trip journal, the original Crazy Guy on a Bike (well worth a read).
Neil picks a featured journal every week; those are good places to start. You can also search the site by location and several other parameters.
Shameless self-promotion: I posted a journal on Crazy Guy about my tour in Ireland last August.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:47 AM on May 15, 2011
Oops, forgot to close a tag properly. Oh well, the links still work!
posted by brianogilvie at 7:48 AM on May 15, 2011
posted by brianogilvie at 7:48 AM on May 15, 2011
Best answer: They're documentaries, but for me, Michael Palin's travel shows (Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole, Full Circle, the Hemingway one, Himalaya, Sahara, the one about eastern Europe -- my favorite is Full Circle) are great for feeling like I've really learned something about a place without feeling too sad that I can't (afford to) go there myself, as a lot of the places he goes are places that wouldn't be high on my list due to inconvenience factors, etc. Plus, it's Michael Palin, and he's awesome. I also like the Globe Trekker series for that (but none of its hosts are Michael Palin), obviously.
Otherwise, most of the things I can think of just make me want to *go* to the place in question, but if that doesn't happen to you, Bernardo Bertolucci's film Stealing Beauty (with Liv Tyler) is a great love-letter to Tuscany; Anne Fortier's novel Juliet made me want desperately to go to Siena; and Rick Steves' documentaries about Europe (while I find the man himself annoying) are great advertisements for travelling there.
posted by lysimache at 7:50 AM on May 15, 2011
Otherwise, most of the things I can think of just make me want to *go* to the place in question, but if that doesn't happen to you, Bernardo Bertolucci's film Stealing Beauty (with Liv Tyler) is a great love-letter to Tuscany; Anne Fortier's novel Juliet made me want desperately to go to Siena; and Rick Steves' documentaries about Europe (while I find the man himself annoying) are great advertisements for travelling there.
posted by lysimache at 7:50 AM on May 15, 2011
I second Almodovar movies for a slice of Spain. He has a lot of food in his movies too, so it might be fun to have a theme night or weekend. Off the top of my head, gazpacho in Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown, Spanish tortilla in The Flower of My Secret, jamon in...most of them.
posted by apricot at 8:02 AM on May 15, 2011
posted by apricot at 8:02 AM on May 15, 2011
The recent Indian movie Dhobi Ghat is basically just an excuse to show lots and lots of shots of old Mumbai/Bombay, which is fascinating and lovely to watch.
posted by bookish at 8:32 AM on May 15, 2011
posted by bookish at 8:32 AM on May 15, 2011
Best answer: One great way to travel without traveling is to host travelers from around the world, who bring you bits of their lives and experiences and first hand knowledge and stories. I used couchsurfing.com as a traveler first, but now I host a lot more than I travel, and have a great time and meet fantastic people.
posted by Salamandrous at 9:11 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Salamandrous at 9:11 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
What scratches this itch for me are fish-out-of-water accounts, seeing exotic locales through the eyes of a stranger rather than a local. With that in mind: Travels by Michael Crichton. Anything by Bill Bryson or Tim Cahill. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. Also, fiction, but John Grisham's Playing for Pizza.
posted by zanni at 2:31 PM on May 15, 2011
posted by zanni at 2:31 PM on May 15, 2011
I was going to suggest couchsurfing and volunteering to help with ESL in your community, but someone beat me to it.
So I'll second those. There is nothing better than getting a view of the world from the people who live there.
posted by patheral at 3:36 PM on May 15, 2011
So I'll second those. There is nothing better than getting a view of the world from the people who live there.
posted by patheral at 3:36 PM on May 15, 2011
Salamandrous's idea of hosting travelers is great--I wish I had thought of it. Another site you can use is warmshowers.org, which is aimed at touring cyclists. Hosts can specify what they're willing to provide (a bed, a place to pitch a tent, warm food, a ride to the grocery store--whatever you feel comfortable with), and how much notice they expect from tourers.
posted by brianogilvie at 3:50 PM on May 15, 2011
posted by brianogilvie at 3:50 PM on May 15, 2011
Best answer: If you live in a city like NYC, you could (for example) see a Japanese film, eat Japanese food, go to a lecture on the Japanese economy, see a Japanese art exhibit - and go home, having spent the entire day exploring another culture. Rinse and repeat with French, German, etc etc.
If you don't live in the city, you might try reading a book about France, renting "Amelie" (mentioned upthread) and listening to some Edith Piaf while you cook crepes suzette.
posted by bunderful at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2011
If you don't live in the city, you might try reading a book about France, renting "Amelie" (mentioned upthread) and listening to some Edith Piaf while you cook crepes suzette.
posted by bunderful at 8:18 PM on May 15, 2011
Paul Theroux has written several excellent books about train travel. My favorite is Dark Star Safari, in which he travels from Cairo to Cape Town, South Africa. He writes a lot about his interactions with fellow passengers and local people and it really gave me a sense that I was along for the ride. He also explains a lot about the history and politics of the areas he's travelling through.
posted by desjardins at 8:43 AM on May 16, 2011
posted by desjardins at 8:43 AM on May 16, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
And Google Street View in general.
posted by mattbucher at 10:46 PM on May 14, 2011 [4 favorites]