Writing Right with Dmitri: Travel or Tourism?
Created | Updated Sep 6, 2015
Writing Right with Dmitri: Travel or Tourism?
Have you ever traveled in, say, Ireland? Compare these accounts:
- Either Ireland at Two Miles an Hour or Vergering on the Ridiculous. Both describe sightseeing in Ireland, h2g2 style.
- Now compare it with something like this: The Ring of Kerry, as described by Lonely Planet. No wonder that planet is lonely.
Which do you prefer? Sure, if you need to book a hotel right now, you might pick the second option. But unless you are, why in the world would you want to put up with that kind of blather? 'Jaw-dropping scenery', 'pristine beaches', etc, etc. Might be true, might be hype. But what goes on there? What is it really like? Actually, if it's like it was back in my student days, it's a mixed bag. Some very friendly villages, and some where the people are, not to put to fine a point on it, a bit peculiar. Even by my standards, which is saying something. (I spent yesterday at the lawn mower drag races. I photograph re-enactors in the woods. I am not that particular.)
There are different kinds of writing for different audiences and needs, but that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to talk about was the difference between describing places as what you find in the tourist brochure, and as what you find if you look at real life. And what we can do as writers to promote the idea that the world has real people in it, not actors.
Think about it. What pops into your mind when you think of these countries?
- Russia? Do you think of Leningrad and Moscow sights, discos, metro stations? Or cottages, fields, the steppes, churches with onion domes?
- Italy? Do you imagine St Peter's, the museums, Florence galleries, or do you think of noisy outdoor cafes and people on bikes?
- The US? Does your mind immediately conjure up skyscrapers, the LA shopping scene, Las Vegas? Or do you picture small towns, with their farmers' markets and local festivals? It sort of depends on how much experience you've had with the place, and who you let book your holidays.
See, wherever you go, there are people. Me, when I go somewhere, I don't want to see and photograph only what I could have found out on the internet without leaving home. The tourist traps don't entice me. I lived in Europe for 11 years and never once made the pilgrimage to the Eiffel Tower. But I meandered many a fascinating street. I tend to wonder, 'What's around that corner?' To me, Athens is less Syntagma Square, with its changing of the guard, and more the Plaka, a crowded little shopping district with a surprise at every turn. And the 50 cats on the roof of the metro station. And the chatty vendors, who'll give you a discount if you're the first customer of the day, because it's good luck… Oh, and the 'American Restaurant', near Syntagma, where you could get real pancakes with maple syrup, and cokes with ice in, because the owners were returned Yanks and thought everybody in the world needs an old-fashioned American diner.
Arnhem was tulips and windmills and a multiplex where the ushers were so new at the job they thought the patrons HAD to sit next to each other until the place filled up…when the lights went out, it was 'fruit basket turnover' as everybody scrambled to spread out. When the light came up for the ice cream sales, the young lady usher was outraged and speechless – and the clientele was laughing fit to die. Now, open day at that multiplex was worth being there for, even at the cost of seeing The Sphinx.
In Liege one Sunday morning, an elderly man accosted us on the street, told us what to see in town, and invited us to Mass. We went, and admired the church. The gent, who was 80 if he was a day, wouldn't believe we were Americans, but insisted instead that we were Flemish and just didn't want to admit it. 'It's time we buried the hatchet and got along with each other,' he insisted. We agreed amiably. At the local museum, they dug up a Flemish speaker to explain the coal-mining exhibit to us.
What am I saying? I'm saying that 100 words of genuine experience is worth pages and pages of tourist brochure. People, real people, are far more interesting than what's dangled out there to catch the carriage trade. Find it. When you go anywhere – out of the country, or just down the lane for a cup of tea – stop, look, and listen. Make notes if you need to, when you get home. Savour the reality of it all. And share it in your writing.
If you do this, you'll not only be more interesting, but you'll be contributing to international understanding. As the lady at the borough office told me when I called today to find out more about the lawn mower drag races, they're proud of their little town. (And they should be, it's a great place, full of amazing people, and the landscape in this area is, okay, breathtaking. That's true all over the planet. What makes a place unique? Find out, and speak for them.
What's special about your village, town, or neighbourhood? Have you got pics?
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