“Call me Ishmael….”
“…Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off — then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.”
Herman Melville: Moby-Dick (1851)
And so it goes. While the venting of spleen may not be the primary driver of this trip, it is a welcome side-benefit. More to the point: this is an adventure. I have no idea how far out of my comfort zone this will take me, but trust that I will accept whatever comes my way.
There’s also the ethical question of participating in what is referred to in the industry as volunteer tourism. Many critics have levelled charges against this type of travel as exploitative, ineffectual; participants as naïve, or “white saviours”. There’s some truth to that. But you can also find companies that are sensitive to these concerns and work hard to mitigate negative consequences– this is why feedback from former participants is so important. Do your research, due diligence is the key.
Issues aside, I’d still prefer this over some walled-off resort that could be any country, or the tourist circuit where people are herded around like sheep, or the disruptive backpacker-invasions. Let’s not even mention the environmental impact of cruiseships. It is sad to think that perhaps the only ethical holiday is a ‘staycaytion’.
I fly to Nepal in 24 hours.
Indeed, we should allow human nature an appetitive drive for movement in the widest sense. The act of journeying contributes towards a sense of physical and mental well-being, while the monotony of prolonged settlement or regular work weaves patterns in the brain that engender fatigue and a sense of personal inadequacy. Much of what the ethnologists have designated ‘aggression’ is simply an angered response to the frustrations of confinement. The tenacity with which nomads cling to their way of life, as well as their quick-witted alertness, reflects the satisfaction to be found in perpetual movement. As settlers, we walk off our frustrations. The medieval Church instituted the pilgrimage on foot as a cure for homicidal spleen.
Bruce Chatwin: The Songlines (1989)
