Are we "bores" with our travel stories? (page 5 of 16)

To your new questions, I’ll answer with more: - You prefer reading on paper but look at photos on screens: what about those things called "coffee-table books" with stunning images—do you look at them or prefer the brightness of a screen?

Regarding the "coffee-table books" you mentioned in your post, the illustrations or photos are generally high quality, with much better definition than the (compressed) photos you see on a screen and posted on a forum or website.... However, the issue with these "coffee-table books" is their bulk—they’re often thick, large, and heavy. In the end, it can be hard to read them anywhere but flat on a table....

You're both right and wrong, jeans 😉 I have a book by Michael Freeman, and the photos look amazing on paper—just as good on screen, too. It all depends on the printer's skill or the screen's quality. For me, the pleasure of flipping through a book comes from something entirely different. With an e-book, for example, it's mostly about convenience in certain situations.

Storytelling is an art, a gift. Not everyone knows how to tell a story or grab attention. For example, a teacher doesn’t always interest their student because they don’t have that storytelling ability. Also, we shouldn’t tell stories to brag, but to share—that’s the point. An anecdote, and why not a moral at the end, or not. There you go, peace to all travelers ;)

Personally, instead of telling my vacations face-to-face, I write them down. That way, whoever wants to read them does, and whoever doesn’t can just move on... And to attract readers, I write my posts with a slightly offbeat style and a touch of humor... According to "my" readers, it seems to work pretty well.

By the way, if you want to read my posts, they’re on my blog...

Just to clarify: for me, a trip only really begins after a month, when you start to truly disconnect from the realities of your home country. The best is to no longer be tied to France at all by an apartment or a job.

Yeah, well, you still have to be able to do it... I’d love to travel for more than a month, but how do you manage when you have a job and a family? You can maybe swing it for a year, but it’s not possible on a regular basis... You’ve got to work to earn money and go on trips... it’s a vicious circle.

Personally, I love listening to the stories of people around me who travel, asking them questions, reading the accounts I find here... I don’t get to travel often, so when I do go somewhere, I’d love to talk about it with people, share, etc... but I get so frustrated when I feel like people aren’t interested!!

I confirm!! I just read your post about the camping trip with your family in Croatia—I loved it!!

Generally speaking, and beyond storytelling talent itself—which plays a big role—or literary skill in this case, a lot of travel narratives and blogs feel incredibly similar: the places, the general cultural knowledge about the country, the anecdotes, and the encounters all seem to overlap...

Personally, I expect something more from a travel story if I don’t want to get bored. Specifically, I want it to have a SUBJECT that goes beyond just a linear travel account. Take Iran, for example—I’d rather someone approach the country not as a generalist traveler (unless they’re a real writer, in which case they could make even the local betting shop down the street fascinating), but as someone passionate about ONE thing, whether it’s carpet-making, architecture, or energy policy. Through that lens, they might uncover things you wouldn’t notice at first glance. Sure, energy policy might sound , but imagine someone obsessed with ancestral carpets: they could discover incredible artisans, scammers and forgers of all kinds, engineers who’ve industrialized the process, or even study the origins and meaning of certain patterns, or the trade of animals for wool... That’s what I love! 🙂

Interesting point... When the story focuses on a theme, it becomes a feature article. There’s definitely room for both styles of travel narratives—the classic linear, chronological accounts and others with a focus on a specific theme or topic. In the end, wouldn’t the ideal be to blend both styles in the same piece to make it more engaging and appeal to a wider audience?

Wouldn’t the ideal be to blend both styles in the same text to make it more engaging and appeal to a wider audience?

Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking—the pure reportage isn’t really a travel story, though some journalists manage to mix the two well. Sometimes even without ever setting foot in the place they’re writing about

Good evening, I just came across this topic, and the book excerpts are funny and spot-on, in my opinion! I’d say often, Yes.

I’d even say sometimes there’s a bit of reader kidnapping. 😉 If you ask a question, many travelers answer by sending you straight to their travel journals with something like "I’ve already covered this topic," so to find out if a port is near the city, you’re forced to read everything... and sometimes you still won’t find the answer to your question! 😛

Hello,

Good point😏!

Before, there were way worse offenders: one person who kept redirecting to their blog (thousands of posts), just for their "bizzness" of earning ad revenue on said blog—she’ll know who she is 😎! She doesn’t post on the Forum anymore; she’s moved elsewhere...

*"The Art of Boring People by Telling Your Travels"*: I love that little book—it makes me laugh every time I reread it!

Unfortunately, it’s out of print. I paid 6 € for it when it first came out. I wanted to give it as a gift, and at one point, it was selling for 35 € on secondhand sites... Now, I think it’s impossible to find.

First page, a quote from Guitry: "Travel is mostly useful for annoying others once you’re back."😎

And at random, among the author’s hilarious "gems": "A travel blog is a slide show that lasts six months."

Hi there,

I love this quote: "A travel blog is like a slideshow evening that lasts six months."

It really resonates with me. 🤪 On average, it takes me 4-5 weeks to develop my travel journals for every week of travel. But the big difference from a slideshow evening is that no one is forced to follow, participate, or watch... It’s easier to escape. 😉

That’s why I feel free to take the time I need and develop things the way I want. No one is obligated... so I can’t bore anyone. If someone comes along and doesn’t enjoy it, they’re just boring themselves.

I’m also one of those people who regularly links back to their travel journals or websites. I do it because I’ve put in the work to format and write things out, and I don’t necessarily feel like doing it all over again for a reply that might not even get a thank-you. So, I might as well share the work I’ve already done—even if it only appeals to me and a few others!

Plus, for me, it doesn’t earn me anything (financially speaking). I tried ads for a few months and stopped—keeping them only on the least-viewed pages (none in my latest journals, like the Martinique pages... just for SEO benefits, though I haven’t made a single cent). Anyway, you can’t expect small sites like mine to support someone financially!!!

If someone doesn’t want to click my link, they’re free not to. So, I don’t feel like I’m holding anyone hostage. 😛

Hello,

The person I’m talking about is a unique case on the forums: she bragged on a specialized site about getting 700 to 1,000 visits a day on her blog! As for her forum posts, they’re either trivial, a "Captain Obvious" statement, outdated info, or just repeating what the previous poster said—one or two sentences followed by: "Click HERE." 😎

No worries, I read blogs about places that interest me, and if I find them boring or irrelevant, I just stop.

(On the other hand, this little book is amazing.)

All the best.

Hi again,

I’m also a multi-forum addict Forumer/siter/facebooker... travel is my top hobby after the beach

That said, 700 to 1,000 visits a day on my site? I’d dream of that. Even when it goes over 350, I’m so happy I’m practically dancing on the keyboard—so double that...

-- I just had a good laugh reading the tips on how to become the perfect verbal-travel-diarrhea enthusiast after a trip (I’ll have to work on a few of these):

Dramatize and recount everything that *almost* happened to you, making sure to highlight the risks you faced during your long journey. Take other travelers’ misadventures and exaggerate them as your own.

To show how open-minded you are, ask your audience about their dull little lives while you were away.

Put down tourists. Mock the "sunburn crowd." Insist that you prefer traveling "intelligently" and make it clear you’re nothing like the average visitor, who’s stuck in their comfort zone and terrified of being challenged. Say that in travel, nothing—and no one—is set in stone. Have a catchy phrase ready to sum up the difference between travel and tourism: it’s like making love versus hiring a prostitute.

Post your travel journal online. It’ll keep you busy during your trip and let the fun start long before you get back.

Make your foreign currency jingle. Pay your baker absentmindedly with coins from another continent right after returning from a trip. At restaurants, leave tips in the same currency to save money.

Remind everyone how much you miss your "true friends" from the other side of the world. Those Mongols (or "sons of the wind"), those griots from Mali, or those Fulani people whose emotions and values you’ve perfectly absorbed.

Weave in buzzwords like "cosmopolitanism," "mosaic," or "ethnic blending." Terms that apply to food, music, culture, or people.

Declare your passion for the fascinating mix of tradition and modernity. It’s a handy argument since few capitals escape this rule.

Sin by omission to avoid disappointment. Forget to mention ATMs on Easter Island. Or that most residents of Robinson Crusoe Island, in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, have TV.

I think the "bore" aspect is pretty random.

What I hate about travel stories is when "everything is beautiful"—when they hide the bad sides, or when written accounts lack logistical details.

I love when the journey is well-explained (airline, price, schedule) because it gives readers planning their trip useful info. Same goes for negative anecdotes—they help warn readers about situations they might encounter.

But travel stories aren’t just for that; they also introduce places future travelers might not know about (like when I discovered "Cat Island" in Japan from a blog post recently).

Stories that just say: - "At noon, we ate some really good couscous." - "The taxi picked us up, we visited xxxxx, then we went back to the hotel. Great day!"

Are useless to me. No value for the reader. Why should they care that you took a taxi to xxxx? Anyone can do that without your story. Same with your couscous—no price or address? No use at all.

Me, I only share anecdotes with family if they ask, and my blog is for giving practical info—no sugarcoating—to help future travelers.

Hi there,

The difference in travel journal content can also come from why the author writes them (on top of their ability to share in writing).

Our journals are primarily meant to preserve memories of what we might forget (and we’re already starting to), meaning things that might not be useful to others: "We left at this time, did this or that..." These are the day-reconstructing details we enjoy keeping in writing. So I’m fully aware that this can bore a lot of people.

I find it harder to detail my feelings in the moment because it’s tough to put them into words. That’s why they often boil down to a scale from "wow" to "mind-blowing" .

That said, helping, contributing, and informing is what allows me to share... and thus give these journals a life beyond ourselves, turning it into a hobby...

When I plan a trip, I go through and read dozens of them, and like you, I find the foundation for our itineraries. I also love reading different—and sometimes contradictory—opinions to think things through and make preliminary choices. I adore digging through these info goldmines.

I’m bringing this topic back up. I used to be really into travel festivals, especially those organized by the different ABM branches. But lately, I’ve been disappointed—not just because the countries featured are always the same, but also because of that vibe of "I saw this and that," even in travel films with an adventurous edge. And then there’s the moralizing tone at every turn, like, "If Westerners lived in this community, there’d be solidarity everywhere, na na na." Yeah, way too easy... oversimplifications at every corner. Not to mention some films where Buddhism is presented as the miracle cure for all our Western woes. Oops, I’m going off-topic.

I’ve come to realize I prefer debates about travel, current events, or even philosophical topics. A discussion with 7 or 8 people, keeping it simple where everyone gets a turn to speak. As for travel stories, I write them for myself without presenting them like some kind of art. I archive them. I flip through them now and then, nostalgic moments, though it’s more about jogging my memory. Living in the nostalgia of your travels can become depressing and even harmful to yourself.

j

Living in the nostalgia of your trip becomes depressing and dangerous for yourself.

...+1 ...and it also means we’re not traveling anymore....

« He who, like Ulysses, has had a wonderful journey. For every golden mouth with marvelous tales, how many bores and nuisances... The traveler, washed up on grandiose images and magical encounters, has only one idea in mind: to pelt us with anecdotes, life lessons, and ideals. He’ll paint the most beautiful and distant Edens... the traveler has an inexhaustible pharmacy of stories. But nothing prepares us for immunity against travel tales. We should impose a quarantine on the returning traveler. At least a dozen hours in a detox cell. What’s the point? Months, years later, he’ll never miss an opportunity to reminisce. The evocation of his odyssey is a perpetual fireplace fire.»

I won’t revisit the online publication of a travel journal—it’s obvious that reading them isn’t mandatory. I’m talking about the storyteller. Sure, it can be really annoying, but it’s always instructive. These post-trip stories, shared in private, are rarely censored by the narrator and can teach you a lot about them. You just have to listen without interrupting—or even prompt them—to realize how wrong you might’ve been about them (for better or worse). Taking this humorous book at face value means you’ll end up listening half-heartedly, looking for the first chance to bail, and missing a great opportunity to read like an open book into the mind of this poor innocent who thinks you’re interested in his knowledge of Maasai culture. Not at all—I don’t care about the Maasai (well, actually, I do care), it’s *him* I’m interested in. It’s *him*, right there, that I want to understand. And nothing lays bare someone’s mind like a travel story. Poor innocent traveler, shamelessly dumping his cerebral guts at my feet, which I’ll savor before deciding whether the guy is someone to avoid or to love.

Nothing like a travel story to strip bare a good part of your interlocutor's mind.

Yikes...

I'm gonna go delete all my travel journals...🤪

(But you're not entirely wrong...😉)