Are we "bores" with our travel stories? (page 7 of 16)

I gave up long ago trying to tell my travels to my loved ones.

I think we’ve all reached that point...

Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t be here.😉

. .....+ 1........

😉 Does it let off steam?

😊yeah

Oh right, funny to remember that book—I was given it when it came out....

Ouch! The gift that never lies—your friends have such tact... 😏 I ended up buying it for myself, that hurts less! 😄

Oh yeah, funny to remember that book—I was given it when it came out....

Ouch! The gift that doesn’t lie—what tact your friends have... ]

Yeah! Total jerks, all of them!

😠 Yeah! All those friends are jerks!

😉😉

😠 Yeah! All those friends are jerks!

...oh, right, that’s why I haven’t had any since... actually, I meet new ones every time I travel. It’s a constant renewal that forces me to keep moving... otherwise, I end up talking to myself, and that’s just sad....

I loved reading travel blogs, but for the past few months, they haven’t interested me anymore. I’ve reached saturation. I keep traveling and take lots of photos that, in the end, very few people care about. When I used to show my travel films (before the Internet), my family and friends *seemed* interested. Now, I feel like I’m boring them, and that’s it—no more videos, no more photos, not even talking about my trips. I write all my travel stories and carefully store them away. After I’m gone, they’ll read them or not. Honestly, I think we become "bores" by writing everything online.

True, I think we do become "boring" when we write everything online.

The tone matters a lot in travel stories too. Nothing’s more tedious than polished, characterless accounts where you feel like you’re in a Care Bears world when that’s not the case at all. Just "work" on the person a bit, and they’ll spill the negative parts of the trip. As if it’s not okay to say it for fear people will think you paid for a mediocre vacation.

When it comes to photos and videos, let’s be honest—many people have a knack for producing uninteresting content due to lack of attention when shooting. Between redundant photos, poorly framed shots, no composition at all, and completely botched white balance, it’s easy to quickly annoy viewers with our photos/videos.

Hi Mattews, On one hand, I find you at least aggressive...! (let’s not even talk about the book burning in your fireplace—it’s true that it’s starting to get chilly !😎)

Hey Jean-Luc38, you’re right, but the term "provocative" fits better 🙂 That said, I don’t like the self-righteousness of journalists—I won’t budge on that. They format minds too much.

When it comes to photos and videos, you have to admit that a lot of people have a knack for producing uninteresting stuff due to lack of attention when shooting. Between redundant photos, poorly framed shots, no composition at all, and white balance completely off, it’s easy to quickly annoy viewers with our photos/videos.

Okay, fair enough, but let’s not exaggerate either—we’re on an amateur forum, not a professional one. The members here aren’t photography or journalism students; they just want to share their travels...

Alright, fair enough, but let’s not exaggerate either—we’re on an amateur forum, not a professional one... the members here aren’t photography or journalism students; they just want to share their travels...

My point was more about those "forced" stories on family. When it comes to stories online, it doesn’t really matter—readers can always leave the page. It’s harder to walk away from Aunt Julie’s 100cm flat-screen slideshow at home, showing off her trip with zero artistic sense.

But as I wrote in another thread, you might as well stay home and not visit Aunt Julie... that way everyone’s happy... I really don’t agree with "skipping" other people’s photo sessions or travel stories.

1—It shows a closed mind and a total lack of openness and curiosity toward others. I’m the opposite—I watch, I listen, and I sort of filter through it.

2—According to my first point, listening to someone else talk about their travel story is also a way to discover different facets of other cultures, even if it’s filtered through the person telling it. It’s still a way. What I criticize about most tourists is that they don’t try to understand the local cultures of the countries they visit, and globalization isn’t helping.

3—If we say travel stories are boring, then the whole point of Travel with a capital T isn’t very interesting, and traveling in 2014 just leads to boredom...

Hello,

To provide a relevant answer to the original question, I must share that it would have seemed particularly unfair not to let forum members benefit from our travel stories. Indeed, we’ve rarely seen such a perfect blend of eloquence in the writing and quality in the photography. If I may say so with some modesty, aren’t these stories sincere, timely, vivid, and poetic in turn? And how can one deny the near-perfection of the photos taken by my charming partner—where realism meets the magical, the funny, and the captivating, almost like something out of a *Géomagazine*? So much so that we’re probably the first readers and re-readers of our own work. Maybe, I’ll admit, it’s not just because of their excellence but also because we relive our vacations through them, because they remind us of little details, because they ease the frustration of being far from our next departure...

The other contributors also failed to answer Mr. Jémaflor’s question: Sir, not only do your stories not bore us, but the quality of your photos and writing not only makes them truly interesting but also sparks an irresistible urge to pack our bags and visit the same places.

For those who want to be sure, you’ll find at the start of each of our stories the motivation behind sharing them. And for those curious about where we stand in this process, the end of our latest story includes the doubts we’re currently facing and the reactions they’ve provoked.

On another note, if anyone could tell us what the weather will be like in Bangkok next July and recommend some high-quality, affordable, authentic restaurants with friendly, smiling staff and quick service, we’d be very grateful. And of course, you can count on us not to spill the beans...

I read all of Jojoone’s travel stories with great pleasure—thanks to him for those reading moments and to his wife for the beautiful photos. I love travel stories, I love travelers who passionately share what they’ve seen and experienced... I just can’t focus when some random person pulls out their tablet to show me their Google itinerary, their beach photos, hotel shots, or palm trees...

I don’t often share my own travels, but I can talk endlessly with other travelers who share the same idea of travel as me. Because telling a story is also reliving a trip—I think we’ve all annoyed someone at some point, but you can all tell me about your travels, I love reading them and dreaming...

Hello, I came back to this post out of curiosity. Good thing I did! I just discovered a masterpiece. No, I’m not talking about your travel story, but about your message here.

I’ll let you in on something—it would’ve seemed particularly unfair not to share our travel stories with the forum members. After all, we’ve rarely seen such a perfect blend of wit in the writing and quality in the photos.

Wait, are you *actually* talking about your own stories?

Similarly, how could anyone deny the near-geometric-magazine-level perfection of the photos taken by my charming partner, where realism meets magic, humor, and enchantment?

Bravo, I love the sarcasm, but I could never pull it off with that much finesse! Because this *is* sarcasm, right?

I checked the beginning and the end, but I’m still not sure I really found your motivations or doubts... Anyway, take it from someone who doesn’t like most (and I *do* mean *most*) of the travel stories posted here—and who had the nerve to say so—yours is excellent, very rich (especially with details like “Mrs. gets up, goes out on the balcony, then goes back to bed” or comments about airplane food we’ve never heard before), and packed with info for anyone willing to pay attention. The photos are mostly good, even excellent. And that huge yellow copyright stamp—*so* classy!

Seriously though, no, I don’t find your story “boring.” Yes, it’s well-written, yes, the photos are good, but no, that copyright...

.... rarely has such a combination of verbal wit and quality in photography been matched....

..la la la.....it's because I don't write them, travel stories....the day I decide to, it's gonna be at an extremely high level....

Hello, ..

The contributors also all failed to respond to Mr. Jémaflor: Sir, not only do your stories not bore us, but the quality of your photos and texts not only gives them a certain appeal but also sparks an irresistible urge to pack our bags and visit the same places. ..

Thank you so much, all these compliments are really nice...

After such praise—and at the risk of "boring" some (you can always skip!), but hoping to interest others (there are lots of photos!)—I’m adding a link to my latest story about "Walks in the Royannais region, between lighthouses and fishing huts."

http://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=6885331;

Cheers,

Jemaflor

Personally, it’s true—I’m so passionate about traveling, and now that it’s not my only goal in life (yes, I admit it, the other aspects of ordinary life interest me less... well, travel is a condensed version of everything I love, so I do have other interests in daily life, but no other passions), I love talking about it! Not necessarily recounting my trip in detail, but sharing the things I saw, my impressions, etc.

It’s clear that not everyone is interested! So I started my own blog (where, again, I don’t recount every trip in detail—I think people don’t care about which day I did this or that), but it lets me relive the experience! Between trips, it keeps me going and gives me a new purpose!

But it’s true that now I can afford to choose who I spend time with (I don’t have coworkers and my family is small), so people I have nothing in common with, I don’t keep around for long!

Then there’s my childhood friend, who doesn’t travel but loves hearing about my destinations—exotic to her (yes, Wrocław or Plovdiv, she had no idea where they were... exotic isn’t always halfway across the world). But since she lives far away and we don’t call each other every day, I don’t overwhelm her, phew!

When I first started traveling, it was the only thing that gave meaning to my life, and I really enjoyed sharing my anecdotes. At least, with those who were interested. A few years later, I don’t really travel anymore, but I’m an expat living a pretty "exotic" lifestyle. As a result, my circle still shows some interest in my daily life, but my convictions have kind of distanced me over time. I no longer live in the same comfort, and I don’t have the same concerns. The break happened naturally without me even noticing. I’ve made other friends, I stay in touch with those who want to, but overall, I don’t hang out with the same people as before at all.

Besides, other people’s stories don’t interest me anymore. I’ve already traveled a bit as a tourist, but I’ve moved on to something else now, so people who claim to be discovering life just because they left their home country with a backpack bore me. They remind me of myself a few years ago.

Reading an excerpt from "The Art of Boring People with Your Travel Stories" by Matthias Debureaux first made me smile, then got me thinking... Are we "travel-bores" with our travel stories?

FYI for VF members who’d like to check out this gem: Matthias Debureaux’s book, which was out of print, is being reissued in November 2015... 🙂

A read that empties the "Travel Journals" section of this forum? Is it after reading this that you left your last Italian travel journal unfinished?😮