13 June

A worldwide obsession with ‘experiencing’ other countries through recreational travel is now accompanied by a worldwide xenophobic hatred of immigrants. So we love to ‘experience’ other cultures. We just don’t want to live with them. Travel isn’t about experience. A culture can’t be ‘experienced’, only lived. You being there changes it. It’s another social contagion. Imitative behaviour, for status. It’s about feeding social comparison back at home. I overheard people this week ticking off countries on their bucket lists. Like they were collecting coins, or stamps. A pissing contest to see whose list was longer.