There’s a great line in the Thor: Dark World movie where Thor, a bit down in the dumps after breaking the Bifrost to stop Loki and thus being unable to return to Jane Foster on Earth, comments that “Merriment can sometimes be a heavier burden than battle”, whereupon Heimdall replies, “Then you’re doing one of them incorrectly.”

I wanted to repeat Heimdall’s words to the author of an article in The New Yorker that I read recently titled The Case Against Travel, but I couldn’t find a way to post a comment. So here’s my rebuttal.

There’s a very good reason to love travel, if you approach it with an open mind and a boundless desire to explore the world as it is, not as a theme-park attraction that doesn’t live up to your expectations. Travel is eye-opening, breathtaking, sometimes dismaying, but always an education.

The author, Agnes Callard, quotes a miserable, hide-bound Portuguese writer who clearly misunderstood the point of travel when he wrote, (quoting the article), “I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.”

Good lord, what narrow-minded drivel.

Callard seems to view travel as a commodity, i.e. a measurable notch on a belt, but it’s actually a way of learning more about the world around us, of understanding not only the differences in other cultures, which can often be healthier than our own way of life (think slower pace, more time to savour life’s little pleasures), but how much people in other countries are just like us. They’re not the extremists that make the news, they have families, and jobs to support their families, and they want a peaceful existence full of good things.

That was certainly a profound eye-opener for my hubby and me early on in our travels. Callard’s anti-travel heroes believed that travel “divorced us” from our humanity. I’d say it’s done the exact opposite.

When hubby and I went to southern Africa the first time, we were awed by how much the local people love their home country, and want to show it off to visitors. They’re very aware of the reputation countries in Africa have long held for strife, and they’re delighted when visitors ignore all of the bad press and travel there to see for themselves. Our visit was profound and moving, not just for the beauty of the landscapes and the breathtaking views of animals living freely, but for the kindness and hospitality of the residents. We remain friends with one of our safari guides as well as fellow travellers we’ve met on that wonderful continent (we’ve been lucky enough to visit five different countries).

Callard cites as an example a tourist who visits the Grand Canyon and is disappointed if, for whatever reason, it doesn’t live up to his picture-postcard expectations. But one should never travel with expectations. People and places don’t exist only to measure up to our media-driven standards – they exist for themselves, and we enjoy them for what they are!

If you’re a genuine traveller, when you read the article I imagine you’ll be as incensed as I was. Let me know your thoughts!