tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post5943384445122220235..comments2024-03-29T05:33:43.878-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: The Travel SpoilersOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-23239549682352473832011-08-09T05:13:07.150-04:002011-08-09T05:13:07.150-04:00Well, you have a really selective virus or sorts, ...Well, you have a really selective virus or sorts, if you think about it this way, Tim - the syndrome itself protects the target from further visits! PatAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-88718857593610849932011-08-08T13:38:48.056-04:002011-08-08T13:38:48.056-04:00Lil and Dawne, you're both 100% right. These ...Lil and Dawne, you're both 100% right. These jerks actually think they're more important than the country or sacred spot they're dissing.<br /><br />This is the kind of thing that makes me wish for a REALLY selective virus.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-85532717554707049372011-08-07T18:33:14.636-04:002011-08-07T18:33:14.636-04:00If you could travel backwards, to the time those t...If you could travel backwards, to the time those travel spoilers arrived in (wherever) the first time, you would probably have heard them say that (wherever) is just not as good as someplace else they have visited. Its a status thing. What I have is better than what you have - and you can never get what I have. Plus, some people enjoy complaining more than they enjoy traveling.Dawne Spanglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11056143023800565033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-85473351215710963642011-08-07T14:47:05.610-04:002011-08-07T14:47:05.610-04:00I think a lot of pleasure in a place rests on atti...I think a lot of pleasure in a place rests on attitude. To see any place as fresh and new again is very important. I would choose what is uniquely of that country, and enjoy it again and again. I detest snobs of the kind that look down on a place because it isn't what it used to be. Much closer to home, I've been to Yosemite in all seasons, and it never fails to impress. Wander five minutes off a trail and suddenly you are in a quiet, almost sacred place. (Just pay attention to signs that tell you to stay out of danger). Those travel spoilers are more interested in making themselves important than enjoy the world. A little humility wouldn't hurt.lil Glucksternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288522126331817172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-78640646792918069542011-08-07T12:32:37.106-04:002011-08-07T12:32:37.106-04:00Wow, I crawl out of bed, take one sip of coffee, a...Wow, I crawl out of bed, take one sip of coffee, and find myself looking at two very thought-provoking posts.<br /><br />To Jeff, I can only say I wish I'd thought of that. The returning travel spoiler is a blight on existence. In Thailand, they're mostly male since fewer women come here in search of company (although some do) than to Mykonos. The returned, discontented travel apoilers are the second worst kind of farang in the Kingdom, the absolute worst being those who have actually STAYED as the place fell to pieces around them.<br /><br />And Beth hits the nail on the head: as much as destinations change, we ourselves change a lot faster and a lot more. The permanently embittered expat in Thailand, the guy who hates everything but has nowhere else to go, is a guy who s no longer young and cute and for whom the Thais once went out of their way to be pleasant to, to adopt, to smile at, to go home with. There's nothing wrong with Thailand that 40 years off their age and 20 inches off their waist wouldn't fix.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-13317954091848160192011-08-07T09:49:23.292-04:002011-08-07T09:49:23.292-04:00On the other hand, nothing beats the first visit, ...On the other hand, nothing beats the first visit, especially if the traveler is young and had to work two jobs to get there. Nothing is taken for granted.<br /><br />If the trip also involves attending some institution of higher education, the first time traveler is surrounded by people of the same age who are experiencing the country for the first time, too. Enthusiasm is contagious.<br /><br />The real reason for putting off a second or third trip isn't fear that the country has changed as much as it is having to acknowledge how much has changed for the traveler. No one gets to be twenty-two twice.Bethhttp://www.murderbytype.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-59636897258957682302011-08-07T03:17:39.380-04:002011-08-07T03:17:39.380-04:00Tim, my friend, you have hit upon a nerve. Not a ...Tim, my friend, you have hit upon a nerve. Not a painful one, but still a nerve. <br /><br />As you point out, everything changes and Mykonos is no exception, but I never tell a prospective or arrived visitor anything of the sort (except in the first part of this sentence). I agree with you that each must be allowed to discover the magic of a place on his or her own. No frame of reference is needed, and I get great joy out of hearing a newbie gush over some "new discovery."<br /><br />But here's the rub for me: the returning travel spoiler. Perhaps it's a unique Mykonos breed, but I come across them regularly. They seemingly return just to tell any who will listen just how different (translated as worse) the island is from the "last time I was here," generally expressed in multiple decade spanning units.<br /><br />The twist on this type of traveler, it that unlike the genus you describe, mine are mostly female. I never thought about it until reading your piece (again you're a thought provoker), but you've suggested an answer to that phenomenon. <br /><br />Unlike Thailand, where evidently "beautiful women throw themselves at men's feet," historically Mykonos was a place where attractive men offered the same opportunity to women (mostly). Exhibit #1, the film/play "Shirley Valentine."<br /><br />Perhaps because that too has changed (for a myriad of reasons), they speak only of the past in an effort to protect whatever sweet youthful memories they risked by coming home again? <br /><br />Whatever, the only thing I can say for certain is that the returning travel spoiler has far more courage than their barstool-only, high-horse traveling counterparts.Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.com