A 36 Hour Trip to Someplace

April 13, 2008

On Sundays I pass my eyes over the featured travel destination in the New York Times. I have gone from being slightly jealous of people who have the opportunity to just whisk off for a 36 hour trip to some distant city to being alarmed at the very idea of these trips.

First, my principle: this quick international tourism is a bad idea for the environment. We are likely heading toward a time in which it will become increasingly difficult, and clearly irresponsible, to jet around the world.. especially for a weekend. There will not be energy resources to allow for this kind of pleasure travel on a wide scale, and so the cost will be prohibitive for everyone but the extremely wealthy.

Second, the sad reality: these 36 hour trips described in the New York Times travel section are wastes of time. The only real value of travel is the startle of experiencing another way of thinking and perceiving. The closer I read the itineraries on these jaunts, the better I understand that there is no such exchange going on. This struck me a few weeks back when the 36 hour trip was to Pasadena and I could not see the city I once knew in the recommended sites. Today's visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand is another example.

Listen to some of the recommendations:

Age-old curries are now paired with Australian red wines and croissants. The area around Nimanhaemin Road now looks like South Beach, packed with BMWs and Art Deco homes, alongside contemporary art galleries run by young Thais with purple hair and nose rings. But traditional Chiang Mai is still there. Walk away from Nimanhaemin into the old city and you’ll see shaved monks meditating and backpackers chowing down on banana pancakes.

In this prose Chiang Mai becomes an image of the global city. Local products (curries) are paired with global products (wine and croissants); local people (monks meditating) are paired with global people (backpackers). This appears to be precisely what travelers want: themselves with a few extra spices thrown in. Emerson's line that no matter where we go we find ourselves appears to be truer than ever.

The first item to be experienced in Chiang Mai is the Old Kingdom:

Start a long walk at Wat Chiang Man, the city’s oldest temple, built in the late 13th century, and then wander southwest, to Wat Chedi Luang, which houses a giant, partly damaged traditional Lanna-style stupa. Get your exercise by continuing on for about a mile, southeast, just past the old city walls, where you can stop for a break at a branch of Wawee Coffee, a local chain serving northern Thai joe.

This is a fantastic example of how the foreign is translated into our own generic experience range. We like to start off our day with a nice invigorating walk, so why not transfer that wonderful start to your day to the Old Kingdom in Chiang Mai? There is no experience of the old city on its own terms, but solely as a backdrop for what we like to do normally. And waiting for us at the end of the walk is a coffee shop.

Finally, where should one stay in Chiang Mai? The article begins with this recommendation:

The Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi (51/4 Chiang Mai-Sankampaeng Road; 66-53-888-888, www.mandarinoriental.com/chiangmai) is a striking resort on 60 acres with villas that resemble ancient Thai villages. Rooms start at 10,899 baht and go up to 280,000 baht for the Royal Residence, which has three private pools and six bedrooms.

This places the economic level of those who are able to afford this kind of 36 hour luxury change-of-scene-for-what-I-do-everyday trip. Note how the resort has villas "that resemble ancient Thai villages"? This packaging of what is foreign into hotels and villas that "resemble" something local comes up quite a bit in travel guides. Something of the spirit of Las Vegas infuses wealthy hangouts everywhere.