(Hey plagiarism bots - this post was originally on my website http://traveling-forever.com/. It is my original content that I have revised and updated to post here on Steemit.)
Long-term travel is easier today than ever before in history. In the past, only very wealthy people could afford to travel for extended periods of time. They'd pick up and take off for a year or even longer to see the world. Life for them did not mean going to a job every day, so they were able to embark on the Grand Tour.
Today, technology has made it possible for people to work from almost anywhere in the world. Just think. You can publish posts to Steemit wherever you are - even if you are on a Grand Tour to some distant places.
From Wikipedia: "The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper class European young men of sufficient means and rank (or those of more humble origin who could find a sponsor), as well as young women if they were also of sufficient means, and accompanied by a chaperon, such as other family members, when they had come of age (about the age of 21 years old)."
Yes, in Victorian England, wealthy young men traveled to Paris, Switzerland, Italy, or wherever their interests led them. And wealthy young women traveled with chaperons to visit museums, cultural sites – and maybe even to find a suitable eligible bachelor – a wealthy one, of course.
Books to Inspire You
The more adventurous travelers went further than Europe and weren't actually on a Grand Tour. They were explorers. Many spent extended time in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Here are some of the books about people who went on extended travels when traveling wasn't nearly as accessible as it is today. These are some of the books that ignited my travel dreams. Some of them are not in electronic form, but are available in paperback at Amazon.
These books might encourage you to fantasize about hitting the road. But a warning – you may never be the same once you’ve read some of them. Here are my affiliate links for some of my favorites.
Passionate Nomad: the Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. Freya Stark was considered by many to be the last of the great travelers. This book chronicles her travels in remote and dangerous regions of the Middle East. Lawrence of Arabia once called her "a gallant creature."
Desert Queen: the Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia by Janet Wallach. Gertrude Bell explored, mapped, and excavated the Arab world during the early 20th century.
Hero: the Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda. T. E. Lawrence was the legendary British soldier, strategist, scholar, and adventurer whose exploits as “Lawrence of Arabia” created a legacy of mythic proportions in his own lifetime.
My Journey to Lhasa: the Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City by Alexandra David-Neel, who disguised herself as a beggar with yak hair extensions and inked skin and tackled some of the roughest terrain and climate in the world - an amazing feat for anyone in the 1920's.
The Great Game: the Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk, who weaves a spellbinding tale of the competition between Victorian England and Tsarist Russia for supremacy in Central Asia.
Miles from Nowhere by Barbara Savage. This is the story of a husband and wife who took to their bicycles for two years to visit 25 countries. What an adventure!
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy. This was probably the travel book that really got me thinking I could take off on my own to see the world. Dervla Murphy was a 31-year-old woman who took off on her bicycle on her own and went all the way by herself from Ireland to India.
Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman. A 48-year-old woman sold all her belongings and headed out to see the world.
Long-Term Traveling - Better Now
No, you don't have to travel by camel. And yes, today's world is very different from what it was in Victorian times. That’s to our benefit because long-term travel is now available to people who could never have managed the Victorian Grand Tour. Today's nomad travels with a laptop, an atm card, a cell phone, an ipod, and other technological gadgets that make logistics much easier than at any previous time in history.
In addition, global transportation is within the economic reach of most Westerners. Some of us might have to spend some time saving our pennies, but with enough determination, we can make it come true.
With a little bit of searching, you can usually find inexpensive transport to most destinations. If flying is too expensive, brave souls willing to endure the hardship of sitting next to chickens or goats on a local bus will always find a way to get around. In fact, some of you reading this post probably even prefer this kind of initiation into local cultures.
But, of course, not everyone wants to share a seat on a local bus with chickens. Some people are fascinated by the monuments and historic sites a place has to offer. They may not really care much about getting involved in the daily life of the locals. That’s okay. There are enough types of travel for everyone.
And now that you're probably making money as a Steemit member, you're not tied to a specific location. You can submit your Steemit posts from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection. And that's pretty much everywhere these days. As an example, I was shocked when I was far out in the boonies in China that I still had cell reception so could use my cell phone as a hot spot since I had a data package with it. Technology is great!
Check out Lazy Bum? Teacher? Tour Director? Writer? Which Is It, Kate? to find out how I ended up living in Indonesia.
Cell reception in the boonies in China is outstanding. I struggle with it in the boonies of Prince Edward Island. I have always loved the notion of that good old-fashioned Grand Tour. So far, I managed a trip across Canada and back by plane, train, and automobile.
Hey, in the U.S., don't even worry about the boonies. There are places in the L.A. metropolitan area where cell reception is terrible.
Oh, a Grand Tour. I'd love to take one of those. Thanks for this fun and thought-provoking post on the ultimate getaway!!
Glad you liked it. I'm actually someone who likes shoestring level travel when I'm on my own. When I was tour directing, we stayed at 5-star hotels and since I was working, that was okay, but it's not for me.
Talking about doing a Grand Tour...
My brother and I loaded ourselves into my old Volkswagon beetle back in about 1967 and drove out of Perth on the western seaboard of Australia, heading east.
The plan was to drive across the vast Nullabor Desert to reach Sydney on the east coast. After leaving the populated city, we drove through the sparsely settled rural areas of WA (Western Australia), through the Gold Fields of Kalgoorlie and environs, then reached the edge of the desert.
There was just one 2-lane road across the desert, mostly made of limestone if I recall correctly. Limestone and dust.
We drove from sun-up to the end of the day... still on the desert road, meeting the very occasional other traveler. The big cattle trucks were the real worry. "Road trains" they were called, with several carriages all linked together.
Our Grand Tour came to an end in the Blue Mountains when the engine needed to be replaced. Happily my Dad forwarded money, and we arrived back in Perth some time later in the old VeeDub with the new engine block.
Never again!
Gary
PS: Thanks, Kate. You made me think. And isn't that what all authors want?
Well, that was a tour, but not sure it was so very grand. Back in 1986, I did a camping tour with a bus group around the eastern half of Australia, so I saw some of those empty roads. And I realize the western half and the roads you took were even more empty.
I love to travel and want to do so much more of it. Like you, I appreciate the technology we have today that lets us travel but still stay connected to work and communicate with clients.
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EXCELLENT comparative travel post, Kate. Thanks!
Adding up bullet train in Japan, MRT and the International Cruise is such a grandiose. Thank you for this great comparison. Though I would love to travel in some places by horse or by a Carabao. Great post and keep it coming.