This is my 100th blog post!!!!! It's incredible to imagine that 99 posts ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table in Canada, writing about my anxieties and apprehensions and excitements for the exciting trip I was about to take. I hadn't yet crossed a crazy Manila street, gone into the mountains with witches, almost died on a sketchy Indonesian boat ride, seen a Komodo dragon, scaled a dark cave (or two) deep in the forest, or eaten a silk worm larvae. In honour of such an event, I thought today's blog would take on a more philosophical tone.

 

A friend of mine asked me today if I am a traveler or a wanderer. This friend of mine is prone to asking questions that seep under my skin and stay there, and irk my brain until I am able to find an answer – which I rarely do.

But this is a question that I think is worth posing. What makes a traveler? What differs a traveler from a tourist? A traveler from a wanderer? A nomad from a traveler?

I wonder this to myself as I sit at the top of my five months traveling Southeast Asia. Notice I say traveling, not touring. 

Naturally, I googled the question. Unfortunately, all I got was a bunch of movie listings for “The Time Traveler’s Wife”.

Let’s head over to dictionary.com for some definitions.

Now, tour is both a noun and a verb. I like the definitions given to the noun:

1. a traveling around from place to place.

2. a long journey including the visiting of a number of places in sequence, esp. with an organized group led by a guide.

So touring could apply, but it seems to imply that the tourer has a set itinerary and/or a rigid schedule.

Travel is more appropriately used as a verb:

1. to go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; take a trip; journey: to travel for pleasure.

2. to move or go from one place or point to another.

This is more direct – it is the simple act of moving from one place to another. Essentially, in this respect, everyone is a traveler.

Wander is a neat verb. These two definitions were most appropriate:

1. to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander: The river wanders among the rocks.

2. to stray from a path, place, companions, etc.

So wander seems to imply that there is no purpose to the travel, no set itinerary. 

I would say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am a traveler: I am traveling from one place to another, with clear goals in mind, and written down. I don’t follow any kind of schedule, but I am certainly far from aimless.

All three categories certainly have their merits, though "tourist" is oft used as a dirty word among backpackers (the reverse is also true).

So, what are you? Are you a tourist, a traveler, or a wanderer?

 

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