I don't believe that I am able to put my purpose for traveling to Australia and New Zealand into a few simple words. I want to go and experience these places for myself. As Pico Ayer said in his essay on traveling, I want to find myself and lose myself when I travel to these new areas. I really hope that technology will not play a huge part of my life on this trip. I would love my camera to take with me, but not a cell phone, or video games, or a laptop. I want to see Australia and New Zealand clearly, not behind a fogged screen of technology.
After reading this article by Elliott, I agree that technology is taking up too much of our precious travel time and experiences, as well as our life. We often become so absorbed in technology that we fail to see the reason we took the journey in the first place. It really is sad to think about all the people missing out on something so beautiful because they need to comment on their friend's new relationship status. In my opinion there is no point in taking usless technology with you while you travel. I believe that we, as humans, are unaware of the point in time that we should put our gizmos away, and live in the moment with new surroundings.
As a class, I do believe we should "[s]et boundries on technology," and that it "isn't the really the issue, [b]ut too much of it is" (2). We need to put limits on technology. Now, I'm not saying no i-pods on the plane, or a cell phone at the airport is bad for this trip, but once we start experiencing these countries, all gadgets should be tucked away. Too much of technology will makes us suffer more than we know on this trip. Some techy stuff will be important, such as a camera, but there's no reason to check out emails ever ten seconds, or play videos on a five minute bus ride. Everything that we don't need on this trip, should not be in use.
It's so important to understand that technology should not be a big part of our travels. It should be used in moderation, and when needed. But I believe that we fail to realize that going to a new place is an adventure, and should be treated as such. There should be fun, and surprises, and you should have the desire to live for that seconds. Traveling is amazing, but people don't see it anymore. They use their technology as a safety blanket and are to distracted to look at the world around them.
*Is it just me, or does this guy not have a beautiful background behind him? -_-
