Adventure Travel
Moby | 6/7/2005Been there, done that? Then put on your horse’s head and get ready for a bizarre journey. Jordan Baker reports.
In the new age of travel, tourists will visit the Opera House blindfolded and ski Thredbo in a horse’s head. They’ll choose their destination with the roll of a dice, arrive on a penny farthing then play croquet on a roundabout. Government waiting rooms will become tourist attractions and brides will hitch-hike from Yass to Yemen wearing their wedding dress.
When freewheeling hippies first hit the Asian trail, travel was adventurous. But these days we think nothing of crossing the Nullarbor, cruising the Mekong or trekking in Antarctica. There’s a guide book to every corner of the globe and Intrepid is the name of a tour company. Travel ennui is setting in; we’ve been there, done that and have the stubby cooler to prove it.
So for the jaded traveller there’s a new frontier: experimental travel. It’s based on the theory that while there might not be anywhere new under the sun, there’s always a different way of looking.
The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel, by Joel Henry and Rachael Antony, introduces travel of the mind. It proposes bizarre experiments to help travellers get more out of new places or look at old ones with fresh eyes.
