Tourist or Traveler?

What’s the difference?

Classic quote says :
A traveler sees what she sees, a tourist sees what she has come to see.

My version is a bit different :p

A traveler come to see a new place, living like local, take their public transport, eat local food in their local bistro, and see how local people live.

A tourist come to see main attractions of a new place, take MANY selfie, post it on their FB, IG, Path, twitter, and go home.

When you ask where a traveler went on vacation, they will tell you alot about local legends and habit, weird things local people eat, story about a hedonist queen used to live in a certain palace, or how they missed the midnight train and had to sleep at the station.

When you ask where a tourist went on vacation, the typical answer is : “I went to a famous city, visited a palace, a museum, eat some fancy food, and took picture with a famous tower on my background” ;p

Typical things a traveler bring home as souvenir : almost nothing, only stories, guide books, and free maps from the airport.

Typical things a tourist bring home as souvenir : fridge magnets, mini glasses/mugs, embossed ceramic plates, keychain, dolls, necklaces, sarong, tea spoon, t-shirt, and many more.

Example of a traveler’s destination : Kutna Hora, Bontang, Kevelaer, Drie, Bo-Kaap, Queenstown, Nara.

Example of a tourist’s destination : Amsterdam, Paris, Sydney, New York, London, Hongkong, Singapore.

So, which one are you? 😉

Photo by : Patrick Wahjudi

Backpack by : Taylor Fine Goods