Apple and knife intan paramaditha5/28/2023 ![]() ![]() The places they explore willingly open up for them, the inhabitants merely there to prop up a grand tale of self-discovery. In these stories, the flâneur’s prerogative trumps all. ![]() Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, to name two examples, see their protagonists grappling with a crisis of identity and lack of purpose. Many travel-themed books engage with daydreams of adventure, a journey that centres the self in a way that rarely considers how that same self is regarded in relation to the people it encounters. At what point does one stop being a “tourist” to become a “digital nomad”? Who is deemed an “expat” while others are regarded as “immigrants”? And why is there often a distinction between “migrant” and “refugee”? The stark delineations between terms such as “tourist”, “expat”, “refugee” and “migrant” drive this home. Some nationalities are allowed entry past certain borders others are not – pointing to larger questions around the privilege and luxury of travel.Ĭonversely, within the context of travel lie internment, exile, unbelonging, rootlessness – the many borders and boundaries that demarcate not only territories on a map, but also the axes of power that define global centres and freedom of movement. But depending on who you are and the passport you hold, the prospect of holidaying overseas is still an option. While borders were already closed for some, they have been further tightened in the wake of a global pandemic. ![]() In these uncertain times, the concept of travel is increasingly fraught. ![]()
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