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A chat with a cafe owner in Chiang Mai about 'slow travel'
I was talking with the guy who runs the coffee shop I work from here, and he said something like 'you all move so fast, you see the place but you don't feel it.' He wasn't being mean, but it hit me that after three months here, I still hadn't visited the temple at the top of the mountain. I'm thinking of staying put for six months instead of my usual two. Has anyone else made a switch to staying longer in one spot and found it changed things?
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susanb3411d ago
Ever notice how you only start to see the bad parts of a place once you stay longer? Like @vera_robinson36 knowing the bus system, you also learn which streets to avoid after dark. That messy reality is what actually makes it feel real, not just postcard views.
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vera_robinson3611d ago
That cafe owner really nailed it, didn't he. I did something similar in Lisbon a few years back. Rushed through all the sights in two weeks. Went back for three months and actually learned the bus system, had a regular pastelaria, knew my neighbors. You stop being a tourist and start just... living there. Makes all the difference.
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