if healwaysjokedaroundwithhotelstaffthismuch,he
noddedvehemently.“Man,ofcourse,”hesaid.“Yougotta
havefunwitheverybody.Otherwiseyougocrazy.”
Andit’strue.Thestarsthatstarttofade,theoneswho
losetheirlustre,arethecelebritieswhoemotionallyquarantine
themselves,refusetomakeeyecontactwiththesoundengineer
mikingthemupandspeakonlytotheirentourage,andgo
throughthemotions.Evenif it’s a pop-upfamilythatwill
bedisbandedbytheendofthenight,humansthrivein
a tribe,andforveteran,elité-gradetravellersliketouring
musicians,theirhealthandhappinessdependsontheir
abilitytoarriveinanunfamiliarvenue,inanunfamiliar
city,toa seaofunfamiliarfaces...andbuilda family. If
wethinkaboutthemoredissatisfyingtripswe’vetaken,
chancesarethatholidayflunked because we didn’t quite
connectwiththelocalswe
met,wefeltillateaseat our
hotel,orwesimplyfeltlonely
anddisengaged.
Whetherwe’retravelling
ona 60-dayworldwide
stadiumtour,orspending
a weekendinHobart,the
markofthetrulytalentedtravelleris thisrareabilityto
findfamilyandconnectwithstrangerswhereverwego.
SoI cherishtheskills,andthetricksofthetrade,that
helpusfindorbuilda tribeontheroad.A lotis writtenthese
daysabouthowsmartphonesaremakingusmoredisengaged
andlessconnected,butdigitaltechnologyis a preciousresource
whenwetravel.LastweekI landedinArizonaat 8pm,rolled
upat myAirbnbina glamoroussuburbofTucsonat 10pm,
andby8am(sponsored,inpart,byjetlag)I wastakinga
yogaclasswitha clusteroffriendly,bendylocals.Opening
upmyMindbodyappwhenI arrivesomewherenew,and
findinga yoga studio some10 minutes downthe road,isAnnais a traveland
lifestylejournalist,
andauthorofthe
travelmemoir
Departures.
@annadothartoneofmyfavourite
waystoanchormyself
ina newdestination,
andtofinda familyofsorts,savouringthefamiliarityofmy
fellowyogisamidtheunfamiliarityofthisdesertlandscape.
I’vealsousedFacebooktocrowdsourcecompanionswhen
I’vetravelledtonewcitiesalone,makinga dinnerdatewith
a friend-of-a-friendinAustin,whotookmeforauthentic
Mexicanfoodandgavemethelowdownonthebestvintage
shopsintown.DatingandsocialappslikeFeeldandRaya
meana solotravelleris onlyeveraloneif theychooseto
be;lastyearI haddatesinLosAngeles,Nashville,Rioand
Ubud,andwasimmediatelywelcomedintoa socialwhirl.
Steppingintoa ready-madetribe,andbeingmadeto
feelwelcome,is a truetravelluxury,andoffersa lotmore
comfortandpleasurethanBulgarishowergelorEgyptian-
cottonsheets.Butwecanalsomakea hotelfeellikea home,
anda groupoftouristsfeellikea tribe,bythinkingabout
howwecanfeelpartofa biggerfamilywhereverwego.
I thinkabouthowStevieWondersetaboutputtingeveryone
aroundhimat ease,withhiswitandwarmth.Giventhat
he’sStevieWonderhemusthavetoputpeopleat easeconstantly.
Hehasbecomevery,verygoodat it.I thinkaboutLeonard
Cohen’sgenerositytoeverysinglepersonheencountered,
howeverlowly.Howthismanwhoplayedtoentirestadiums
stillmanaged toseeeverysingleindividualasa person
worthgivinga Belgianchocolateto.
AndI thinkaboutEzraFurman’sresolutiontostride
boldlybeyondthestricturesofpolitechit-chatandspeak
theirmindandunburdentheirsoul,becauseif youbury
youropinionsandhideyourfeelingsfortoolong,yourisk
notbeingabletofindthemagain.Humour,generosity
andopennessarethebasicbuildingblocksofconnection.
Travel with them, and you’re always travelling with family.●Humour,generosityand opennessare
thebasicbuildingblocksofconnection.
Travelwiththem, andyou’realways
travelling with family.GOURMET TRAVELLER 123The art of travel
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