Luxagraf

The answer is of course, yes and no.

There was an interesting article, and subsequent discussion in the comments, over at the Times Online this weekend, in which a number of prominent British travel writers lamented the internet’s influence on travel.

It’s not hard to see where they’re coming from — it’s far easier to find an internet cafe in remote destinations than it is a decent bed or good meal. Many travelers seem to spend whole days in internet cafes, something I’ve never been able to understand.

Isn’t the point to get away from all the familiarity of back home?

But at the same time I almost always bring a laptop with me when I travel and I do write quite a bit while I’m traveling. However, I’ve never liked the “I did this and then this and then that” style of travel writing (I don’t mind reading it actually, but I don’t like writing it).

So most of the writing here on luxagraf is a tad bit more reflective, less strict narration and tends to incorporate my thoughts as well as actions — in short, it’s not the sort of thing I can type up sitting in an internet cafe.

But I think it’s kind of interesting that I consider the worst writing I’ve done to be from my most recent trip, when I left the laptop at home. I wrote long hand as I always do, but somehow not typing that stuff up in the wee hours of the morning killed my ability to craft a decent post. Belated apologies for that. I’ll be back in Nicaragua in two weeks and this time the laptop is coming along.

So, no, I don’t think the internet is ruining anything (except the entertainment industry). Instead I think it presents yet another temptation, which will appeal to some and not to others. And as for those that spend all day in an internet cafe… it’s just as well, I probably wouldn’t enjoy talking to them much anyway.

[via [World Hum][2], image [credit][3]]