I've read a smattering of articles and essays that deal with the philosophy of travel, so I was intrigued when Mary picked up Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves. I picked it up as soon as she finished it.

Steves lays out a pretty basic premise: travel to see how other people live, and evaluating your own society because of what you learn, is a fundamentally political act. The book is at its most interesting when Steves shares his own experiences of traveling in El Salvador, Iran, the Balkans, Turkey, and Morocco.

Oddly, it's less interesting when Steves is talking about his passion: Europe. His stories in Europe just aren't as compelling. He shifts into a different mode. Yes, I think we can learn something by the Danes, and their high taxation, high reward system. But it just didn't seem to be as important as traveling to see the aftermath of war in the Balkans or learn more about the Iranians outside of their government.

I think there's also a political act associated with eco-tourism. Traveling to see natural wonders and natural beauty in the Amazon rainforest or glaciers in Alaska is political in the sense of what you are opting not to do (hanging out in Cancun, Vegas, Mazatlan, etc).

For the record, I've got nothing against vacations to Vegas or Cancun. Mary and I love Vegas. But we think of it in our head as a "vacation," which we separate from "a trip." A trip is educational, informative, explorative, and maybe political in the Rick Steves usage. A vacation is about hot weather, poolside drinks, and maybe beaches. I love it when we can combine both (Thailand and Vieques for example) but we try to make that distinction in our head.

Anyway, there were some worthy sections of the book. And it makes me more interested to go back and find some of those essays I read on travel philosophy and see what else is out there.