This is an edited (mostly spelling and grammar) version of a post originally written on Faceboook to Friends and Family ...I had sent the photo below of a traveler at my hostel who was cycling back to Europe from China. Actually I had met a number of these types of travelers since crossing the border from Vietnam. I warned my friends and family that I was going to post something which might get a reaction and some folks might not like. Sharing this now on my public website...

Right here goes ... ARE YOU A TRAVELER OR A TOURIST? 1stly not a mind game, but a challenge to your thinking. This is serious. This is life. The 1st 2 paragraphs are long and context to why I wrote this. if you can't handle this just skip to the last paragraph.

OBSERVATION #1: There is clearly a difference between the majority of travelers I met in SE Asia and the majority I have met since crossing the Vietnam border.
OBSERVATION #2: There is a difference between a tourist and a traveler. I have been very fortunate to experience this journey and shared cryptically a couple of times why I am doing this. But bottom line ... I want my daughter to travel when she is older. My website is there not only as a digital CV (of my digital, technical and marketing skills) but it will remain there as a digital imprint - as long as I keep up paying my hosting fees. This is for my daughter. When she is older she can go and say ... this is where my dad went... and inspire her. Similarly I would like to inspire my daughter to challenge her thinking and have written about this before. But what about this bl. picture of the bicycle. The owner is from Poland .. (I have asked him to read this before posting it) . Of-course there was a motivation for him to say I am done with my current day-to-day life and I am going to cycle from China. We all come to a point when we question what we are doing and our happiness. This happened to me 10 years ago, in Japan. I have been doing my best to practice a different path since then. As mentioned .. no plan and go with the flow ... but this does not matter now just context. Same Derek ...same Derek working in Singapore in a corporate environment ... same Derek traveling. Same Derek in Holland. Just a little more transparent. But here is my final and 3rd observation to share ...
OBSERVATION #3: met many single women traveling on their own from more Western cultures and values. Not going into why this is the case. But there were clearly more single women than men. One clear outlier was as young as 21 from Germany who was hitching-hiking and couch-surfing for 10 mths in China after traveling through SE Asia. Of-course she had "a push" to do this, and we talked alot about this. But the big thing to share is that she had no money and just survived on the good will of humanity and taking the odd job here and there. She had a tent with her and was my last chat with her when she said goodbye from our bus in Kyrgyzstan and disappeared into the night. But this young lady was the most mature lady I have met. But I too challenged her, and maybe the reason why she left that evening. I questioned her what incremental value she was getting out her continued travels. It clearly was not to check-off a list of touristy things that she had read in a book. I said to here ... it is enough now ... use your skills you have learned and go back to Germany. She was not ready for this.
Anyway... so what is this skill that a traveler learns? It is a mindset. It is being respectful, open and having a smile. Not speaking a language is hugely helpful in this respect. Being negative, selfish or not trusting anyone is just not going to help you. And I can summarize it with this last sentence. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRAVELER AND TOURIST? A tourist is more about getting the most out of the short time available, a return on investment. The traveler is enjoying the journey and the cultures rather than the destination or must see. More importantly the independent traveler like this cyclist, very much alone, is dependent on the goodwill of the people they meet. IT IS HARD TO SURVIVE AS A TRAVELER BEING AN A-HOLE. (these bad habits do not last long if you are traveling for a long time)

Now these travelers are truly fortunate if they can see the skills and habits they are learning and then apply and share them to all aspects of their lives. Not just traveling. right ... off for something to eat! 🙂