[AlunAlun]

It's a shame that any travel experiences you may have had have given you that impression. My (relatively limited) experience of travel is that it has genuinely opened my eyes to the fact that the vast majority of the world lives a very different life to my own, and those differences are something I have enjoyed learning about. Reading a magazine or seeing it on television doesn't give you the same impact.

Not everybody wants to learn about such things. That's fine, but don't hate on the people who do.

> status fencing by upper middle class people who can't gain status through thoughts or substantive actions

You deserve a bit of a flame for one of the most pompous and vacuous statements I've ever read on HN. What is status? What constitutes substantive? I'll bet my definitions are different to yours!

[zimablue]

You've taken my comment about the status we give to travelling, and assumed that it's down to some personal problem with travelling. I love travelling, but still find the status we give it disgusting and can recognize privilege laundering. It doesn't really matter what we think is a substantive action, there's no reasonable definition that includes travelling for the sake of it.