[mcny]

I'll give you one example -- Bali, Indonesia.

If you visit Bali for a week or even a month, you likely won't notice that Bali is in a strange little island in a massive country. You'll likely fly in and out of Bali and never visit the rest of Indonesia. What is the relation between Bali and the rest of the country? No idea.

Even a question as simple as what do the locals eat is a difficult question as a tourist. Who do you ask? If you ask a few people, you might get the wrong impression, it at least one that doesn't represent the whole place.

Think about your own country. Your own neighborhood. If a tourist came up to you to ask about how things work in your area, can you give a comprehensive answer? I sure can't.

Life is far too short to learn from travel. I'm not saying don't travel but we should keep our expectations in check.

[queenkjuul]

I may not give a comprehensive answer but i can give a much better answer about day to day life in my neighborhood than Wikipedia can