crows to burnaby

Last night we went to see Ian Wright, travel show host extraordinaire, give a talk at the Chan Centre. He started off as an eccentric guide on Lonely Planet, now known as Globe Trekker, and has been to over 70 countries in the last 11 years.

Wright is an extremely animated speaker, weaving and bobbing across the stage as he talks, waving his arms wildly and acting out the parts of anyone else he happens to mention. What struck me as surprising is that he actually isn't very good at expressing himself in words. His sentences trail off into gesticulation - "I was, like, whooooaaaaaa..." as he gestures his amazement. But while a constant rain of "like" and "you know" tends to render your average undergraduate completely inarticulate, Wright can get away with it, because he's so practiced with physical expression. And that's part of what makes him a great traveller - he can communicate with anyone without having to know their language, just by his clear gestures and expressions. So when he says "I was, you know, BFFFFF" and flutters his hands, somehow you know exactly what he's talking about.

He had some great stories and observations, more than I want to get into, but here's one topic that he brought up that interested me purely because I'd never thought about it: hippie travellers. According to Wright, they are the worst, because they create an aura of aloofness and arrogance. He was shocked to hear one say "We're as poor as the native people who live here" - from someone who had very obviously managed to gather the money for a plane ticket, something no one in the area could so much as dream of. The hippie travellers alienate themselves from other travellers and make themselves unapproachable. It hadn't even occurred to me, but now that I think about it, I can completely see what he means. There's a lot of Vancouver-area backpackers that sometimes appear to be in their own special realm. It's tarring everyone with the same brush, of course, and there are exceptions to all the rules...

Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening, with lots of fare for post-event conversation and afterthought. He's not shy about giving his opinions, and probably was happy to have a forum where he could say things that he can't say on the show. Good stuff.