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Here are two more ways to help you drop tourism and really travel:

Tip 4: Seek Out Cultural Arts, Sites and Ritual
The community theatre production I attended on Grand Bahama Island was just as rich in entertainment and cultural appreciation as the Ballet Folklorico performance I attended in San Salvador. You do not have to pay to participate in many cultural events, but if you have a few extra dollars, experiencing a Japanese tea ceremony or Bunraku performance while in Japan will awaken an understanding of the culture that remedies any desire to Think You Know Better.

In Kaua'i this week I donated the small amount of $10 to walk through the Kaua'i Cultural Museum and learn about the arts, tools and origins of this magnificent island before it was forced into being a US territory with no voting rights for 60 years—all before becoming an actual state.

In Thailand I taught dance at a village school. In Kyoto, I participated in the ancestry/death rituals called Obon Ceremonies.

In Ireland I reverently visited Newgrange, happened upon many ancient bee hive structures on the Dingle Peninsula and stood at holy wells in County Kells. I also bused across the island to the ancient Puck Fair, where a wild goat is caught by competing mountain men, ritually adorned and then literally crowned king for five days to reign over the festival. It is a celebration filled with Bonny Babies, busking, real gypsy wagons and oodles of drink toasts before 9 am, all continuing raucously along until the king goat is released back into the wild.

When we experience precious cultural arts, sites and rituals like this first hand, it is very difficult to imagine that our customs, belief systems and fast-food restaurants are really needed worldwide.

Tip 5: Get Out Into Nature
I firmly believe that the roots of culture lie not only in its social history but also, and primarily, in its climate and geography. The Turks and Caicos Island inhabitants exhibited a laid back, easygoing nature like most tropical islanders do. Scotland, Ireland and Alaska residents all embodied a heartiness and indestructibility found in almost all hard winter climates.

The more I travel, the more I recognize the geography, the climate and the food that grows there to be the inescapable starting point to the entire culture's disposition. But thumbing through travel leaflets, guidebooks and photo forums do not complete this circle. One must crawl through the caverns, hike the mountains, swim the rivers and hug the trees to understand it. One must bury his or her feet in the monsoon season mud or take shelter from the decimating hurricane to truly understand why the people are the way they are and why your geographical ways can't be expected to apply.

Next week I’ll share one final and very important way to help you drop tourism and really travel.

See Part 1: Ditch the Resort Packages and Lodge Locally
See Part 2: Avoid Rental Cars and Supermarkets
See Part 4: Give Something Back

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