Theroux on travel
Paul Theroux, writing for the Financial Times (May 27), to promote his latest offering, The Tao of Travel (Hamish Hamilton), has penned a timely and thought-provoking riposte to a feeling I’m sure is shared by many contemporary travelers – that is, there is nothing new under the sun. Theroux’s subject is travel writing, not traveling itself, of course, but the notion that there is nothing new to write about is much the same as saying there is nothing new to see.
His suggestion, "try Mecca" – followed by the story of Arthur John Wavell, who "disguised himself as a Swahili-speaking Zanzibari, made the pilgrimage and wrote about it in A Modern Pilgrim in Mecca (1912)", a feat that Theroux claims has never been repeated – is perhaps overly ambitious for the average contemporary traveler. But his general observations on the many other destinations that are not on the map are a reminder that, despite our easy mobility and ubiquitous communications devices, the world is not quite as "explored" as we often pretend to ourselves.
Theroux signs off in his signature, irascible style with a list of exotic destinations that are anything but exotic should you have the misfortune of visiting them. But his inclusion of Kunming, described as "a huge, horrendous city", makes me wonder whether he has ever made the effort to explore the city. There is still a lot to love about China’s so-called Spring City – in my opinion, probably the only really livable large city left in China – and it is the perfect springboard for precisely the kind of travel that Theroux apparently would like to remind us is still possible – remote mountain villages and valleys, pristine lakes, many still untouristed. To be sure, they are not so easy to get to, but Theroux would have us recall that in the travail of travel all the best stories emerge. As VS Pritchett once said – and Theroux quotes him – "A large number of travel books fail because of the monotonous good luck of their authors."