Author Interview: Travel in SE Asia

Book Cover

Destination: Southeast Asia

Book: 30 Reasons to Travel: Photographs and Reflections from Southeast Asia, by Joel Carillet

A Guest post by Dr. Jessie Voigts

This is a treasure-trove of photos and text that encourage thinking and learning about travel, others, and the common joys of humanity.  I’ve not read a book that was so very thoughtful about people and places. I’ve lived in Japan, but not yet traveled to Southeast Asia. This book was an enticing look into cultures that are new to me.

One of my favorite reasons to travel, in this book, was Bac Ha’s Sunday Market. Joel describes the Vietnamese market, full of Flower Hmong in colorful costumes, “brought to mind a Henri Matisse painting run amok.”  The photos accompanying this essay, indeed, show us the bright colors and marvelous embroidery that this culture is so famous for.

Perhaps for me, the best of the book is the underlying premise that the choices that we make in life, and in travel, contribute to our experiences. As an intercultural educator, I truly believe that to explore a culture fully, we must open our eyes, hearts, and minds. This book does just that.

I was lucky enough to sit down and talk with Joel about his new book. Here’s what he had to say…

Wandering Educators: Please tell us about your new book, 30 Reasons to Travel…

Joel Carillet: For several years I’ve published stories in magazine, anthologies, and on the web that dealt with specific places and people, but I’ve never had a format with which I could create an overarching argument for why travel is so valuable.  30 Reasons to Travel, my first book, gave me this format.

Through both word and image, the book invites the reader to consider how he or she is part of a journey that the world itself is already on.  A lot of “list books” have been published in the last ten years (e.g., 1000 Places to See Before You Die), but what sets this one apart–in addition to its more than 275 photographs–is its more reflective nature.  If you want a book that will tell you about plush hotels or the best places to get a tan, this isn’t for you.  But if you want to consider the beauty of laughter, the value of holding a child of another race, or what a meaningful souvenir may look like, you’ll probably like 30 Reasons to Travel.

In putting the book together, I kept two interrelated realities in mind:  First, not everyone can or does travel abroad.  Second, many lessons of travel also have application in one’s own home or neighborhood.  And so each of the 30 reasons is intended to provide food for thought not only for those who travel but also for those who say close to home.

As for structure, the book is divided into 30 sections comprised of a short story or reflection accompanied by photographs.

WE: What is your travel philosophy? You’re a very intercultural traveler…

JC: Neither I nor the book argue that there is only one way to approach travel.  Each person is different and so what each person takes into the experience of travel is different.

Having said that, my philosophy–and what I encourage others to consider–is that travel is one of the best ways we have to enrich our understanding of what it means to be human.  The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber wrote that “all actual life is encounter,” and I think he’s right.  Not only do we encounter new people abroad, we also encounter ourselves in a new way.  We’re enriched as we meet people, cultures, and issues outside our usual context, and hopefully others are enriched by us as well.  Travel nurtures a sense of interrelatedness and leaves us dissatisfied with knowing the world merely through a television screen or newsprint, because travel shows us that you can’t actually get to know the world this way–and on occasion get it just plain wrong.

You can read more of the interview at Wandering Educators.

Dr. Jessie Voigts is the Publisher of  WanderingEducators.com and contributes each month to A Traveler’s Library. She has a doctorate in International Education, and is passionate about intercultural learning. She and her husband are Worldschooling their daughter, and enjoying every minute of it. She is also a nature photographer and lives on a lake.

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Tags: guest post, photography, Southeast Asia