Sightseeing

It's needless to say
that sightseeing tops the list of things to do when you are abroad. Why? There
can be many reasons starting with broading one's horizons and ending with
psychological treatment. Sight seeing enables us to compare countries and see
what other places are like. Sightseeing means getting away from your dirty
crowded city, escaping from the boring routine and watching impressive,
fascinating, spectacular, incredible, fantastic and simply amazing sceneries
pieces of architecture, perhaps in another dirty and crowded city. Hiring a
local guide is not obligatory but it can enable you to get a better view of the
place and to get some additional information.

No matter how strange
it may seen but I'm not fond of sightseeing. I find it boring to look at
man-made buildings and monuments, no matter how beautiful they are. I'm much
more interested in more natural things that have something to do with the
everyday life of the people in the place. I take a slightly different view of
the question of sightseeing. As I see it, sightseeing means feeling the
atmosphere and even being involved in the atmosphere first of all. Pictures of
well-known monuments, buildings and places are available worldwide - is it an
easy way of "seeing the sight"?

That is the reason I
would like to see rural parts of India such as Goa and Chinese monasteries,
lakes of Canada and jungle of Brazil, deserts of Australia and everlasting
brightness of the Hawaii islands - they all have the original wildness and
there are no vendors around offering to buy souvenirs.

I can't understand the
popularity of European capitals with tourists from all over the world. Do they
really include many "sights to see"? I guess I'll never understand
it.

Alexander V. Myskin, gr. 2o1.