Bohol, Pilipinas
Bohol Island, Philippines
31st March 2023
I have been to a lot of places now, 32 countries and counting. It is still a small fraction of the world, but I believe that my particular style of travel means that I see a lot of how the real world works, things that most don't see or choose not to see, and that tourism agencies try to hide. I don't mean it to sound show-offy, but it is what it is. And the Philippines might have been the final straw.
I feel the energy I once had for simple wanderlust petering out. I'm not homesick and I still want to explore more of the world, but my personal values are being continuously tested by such glaring contradictions that I cannot continue without some sort of re-evaluation. With such immense and widespread cruelty, who am I to go places only to take photos and leave? The most nightmarish tortures possible, the things people fear may await them in hell, and the things I could not even physically imagine one being doing to another, I have witnessed. And for whatever reason, the way my head is wired just cannot skip over it. What can I do about it? What is function of my travel? It is something I will be ruminating over for some time.
