<\/p>\n

Lately, it seems that I’m\u00a0running into cliche destinations a lot.\u00a0The kind\u00a0of places that are inundated with packaged tours, overzealous nightlife, and sunburned tourists donning wide-brimmed hats.\u00a0The thing I’m realizing is\u00a0that these\u00a0destinations\u00a0became cool for a reason. If you head\u00a0away from the parasitic Cancun, you\u00a0can find amazing countryside and\u00a0Mayan ruins. Same\u00a0goes for\u00a0Thailand — you\u00a0can find solitude, but you have to shed the crowds.\u00a0These two shouldn’t be shunned because of their obnoxious high-rises and onslaught\u00a0of hippies. These places are awesome — correction: still awesome — if you\u00a0simply leave the\u00a0tourist areas and venture off. Trust me, it’s worth it.<\/p>\n

Spain’s\u00a0Ibiza, and it’s Venga Boys song<\/a>, is subject to the same phenomenon. At first thought, solitude and Ibiza don’t run hand-in-hand. I’m guilty of that thought, too, as “I’m going to Ibiza” echoes incessantly in my brain (oh, shit, I think I\u00a0was just bobbing my head). Again, look past the high-rises and clubs, and you will be pleasantly surprised when the world seems to slow down and even rewind. The Wall Street Journal<\/em> recently discovered the local way of life<\/a>, where yoga poses are held as rusty bicycles pass by. I got a\u00a0genuine feel\u00a0the locals are trying, if not feebly,\u00a0to preserve this:<\/p>\n

On a narrow country road in Ibiza’s sparsely populated, mountainous north, a longtime resident points at a signpost in the shadow of some knotty pines. “See that?” he says, gesturing at a name on the sign obscured by black spray paint. “The locals did that, so the tourists can’t find this!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe they’re on to something . . . which reminds me, I think I need to head to the\u00a0hardware store for\u00a0some painting supplies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lately, it seems that I’m\u00a0running into cliche destinations a lot.\u00a0The kind\u00a0of places that are inundated with packaged tours, overzealous nightlife, and sunburned tourists donning wide-brimmed hats.\u00a0The thing I’m realizing is\u00a0that these\u00a0destinations\u00a0became cool for a reason. If you head\u00a0away from the parasitic Cancun, you\u00a0can find amazing countryside and\u00a0Mayan ruins. Same\u00a0goes for\u00a0Thailand — you\u00a0can find solitude, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,2562,2573],"tags":[1683,4],"yoast_head":"\n