Australian travel – why’s it sometimes in a bubble?

Do you think you become more patriotic or less the longer you’re away from your home country?

On Australia Day, the most patriotic day of the year, Dave and I went to a hostel in La Paz, Bolivia. We were staying in Airbnb accommodation nearby and we’d heard there was going to be an Australia Day party at the Wild Rover Hostel – which is notoriously known for its parties – so we decided to check it out.

bogan on Australia day Double-Barrelled Travel

Me on Australia Day in 2008

Late to the party

We got there early evening and quickly realised our mistake of arriving so late. Everyone had been drinking all day so we had a lot of catching up to do.

Dave bought a large beer and I went with a vodka and coke as we took in our surroundings.

Boganville

Nearly everyone at the party was Australian.

Girls walked around with their butts hanging out the back of their skirts and their boobs bulging from the top of their singlets.

Nearly every male was shirtless and strutting about.

It might have been around 12 degrees but the alcohol pumping through their bodies was certainly keeping them warm.

A guy fell down some stone steps, got up and carried on if nothing had happened. I doubt he’d remember the fall the next day.

A group of three girls seductively started lifting up their shirts while two guys put their fingers inside their belly buttons. They giggled and then did it back.

kangaroo and beer Australian Double-Barrelled Travel

Dave on Australia Day in 2009

 Ready to leave

By this point I was wondering what the fuck I was doing there. We listened to the last three songs from Triple JJJ’s hottest 100 (number one was an Aussie song I’d never heard of) and beat a hasty retreat.

I started to realise that these kinds of drunk bogans were one of the reasons I left Australia to travel the world in the first place.

 Australian culture overseas

Don’t get me wrong – I like drinking and have been known to get trashed once in awhile. But I guess I don’t really see the point of flying to the otherside of the world only to hang out with the same, or similar sort, of people you would if you were back home. And do the same sort of things you would in your home country.

What’s the point in that?

They say that to travel is to get out of your comfort zone but if you go on an all Australian travel jaunt in a bubble how much are you really challenging yourself?

Carmen drinking Double-Barrelled Travel

Don’t get me wrong – I’m known to have a few

Wanting the familiar

I always thought it was a little weird when I’d meet other Australians in London and their entire friendship group was made up of other Australians.

The only Australian friends we had in London were the ones we knew from back home – we didn’t actively go out and seek other Australian mates. Instead, we tried to push ourselves to meet British people. One of the reasons we moved to London was for the culture after all, and the best way to experience this is to meet people from the country you’re in.

I guess that’s why Dave and I hardly ever stay in hostels when we travel.

Australians seem to clump together there and you end up befriending them because it’s a somewhat familiar face. It’s too comfortable.

Instead, we try to stay in Airbnb accommodation where we can meet the local owners. Or we couchsurf and stay with people who live, and have normally grown up, in the city.

Australian patriotism rugby Double-Barrelled Travel

I’m patriotic – promise! This was before the rugby…

 I still call Australia home

This is not an anti-Australian rant. I love my home country and my Australian friends are awesome. When those aforementioned British friends used to say I was British and not Australian (I was born in London but grew up in Australia) I used to protest “No I’m NOT. I’m definitely Aussie!” in my loudest Aussie twang.

But I guess when I’m on the road I like to embrace the fact that I’m NOT in Australia but some other amazing place and embrace where I’m at.

Australian patriotism Double-Barrelled Travel

I do love Australia

Mixing with the locals and doing things tourists don’t normally do, like stay on a ranch in New Mexico, are the kind of activities I seek.

I’m still patriotic. I just like learning about the patriotism of other countries too.

What do you think?

Have you ever felt embarrassed about other people’s behaviour from your country overseas?

Comments

comments

About the author

Carmen has been nomadic since May 2013 and the co-founder of Double-Barrelled Travel. She loves experiencing new cultures and learning new languages. She is having the most fun when skiing down a mountain, scuba diving in the Caribbean or curled up with a good book.

8 comments on “Australian travel – why’s it sometimes in a bubble?”

  1. noel Reply

    I agree, its like going to a 4th of July party in Istanbul…ah no thanks, I enough of that when I’m back and when I’m exploring, I love meeting new people and really try to live or mix with the locals and understand a new host culture. Great post!

  2. Runaway Brit Reply

    I am British, so I can most definitely say that I have been embarrassed by the behaviour of fellow Brits when travelling. Sadly Brits overseas have a terrible reputation and many fellow travellers seem determined to live up to this: overweight, badly dressed, beer-swilling, loutish and eternally sunburned. I travel with my Swedish boyfriend mainly and have taken to not answering when people ask where we’re from. He says Sweden and then they assume the same for me. Sweden always gets a much better reaction than Britain.

    Loved your post, and I can fully understand why you left the Wild Rover party early. We stayed there a few years ago, the combination of idiotic travellers and easy access to cocaine is lethal. The two worst ones when we stayed were an Aussie and a Brit 🙁

    • Carmen Allan-Petale Reply

      Yeah, it sucks, doesn´t it? I hate being embarrassed by fellow Australians but it often happens. I guess people love their comfort zones too much and they´d rather stay in the safety of what they know rather than mix with the local people or even travellers from other cultures.
      I think Australians drink just as much as the Brits, if not more!
      Thanks for your comment,
      Carmen

  3. Patree Reply

    Very interesting, Carmen. I tend to think of myself as a citizen of the earth. I don’t consider myself to be patriotic at all. I understand that many people in many places on this beautiful planet have wonderful lives. It also seems to me that country boundaries are artificial and really not essential to the workings of the modern world. I wonder whether your travel is taking you beyond the country of your birth or the country of your formative years to a new identity of world citizen. You view the people and the places, not the countries.

    • Carmen Allan-Petale Reply

      That’s a very interesting way of looking at it! Yes, I certainly think that the more we travel, the more we see ourselves as belonging to the world as a whole rather than our individual country. Everyone is unique and you’re right that many people on Earth have wonderful (and different) lives.
      Carmen x

  4. Natasha Reply

    Hey Carmen, I really enjoyed this post. There’s more Aussies than I originally thought in Dubai, but the only Aussie friends I have here are people I met back home. My new friends are literally from all over the world, each with an interesting tale of how they ended up here. Given this is my second time living in a country outside of Australia, I am starting to feel more like a ‘citizen of the world’. I’ll always call Australia home but I do want to learn and experience other cultures as well and not just be ‘another Aussie’.

    • Carmen Allan-Petale Reply

      That´s awesome Tash! It´s great to hear about your experiences in Dubai. From what I´ve heard, it´s certainly a melting pot of cultures. I really hope you´re enjoying your time there 🙂
      And glad you liked the post,
      Carmen

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