Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ways in which taste, as with other sensations, can conjure up broader senses of pleasure and
disgust or discomfort, are alluded to by Cohen and Avieli (2004), who contrast
neophobic
tendencies to avoid unfamiliar tastes with
neophilic
inclinations to try alien fare.
Yet such tendencies are not necessarily discreet but highlight how the search for particular
sensations, in this case taste, changes over time. Tour ists talk of dream ing of fam iliar food after
some time: 'We used to lie on buses and fantasise about mashed potatoes and garlic bread!' and
'I can't wait to go back and have pickled herring, I love pickled herring' (Falconer, 2010). The
sensory inability to continuously persevere with unfamiliar tastes and the effects alien food has
on the whole body is met with both guilt and blameless acquiescence. For instance, some feel
inadequate that they are unable to persist with the eating of unfamiliar food:
I actually feel quite disappointed with myself . . . now I think I will never be able to
eat dhal again, which is a shame! . . . I have always been pretty adventurous and
willing to try new things and eat new things, but because I was sick for so long . . . I
eat plain rice. And I am disappointed with myself because I thought I would be more
outgoing with food. And I thought . . . I have a much sturdier system than I do.
(Wilma, 24, American, in McLeod Ganj, India, in Falconer, 2010)
Alternatively, others describe how when they eventually abandon their desires and expecta-
tions for heightened states of sensual stimulation through taste, they unashamedly fi nd
capitulation a great relief:
When I fi rst came I would only eat Indian food because I was like, I'm in India! Let's
eat as much as I can! But then after about a month and a half you start saying I actu-
ally fancy some fried eggs and toast . . . and now I'm just like, you know, you just get
tempted by these places that are much more expensive . . . I have taught myself to
just deal with it now, and come to the conclusion that's it's alright to eat in these
(Western) places now.
(Rebecca, 22, British, Rishikesh, India, in Falconer, 2010)
Similarly, Frederika, 30, from Switzerland, reported that one of her most memorable culinary
experiences was the 'best and worst pizza' in India. After months of travel she craved pizza,
and she eventually ordered one that she regarded as completely disgusting, with processed
cheese slices and unbaked dough. Anywhere else, or at any other time, she would have sent it
back. But instead she ate every bit happily, and she expressed the opinion that 'it was the worst
pizza and also the best pizza I have ever had' (Research Diary, Koh Lanta, Thailand, in
Falconer, 2010).
The short extracts from this research reveal a larger concluding point that we wish to
emphasise, namely that tourists tend to modulate their sensory perception depending on
experience, their state of mind, the location in which they fi nd themselves and the length of
time that they have been travelling. However, this is not necessarily a linear process but rather
one in which they transform moment to moment, according to contingency, desire, guilt and
opportunity.
The habitual and the unfamiliar sensing of tourist space, and the performative conventions
and the sensory values which inform tourist experience, go way beyond the tourist gaze and
vary enormously across time and space. Tourist studies have barely begun to explore the
spatial contexts, the cultural divergences and the historical origins of these modes of appre-
hension. The sensing of the world is 'continually shifting and culturally variable. It varies
