From the ‘Gap Yah’ in Thailand, where the British student population migrates to Asia to get drunk for a month or so, to ‘bangin’ doe’ in Malia, our first attempts to enjoy independence (or spend our newly accessible savings) are starting to look a bit predictable. Are they the best and most compassionate experiences we could be having during our summers?
British teenagers, when travelling abroad, have been labelled the ‘worst behaved in Europe’, and it probably costs us the best part of 800 pounds to be so on the standard girls or lads week in Greece or Spain. When tickets for the ‘booze cruise’ all day boat party cost up to 50 euros, at least the girls can rely on getting some free drinks in exchange for some (slightly unstable) dancing on the bars – preferably flashing half the club in the process. The poor lads on the other hand have the added cost of drinks to worry about to ensure that both themselves and their targets aren’t conscious enough to realise that whatever they’re rubbing up to has a nice layer of sweat, chip grease and wine over the sunburn.
So how do you choose which identical looking strip to subject yourself to for a week? As the Spanish police started to get a little bit stricter on rowdy behaviour, resorts began to spring up on most beaches in southern Europe with the Greek islands cashing in noticeably. But now the clubs in the Greek resorts of Zante, Malia, Kos among others are all having to standardise their drinks prices to try and stop us drinking too much (or maybe they’ve just realised the only way they’re going to get a good bailout is by making sure Europe is drunk enough to give them money). One York fresher and veteran of Ayia Napa admitted avoiding Malia as he was worried that all the girls there would be “a bit young”. So at least some of the lads going to ´Napa have standards… they will avoid children. Other than that they don’t seem too fussy.
When asked to elaborate on the experiences of this holiday the said fresher decided the life experiences gained made him realise how much “pikeys hate rich people” (with the feeling being mutual) and that drinking for 10 days in a row in 30 degree heat is not enjoyable. I hope our rugby team has since taught him better than maxing out before 10 days. The typical clubbing holiday therefore might not shape our future or change our outlooks on life, but you can’t deny it’s an experience that most people would repeat (if avoiding the exact strips and beach with those slightly unsavoury memories). This has become a rite of passage that is as unoriginal as it is unhealthy, but after 3 years of exams, destroying our brains is the only real option isn’t it?
Malia might have been how I made use of my new found freedom but that doesn’t mean I didn’t at least start with romantic ideas of walking through the cobbled streets of Europe in sunglasses and a flowery summer dress, concentrating on the architecture, bars and cafés before jumping on a train to the next city. This was all before my group of girls decided we wouldn’t actually survive in hostels for a month without washing facilities or hair straighteners. Or even with each other. Having said that those with the organisation don’t regret the monetary cost, nor the emotional one of trying to plan the holiday whilst doing exams. Package deals come to a grand without taking into account the fact you might need to eat. Whilst planning it on your own can make it cheaper, you will be lucky to have much change from £2000.
Inter-railing through Europe is definitely a good choice for first time travellers with the destinations being close to home in culture and distance. When asked about her experience of interrailing, York fresher Sarah, says that, “it felt like a once in a lifetime experience with such freedom. But then again, there are so many routes you could take, it would easily be possible to enjoy another trip – if you have the money.”
It’s also probably an experience more valuable than that of running away from men who decide that when you shout at them and run away you want them to follow you (lesson: same rule with Malia men as with dogs – avoid eye contact and don’t run). As well as providing a crucial lesson in organisation and maturity, Sarah’s inter-railing experience now has given her the “travel bug”, making her realise how much she loved travelling and made the idea of being a travel writer appealing, after writing journals and making scrapbooks.
Speaking to a male York economics student, at university after a gap year, I found out a bit more about the experience of branching out of Europe all together and venturing into the big cultural contrast that is Asia. It would seem that there definitely was a cultural education to be had through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, but by the time it got to the party areas of Thailand the experience was of “sunbathing on the beach during the day and getting drunk at night with fifty people I knew from home that ended up going out there at the same time.”
It was still a big experience though despite this. Learning how to “get out of dodgy situations, such as being attacked by a ten year old with a machete,” as well as how to think on your feet to look after yourself with no accommodation or specific route planned were all things he valued. And as for the future, he now knows he wouldn’t be happy to spend his whole life behind a desk and at some stage would have to travel more or even work in a different country. So as far as he is concerned, Thailand “might be unoriginal but you meet so many interesting people and it is such a memorable experience it is definitely worth it.”
Whilst volunteering in an African school or orphanage may not strictly be a holiday, it is nonetheless an experience many teenagers and students are choosing when trying to fill their first summers of independence, as well as their gap years. English and History of Art student Francesca travelled to Cape Town to be a classroom assistant in a country where there was a “minimal language barrier” and so it is still possible to integrate with the local community. By going through a volunteering company she was able to stay with a host family to really experience their way of life as well as making contacts with people that became a second family to her for her time there. The experience was expensive but yet;
“The second time (in Morocco, after Cape Town) I went with a cheaper programme with a different organisation, and whilst it was still a good experience, the accommodation was bad. I can handle basic amenities, but this was dirty with four of us in a tiny room. Also, it wasn’t as well organised with very little contact time and the activities at the weekend weren’t well organised either.”
The experience though is something that clearly seems to stay with you forever: “It made me appreciate what I had. It was a shock for a privileged seventeen year old to be working with children who have learning difficulties resulting from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. In the UK they would have had someone to help them and a free laptop. There though, they had forty pupils to a cramped classroom and it was next to impossible to teach them to even read. On top of this they only had one meal provided a day and minimal further support.”
Despite volunteering being important in making us realise just how privileged we really are (and for Francesca, making her come to the conclusion that she is “not a teacher”) there are other, more direct ways to help other people. Whilst Francesca enjoyed the programmes where she made a lot of new and interesting contacts from all over the world, she wouldn’t necessarily go through the same route to volunteer again.
The money it costs to volunteer through an organisation (around £100 a week just for the programme) could be put straight into the school rather than being lost on the way, and she says that if it is possible to do so, “in order to purely help as much as possible it would probably be better to organise yourself. But then you’d miss meeting other volunteers and many weekend activities which were a huge part of the experience.”
Whilst all these experiences are common with students, at York and other universities, no one I have spoken has regretted any of the travelling they have done, or holidays they’ve gone on. For many of us money is an issue, and all of the holidays that have been discussed, due to their popularity, tend to cost a lot. Yet it would seem that if you can save enough, and have a temptation to change the scenery and spend your summer somewhere other than the pub, the general consensus among most people is simple: just do it!