Are Tourist Attractions Still Worth Visiting?
Get your exclusive 15% discount on a Saily eSim: https://saily.com/tripology Are tourist attractions still worth visiting? After we spent an afternoon at TeamLab Planets: a series of stunning art exhibitions and one of Tokyo's most visited tourist attractions, we were forced to ask ourselves this question. What's the point of experiencing these iconic destinations if they're filled with mindless tourists living through their mobile phone cameras?
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00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Adam eats at strangers' tables
07:23 - Are Tourist Attractions Still Worth Visiting?
09:15 - TeamLab Planets Tokyo Review
16:59 - Are Phones Ruining Tourist Attractions?
29:15 Should Tourist Attractions Ban Phones?
33:15 Is TeamLab Planets Better Than the Taj Mahal?
35:48 Has Modern Travel Changed Forever?
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Welcome to Tripology
Transcript
Alun:
[0:00] Hello and welcome to this episode of Tripology. It's the only backpacking show where two best friends enter into the same room and talk about what can only be described as travel. I'm Alan and I'm here with the ever free living, Adam.
Adam:
[0:16] We've got a contentious one today, mate. We're going to be talking about whether tourist attractions are still worth visiting and then the lost and found section at the end of the show, we're going to play a little game of Mr. and Mr.
Alun:
[0:27] Mr. and Mr. A game where two people who know each other very well test how well they really know each other through a series of questions. Adam, I described you as free living for two reasons. One of which is because... We're talking about tourist attractions today, and one tourist attraction which you took me to as a surprise was a parasite museum. The opposite of parasitic is free living, and I regard you as such.
Adam:
[0:54] And I learned today that the word parasitic or parasite comes from the Greek word, which I think was parasitos, or something, meaning to eat at another one's table.
Alun:
[1:03] Which is very, very interesting to me for this reason and this reason alone. i consider you one of the most free living people that i know as a result of your capacity to eat another person's table.
Adam:
[1:16] I never say no do i never turn it
Alun:
[1:17] Down but also i think you have an absolutely uncanny ability and there may be some people listening to this thinking i have that ability as well not like this guy, you have an uncanny ability to go out into the world and find yourself eating at a plethora of people's tables, both figuratively, literally, metaphorically, hyperbolically, lots of different ways you end up eating at other people's tables. Oftentimes, like for the listening audience, I'll say to Adam, Adam, I don't want to do anything tonight. Or perhaps, Adam, I'm going to go and meet a stranger tonight. And then Adam says to me, I'm just going to go out into the world. And I say, sure, you know, you can come meet strangers with me if you want and he goes no no no no i'm gonna go out into the world, and then he'll come back the next day he's gone around to someone's house he's met their grandmother he's like formed a big union he's made friends at a bar he's got a set six new girlfriends all sorts of things happen don't they.
Adam:
[2:18] It's going all out of control it's just the way i i like to travel it's it's absolutely the ultimate style of travel for me is going out and enjoying myself and i think if If you're open to experiences and you say yes to everything, you just happen to put good energy out into the world, you meet the right people, and then some cool things can happen.
Alun:
[2:34] But it's an ability you have, though, because I love travel as much as the next podcast host who won an award for best travel podcast. I just don't have the ability to do that. Now, I consider myself a very likable person when I want to be. But my energy, my capacity for those situations is limited. I'm not as free living as you. You're just a free guy. You go in there, you make friends, socially flowing. I'd be too in my own head, I think.
Adam:
[3:05] I don't know what the reasons are for that. But every time it happens, every time I come back with a wild story, I think, wow, that was probably just a fluke. But when you've had thousands of those over the course of 12 years, literally in every country I've ever been to, there's always a story where I get invited around someone's house or end up meeting a really cool group and they just take me under their wing and show me a good time. uh it's yeah i don't really know what the answer is i think it's just smiling at strangers i think it's being interested in other people i think you're referring to a night that happened very recently just a few nights ago went to a sake bar had some food had a drink i mean does it ever happen without alcohol
Alun:
[3:45] No and that may be a key influencing factor i just think you're very good it you have a personality that's finely tuned to just making strangers into friends, you know a little bit about a lot of subjects, i think in a way or like have an opinion or something to say about a lot of subjects in a way that people like and find endearing you're a good conversationalist thanks i think in a way isn't it so interesting, that the ultimate in many ways the ultimate parasite, is the one that's so free living so adaptable it doesn't even it just like the host just becomes friends with it, the ultimate parasite is the one that doesn't have to latch onto the house because the hosts have already just given them everything they're just like come with me hang out with me it's so beautiful and lovely you're such a free living little worm.
Adam:
[4:35] Yeah yeah no i appreciate that i do think it's a good thing to be able to do that when you travel because they're my best travel memories they're what helped me uh feel connected to a place i suppose and i think a great way to learn about anywhere is through its night nightlife through restaurants through meeting locals all of that sort of stuff um i won't wonder whether you're a bit more deliberate with your time i think it's fair to say
Alun:
[5:00] Yeah i also just i at the parasite museum there was a tapeworm, a really long one 8.8 meters it was retention and yeah i mean i'm someone who i looked at that tapeworm and i was repulsed by it, and the journey the person who housed it must have had to have gone on, to house that table i just think it must have been a really uncomfortable experience for them.
Adam:
[5:29] Yeah only three months though
Alun:
[5:31] Only three months and a lot of crazy things can happen in in three months so that's my take on whether you should be social whilst traveling i suppose.
Adam:
[5:39] Did you say how long the tapeworm was
Alun:
[5:40] 8.8.
Adam:
[5:41] Meters 8.8 meters yeah really long really long they have a piece of string actually that's the same length and you can walk it around the top floor of the museum
Alun:
[5:49] And you did yeah.
Adam:
[5:50] It's free free to enter by the way the museum it's one of the reasons we went
Alun:
[5:53] Yeah it was good it was a nice surprise from you no my point didn't really make sense about the tapeworm and how it relates to me being social but i just think yeah well i think basically i um, i'm really selective about the kinds of people i can make friends with i'd struggle i'm not extrovert enough to go into by me like hey come by but did it did it everybody i'm sort of more like oh you seem like an interesting chap i want to talk to you specifically for 35 minutes.
Adam:
[6:19] Yeah i thought i
Alun:
[6:19] Was like a focus blast i.
Adam:
[6:21] Thought i was like that but i do get on with a lot of people i do like chatting to lots of people sometimes i have the same conversations with people over and over again and yeah you know maybe you're just not into
Alun:
[6:31] That to me feels like the tapeworm, yeah does it yeah.
Adam:
[6:36] Why is that
Alun:
[6:36] Because i just would feel aggravated by having the same conversation multiple times but that's it isn't it that's one of the beauty of traveling sometimes people in hostels they don't mind at all being like how many countries have you been to where are you from, how many months have you been traveling where are you from they just have those same conversations again and again maybe.
Adam:
[6:58] We've hit the nail on the head then you're stimulated by interesting conversation
Alun:
[7:01] Novelty innovation new things.
Adam:
[7:05] And i'm stimulated by alcohol
Alun:
[7:07] There you go there you go both of us just there in a bar getting stimulated by different things and that's one of the beautiful things about traveling and having a tapeworm but that's not what we're talking about today because the parasite museum was a tourist attraction.
Adam:
[7:23] Correct correct and there's many things to do in tokyo loads of different tourist attractions to see but today we're going to discuss whether we think tourist attractions are changing whether they have changed we don't always want to hark on about how good travel was you know 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago whatever but we do live in a new age now
Alun:
[7:40] It is the new age yeah the the one age of travel the age the age that we started to travel is over and now it's a new age i think that's really definitive post covid age yeah agree.
Adam:
[7:50] Agree so we're going to talk about two main tourist attractions today one more so than the other one yeah and
Alun:
[7:55] Not tourist attractions in the american place maine.
Adam:
[8:00] Oh is that was a place
Alun:
[8:01] Was it yeah in in america it is a place maine kentucky.
Adam:
[8:05] It's called tourist attraction
Alun:
[8:07] No no no no you said we're going to look at some main tourist attractions i just wanted to specify right.
Adam:
[8:12] Okay you think people might have thought hang on maybe he's talking about going to the u.s now tourist
Alun:
[8:16] Attractions in maine.
Adam:
[8:17] Right okay no we're still in tokyo we're Still in Japan, as you can tell from my Arsenal shirt. And one of them is a great exhibition, actually, which we'll go into some detail about. We went there exactly a week ago today. And the other
one is maybe the most popular in terms of its foot traffic in Sensoji Temple in Athaktha. And we had pretty similar experiences at both, I would have said.
Alun:
[8:43] I would have said so. They were both equally spiritual. They were both equally enlightening. And there was interesting things about both of them. Yeah.
Adam:
[8:50] So the first one, guys, the first one is an exhibition. What would you call it? Kind of like a light installation type digital thing?
Alun:
[8:59] Loosely in the bracket of interactive art.
Adam:
[9:03] Very contemporary.
Alun:
[9:04] And similar to an experience I've talked about previous on the podcast, going to that one in korea where it was very much a photo taking opportunity on valentine's day.
Adam:
[9:15] Yes yeah absolutely um so team lab planets is what we're talking about this is the tourist attraction uh could you describe sort of what the exhibitions are like what it's like to be walking around it's getting quite an obscure area of tokyo isn't it it's quite an industrial area where there's not really much else to do apart from that i didn't feel yeah
Alun:
[9:36] We had to blitz over early morning to team lab planets and we were confronted upon doing so with such a long tapeworm sized queue that wraps around the block, and you know that that's got to put your day off to a bad start if you're um, if you're getting in that queue.
Adam:
[9:53] If you're someone who has to queue you
Alun:
[9:54] We didn't because you know we have an awarding travel podcast and things are going pretty well for us tapeworms but we uh so we got in and let's, what's inside is a series of exhibits that go across different, planet biomes you've got the water biome trickling water flowing through by you know actual physical water you have to get you know pull your pants up.
Adam:
[10:20] Walking barefoot yeah
Alun:
[10:22] There's another biome the garden biome lots of dead plants hanging oh yeah all over it's a plant biome.
Adam:
[10:30] I think they're all orchids aren't they all types of orchids very beautiful very
Alun:
[10:32] Aesthetic you've got the forest biome some people say it's derivative of the plant biome no i don't know it was one a garden biome one was forest there was like you could get an app and you could catch different animals like a giant oh.
Adam:
[10:46] Yeah that thing yeah i think there's four isn't there there's four main areas uh one of which is sort of outdoors with a cafe and that sort of stuff big seating area um but there is everything to do with light and there's a lot of mirrors and that sort of stuff i'm sure you've seen photos if you've not seen photos or videos on
Alun:
[11:01] Instagram what were the highlights for you man because for me i was a big fan of the water biome, yeah you go in you take your shoes and socks off you pull your pants up you very astutely said alan i think that this might be just a way of gently telling us to clean our feet, and indeed you were sort of wade through a trickling stream we actually walk uphill don't you all indoors all part of the museum exhibit you walk through this trickling stream and adam's nose is very very finely tuned often he'll smell something before it's dealt, and he said immediately that's chlorine, There's a heavily chlorinated bit of water. They're just cleaning our feet.
Adam:
[11:44] I can see what you're doing here, team-led planets.
Alun:
[11:46] Yeah, and he was right because later scientific testing confirmed that was heavily chlorinated water that we were bathing our feet in just to get into the water biome. Yeah. The water biome itself consisted of a flooded room up to the upper shin, lower kneecap.
Adam:
[12:06] Yeah, definitely higher than ankle.
Alun:
[12:08] With projections of koi on the water so you were sort of wading through it and you could see all these koi, splashing around now it was very suspicious to me because i noticed one child, running through the koi and upon doing so the koi exploded into a floral display and i said adam i don't think, those koi are just projections i think they're actually interacting with the people walking through them you didn't believe me.
Adam:
[12:42] So the the koi are basically being projected from projectors above onto the surface of the water correct do you remember the color roughly what would you say the color of the water was murky is it quite opaque wasn't it yeah gray
Alun:
[12:53] Murky like it had been filled with sediment so to make it opaque so the projection would work.
Adam:
[12:59] So that is maybe what someone who is not an idiot would deduce right because in order to actually see the fish the water needs to be opaque so that there's kind of a surface that they yeah so i've read a number of reviews and two of two of which i'll read um that say that they're complaining that the water isn't clean they're saying there's so many tourists in the water walking through that water with dirty feet but that's the reason why the water's muddy wow i didn't once think that No.
Alun:
[13:27] Because it was very, very clear that if the water was clear, the fish would not be.
Adam:
[13:32] The exhibit becomes completely redundant
Alun:
[13:33] They've made the water opaque so that it's like a, basically a screen yeah which the fish can be projected yeah.
Adam:
[13:41] Otherwise the surface wouldn't work for the
Alun:
[13:43] Exhibition absolutely well anyway i said to adam i think that the fish are interacting with the people splashing and you said i don't know how that'd be possible and i said well i'm sure some there must be a tracker on the surface of the water because they're definitely like running away from people the fish yeah.
Adam:
[13:57] And they kind of um i don't know what they were they disintegrate almost into a lot of feathers or you know
Alun:
[14:03] Floral display yeah yeah yeah and they were running away from people that sort of thing and it turned out that was exactly what's happening it was quite a beautiful magic, you're right matrimony i would say quite a marrying quite a beautiful marrying of, science technology with art track the surface of the water disruptions cause the fish to explode and um run away and that sort of thing and it turns out that's what was going on it was beautiful i found it to be a very lovely exhibit.
Adam:
[14:34] The reason why we know that that was the case and that was the technology involved was because you did what almost no one in there did, which was read a sign about the exhibition.
Alun:
[14:43] Interesting that you bring that up because there were some signs throughout the exhibit that i read, couldn't help but notice that every single other human being in the entire team lab planets building was so, fixated on their own cell phone and face reflected within yeah that they barely looked at anything else around them any of the.
Adam:
[15:08] Time yeah yeah so the other exhibits as well as the fish one there was also a big room with huge like are they called orbs yeah blow up balls
Alun:
[15:17] In which people looked at themselves in their.
Adam:
[15:19] Phone yeah there was also a lot of mirrors there was a really cool light exhibition wasn't there that was in which
Alun:
[15:23] People looked at pictures of themselves in their.
Adam:
[15:25] Phone and then you got the flower one as well and the outdoor one so in every guest
Alun:
[15:28] Anthropologist people looked at themselves in their phones there.
Adam:
[15:31] Too in every room there is a good opportunity for a couple of photos i mean it's very aesthetic it looks very cool and futuristic yeah it's distorting reality i mean just walking around the exhibition is very cool and it's very impressive the technology the design this very lovely experience from that perspective yeah but when you're surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of tourists that are living the experience through their phones
Alun:
[15:58] I was what team planets have done for me is create a very good, art museum with interactive, scientifically interesting art.
Adam:
[16:11] Right.
Alun:
[16:12] What they've done a great job of is unwittingly manufacturing a zoo where one can watch Westerners in their most natural habitat staring at themselves through a camera.
Adam:
[16:27] Yeah.
Alun:
[16:27] It's truly bizarre. Everything of moderate interest results in a selfie in that place.
Adam:
[16:33] Yeah, you're constantly ducking and diving out of people's shots. Everyone's just waiting for other tourists to go past so that they can have, you know, something with a background with no one in it. There was one woman in the fish exhibition. She had a fucking flashlight on.
Alun:
[16:45] There's one woman with a snorkel on under the water. She had an underwater camera. Yeah, she had a flashlight on. She was walking around. It is mental, guys. And... I don't know. I don't know how to address it without sounding like a real Debbie Downer.
Adam:
[16:59] But what it does highlight is that maybe tourist attractions, you can extend it further and it can be applied to lots of attractions out there. The things themselves, the things we visit, doesn't matter what attraction it is, whether it's a religious monument or whatever, is still worth seeing, I think. but when it's when the exhibition is also being viewed by a thousand other people who are acting like mindless
Alun:
[17:23] Idiots yeah.
Adam:
[17:24] It ruins the experience you have to think about your experience as a whole as opposed to just whether you want to see the thing itself or
Alun:
[17:29] Not i always say this thing about like the time i went to machu picci it was ruined because there was people there that saw machu picci only through the screen of their phone and nothing else and how upsetting that is but this was really like, it takes the cake really because i my energy started to be sapped almost as if the people there were parasites you know stealing energy through their actions which you should never allow yourself to do you should never lose energy because of people's behavior around you but it just felt like such a slog i was just like, can we all just agree just to put our phones away and just experience this together there was one room like with you know cool projections and and light and everyone's just, there's another room i mean several times this was the case where team lab planets encourage you to download an app.
Adam:
[18:15] Yeah so that is something that's worth mentioning because they they it does necessitate the use of your phone
Alun:
[18:20] And there's one room where like there's these projected animals on the on on several screens and you can like use your phone to scan them and collect them yeah.
Adam:
[18:30] Like a pokemon type there's a thing i imagine
Alun:
[18:32] Poor projection of a giant sloth that the second he appeared on the screen he was getting snatched up by a million kids and I never got to have a good look at that sloth projection as a result.
Adam:
[18:43] Yeah, it's a difficult one because we don't when it comes to travel and sort of visiting tourist attractions as a tourist You can't stop people from using their phones. I mean, people are bound to want to take photos. But the trouble is, when you've got a large group of people doing it in unison, it actually does impact your experience. We are having to wait for people to take the correct photo or, you know, they're just clogging up. No one's interacting with each other. They're just in their groups. Maybe they're on their own or with a couple or with a family. And all they're doing is just wandering around with their phone. where's the line
Alun:
[19:16] Though because ultimately what people are trying to do is collect memories aren't they and perhaps we sound like a couple of miserable bastards because people are trying to collect memories have recollection of what it is that they've done, but in the same breath by collecting those memories, they've prevented themselves from being present for even a moment in the actual activity itself.
Adam:
[19:38] Well this is the question i'll put to you if you were to ask the creators of team lab planets what they want people to take away from the experience yeah and what they expect people to be able to recount from the experience do you think that any of that would involve the purpose of the exhibition itself or the designer or what the message is that they're sending or do you think they'd be totally happy with people just having five photos five well all right for a second yeah 20 i don't know like some people go to that exhibition they spend a number of hours there and all they've got to show for it is the photos a camera roll which are probably very cool photos
Alun:
[20:18] This is the thing though people's experience no longer is it enough to have done the thing, Now, to have done the thing, you need to have a picture or a video of you having done the thing. And even further removed from that, people need to share the picture as proof of having done the thing. So we're getting more and more extrapolated from the experience of having done a thing. You know, no longer can people just say, oh, I did this amazing thing. I camped out in the Namibian desert for three weeks. It's like, got any pictures? What's your Instagram? Well, let me see. Let me see you having done that thing. No, what's the story? Tell me the story.
Adam:
[20:59] And if you dare respond with, I didn't take any photos or videos. I just wanted to be absolutely present. They go, all right, you fucking weirdo.
Alun:
[21:06] Oh, dear.
Adam:
[21:06] Sorry. I can't see you up there on your high horse.
Alun:
[21:09] You're not the kind of person I want to spend 35 minutes with talking and doing a bow.
Adam:
[21:14] But even I wanted to take photos because it gives you FOMO to a certain extent. When you see so many other people doing it, you're like, oh, we should take one, though. like even we looked at each other we were like yeah should we take one well
Alun:
[21:26] You're under contractual obligations to say one adam but because i think that everyone goes around there like sort of.
Adam:
[21:35] Zombies yeah
Alun:
[21:36] The staff were on tensorhooks one of them shouted at me.
Adam:
[21:40] Well let me just stop you there because i've got two reviews okay we're gonna see we're gonna see if it kind of um One's positive and one's negative. Okay. And then we're going to see where we fit in those reviews, right?
Alun:
[21:52] Okay. Let's role play. You be the reviewer. I'll be the stars.
Adam:
[21:55] It's five. So this is a five-star review. I'll read it from top to bottom. It's just on Google Review. You can go and get this yourself, guys. This is of Team Lab Planets in Tokyo. Five stars. A fun and awe-inspiring experience for both kids and adults. We enjoyed every part of the exhibition, including the water area. I like the way they singled that out.
Alun:
[22:15] Yeah, the water area is the best area.
Adam:
[22:18] There are tons of corners, perfect for photos and plenty of interactive installations that really let you immerse yourself in the art. The whole experience engages all your senses, making it feel, does it all even taste? Making it feel far more than a typical museum. It was a bit dark inside and quite crowded when we visited. We went on a Friday. So walking around could be slightly challenging. But with a little patience, everything was still enjoyable. The staff were incredibly kind and well-trained too. Every room was amazing, and participating in the installations really enhanced the experience. I also appreciated the lockers and the towels provided after getting wet. We had so much fun that we ended up staying until closing time. The kids loved the more active rooms, and for me, every space had great photo opportunities. That's the second time Scott mentioned. The ushers also guided us on which areas to visit first so we could make the most of our time. Booking tickets online is easy, and you can choose your preferred time slot. I recommend arriving around an hour before your scheduled entry because the queue starts early. The ticket price is a bit high, just over 5,000 yen, but it was absolutely worth it. This was one of my must-visit spots in Tokyo, and it truly lived up to expectations. Highly recommend.
Alun:
[23:25] Maybe that's the issue, is that they had kids, and I do imagine it would be really fun with kids.
Adam:
[23:31] Fun for the adults even
Alun:
[23:32] It's fun for adults to see their kids happy isn't.
Adam:
[23:35] It yeah
Alun:
[23:35] I would have liked it if you were a little bit more childlike in there.
Adam:
[23:40] Okay because
Alun:
[23:41] A lot of the time we went into a room with lots of balls yeah and I would have liked you to be crawling under them having fun giggling laughing that.
Adam:
[23:48] Would have brought me joy don't push the balls that's true so you know you can only do so much maybe if I was a kid they would have given me a bit of leeway do you
Alun:
[23:56] Think from your perspective if I was really enjoying it like I was going mental I was like running around would you have had a better time do you think.
Adam:
[24:05] Yeah well it's just because it's infectious though isn't it so are we
Alun:
[24:08] Just the problem maybe we're just two miserable guys going.
Adam:
[24:10] Around no I think we still had a good day me too we're trying to duck and dive out of the phones that are nearly you know
Alun:
[24:16] That was true I nearly got my head taken off by an iPhone 17 yeah.
Adam:
[24:20] And if I remember rightly I was quite hung over so I don't think I was you know
Alun:
[24:24] Yeah you were trying to drink the water weren't you.
Adam:
[24:27] Alan is that alcohol is it um
Alun:
[24:30] This is quite carbon.
Adam:
[24:32] Get your foot out of the way i'm gonna have a sip uh so no i don't think we were the problem i think that whenever we go somewhere and this is maybe affecting our experience and some people might say guys just fucking relax for once in a while but we do run a travel show
Alun:
[24:44] So yeah we had to think.
Adam:
[24:45] Critically when we go to places we are observing we are thinking about our own experience we are you know we're not we're not there to just i don't know all
Alun:
[24:53] Right but that's a positive review because i do think i do think it's really good i think there's a lot of good stuff in teen love planets especially if you're with kids and especially if there was no other humans.
Adam:
[25:01] There yeah no the exhibition was great yeah
Alun:
[25:03] Let's hear a negative review i'll be the star you be the uh review.
Adam:
[25:07] Okay one yeah it's a one-star review uh stunning art ruined by hostile aggressive staff oh it's a strong start TeamLabPlanets is a beautiful concept, but the hospitality is some of the worst I've experienced in Tokyo. While at the drawing scanning booth, I tried to engage in simple small talk with the staff member regarding her accent. At least they're honest, fuck it out.
Alun:
[25:32] Wow. Amazing.
Adam:
[25:33] Instead of a professional response, I was met with immediate hostility. She became incredibly indignant and told me I was being very rude for asking a simple question. It is shocking that a high-priced international attraction, a guest's attempt at a polite interaction, is met with such defensiveness and attitude. This encounter completely soured the magic of the exhibition. If you go, be prepared for breathtaking visuals, but incredibly prickly untrained staff who seem to dislike interacting with the public. Truly a disappointing way to taint a magical experience. Advice to visitors, avoid the staff at the scanning booth unless you want your mood ruined for the rest of the tour.
Alun:
[26:10] Right, okay, so I have a couple of things. Firstly, I don't trust that guy because I think he might have been racist.
Adam:
[26:14] Yeah, I think this person's a twat.
Alun:
[26:16] Yeah. Based on his review, I think he probably shouldn't have said that thing about the accent. That said, I had my mood ruined by a member of staff there as well.
Adam:
[26:25] Yeah.
Alun:
[26:25] I went up to her. I said, why are you talking like that? She went, you're being very rude.
Adam:
[26:31] No, I mean, what could have happened in that person's... Surely they just said something like, where's your accent from? Unless they did say something that was borderline. You're not from here, are you?
Alun:
[26:41] Yeah, you don't know. You just don't know. I had a bit of a headbutt with a member of staff there, though. You did? Because basically, you take your shoes off to go into the water zone. Otherwise, you get chlorine in your shoes. So we did the whole water thing, had a nice time in there, come back out, take my shoes out of the locker, put them on. A member of staff charges up to me and says, you're not allowed to wear shoes in here. I said... I know I'm just leaving like I've I've got my shoes now I'm going out there she went take your shoes off I went okay but I'm just I'm just leaving now so, she went you're not allowed it's against the rules I went, okay where do you want me to put them back on she said just, walk over there and put them on there I went, okay that's all you had to say yeah the place where she wanted me to put my shoes on was three meters to the right of where I put them on.
Adam:
[27:36] Wow.
Alun:
[27:38] It's quite fine margins between her absolutely thinking I'd broken the law. It's not. She jumped to me like trying to circumvent the rules. I was just in. I just wanted to put my shoes on. I was just three meters to the left.
Adam:
[27:51] Yeah. I mean, it sounds like an overreaction.
Alun:
[27:53] Of the shoe. But she's probably so up to here with.
Adam:
[27:56] People like that person. Yeah.
Alun:
[27:58] People like that person. Fine. I will put my shoes on. Where's your accent from? Because I've not got an accent. Yeah.
Adam:
[28:05] I love the way you defaulted to that accent. dear oh dear um no i do think that when you're dealing with idiot tourists all day every day and you don't know what had happened in her day i mean
Alun:
[28:15] She was on such a fine wire i just wanted to be like calm down it's all right i'll do what you say take my shoes off put them on i'll even i'll even go out for dinner with you if that's what.
Adam:
[28:26] You want uh it's difficult i mean it really is a sort of a case study on what i don't like about modern society
Alun:
[28:34] Yeah this whole thing put in a bad mood though i've found it very very difficult to enjoy the forest biosphere after that.
Adam:
[28:42] So actually part of your review actually concurs with with that review yeah do you think it's the same member of staff could be really where was her accent from
Alun:
[28:51] Um i couldn't it was so strong i couldn't tell where she was from.
Adam:
[28:56] Because there are some foreigners working there aren't there?
Alun:
[28:58] There are, yeah.
Adam:
[28:59] And by foreigners, I mean Japanese. There's some international people working at the exhibit. But otherwise, everyone there is really lovely. I don't know, if I'm being super critical, I don't know if the way you walk around makes complete logistical sense.
Alun:
[29:15] This is what I actually think, genuinely. Make less money and just have fewer people in at one time.
Adam:
[29:20] You think it should be a limit?
Alun:
[29:21] Yeah, I do. I just think it was like too many people and... maybe even put a limit on phone use i think that might have to happen more.
Adam:
[29:30] And more that would be gangster if they said you know by all means come in but we're banning phones yeah you can't take one picture dude it would be do that it would
Alun:
[29:39] Be beautiful in.
Adam:
[29:40] There it would be so sick if they did that yeah and the way the light installations go off they've got different um patterns almost they're like pre recorded programs and things
Alun:
[29:49] I actually think if they ban pictures in there the whole thing would be it would be amazing.
Adam:
[29:54] It would be so much better they would obviously have to get rid of the exhibition where you scan the animals and catch them i
Alun:
[30:00] I almost think we've we've got to be in a place in society now and if you think i'm being a horrible fascistic bastard please like tell me in the comments write us an.
Adam:
[30:09] Email actually either way do write us an email about tourist attractions in general and see whether you think they've gone too far because it is it's people with their phones usually yeah and that have a slightly different mindset maybe that are just there to take a photo of it. They don't care about what they're seeing
or its historical or cultural significance.
Alun:
[30:24] Tripologypodcast.com to get in touch. But I do think we're at a place in society now where I would prefer almost every major thing there was like a designated photo area and then it was just no phones allowed anywhere. If you want that picture of you with Machu Picchu, queue up and take the picture. But once you're beyond, like, I just don't want anyone on their phone. I don't want anyone queuing up doing like, oh, in the pyramids like this, I'm taking a picture of a pyramid. Look, I'm pinching the top of the pyramid. I'm pushing up the leaning tower of Pisa. I'm making love to the Eiffel Tower. Just leave it all out. take your one picture if you want but the reality is those things have had enough pictures.
Adam:
[31:03] Yeah and your picture is absolutely no different from thousands and thousands of other people so if you want the memory of you being there maybe that's the only justification but if there's so many people that all want the memory of them being there it's affecting literally the group as a whole
Alun:
[31:17] Or even this if you're serious about photography and it's like i want a specific picture of the taj mahal in this light then by request only, send send an email to a thing in advance and like apply for the license to bring your camera in so if you're a serious photographer because if someone's like really into photography i don't want to like stop them from doing it what i'm against is not the deliberate like thought out picture it's just people walking around pulling their phone out, every two seconds yeah.
Adam:
[31:46] And every odd person doing that it's not an issue but it's the mentality of a group of people doing that that ruins the whole experience for everyone i can't imagine that the people who were in there
Alun:
[31:54] Will ever look at those pictures again ever.
Adam:
[31:57] No but i mean we have to we have to assume that they're not of the same opinion as us don't we yeah like they must not care i don't think about it other people doing exactly the same thing all the time it's just annoying when you're having to dodge people's arms and move out the way so people can get the
Alun:
[32:13] Shot maybe we're considerate maybe we're trying to not be in people's pictures maybe we should have bottled through like we own the place but.
Adam:
[32:18] But it didn't it didn't feel like there were other people in there that were using their own brains they were just walking around gormless just you know i'm
Alun:
[32:26] Finding society humans in general are getting a bit gormless and it's in large part just due to like phones people are just gorming on their phones all the time you go on the subway everyone's just gormed up.
Adam:
[32:39] Gorming gorming we're just about to reach time mate but i do want to get one more thing in before we go go ahead so overall guys team led planets it is worth going i think it's very impressive it's a really cool um interactive exhibition and uh it's yeah one of the one of the best things you can do in tokyo perhaps if you like that sort of thing right definitely worth going but just expect a lot of people and a lot of tourists taking photos and potentially one prickly staff member anyway it was awarded team lab planets tokyo the one we went to in 2023 this is you know i i don't want to pass judgment you have
Alun:
[33:15] An opinion on it though.
Adam:
[33:16] I've got an opinion right go ahead and i'd like to know yours yeah it was awarded asia's leading tourist attraction in 2023 at the world travel awards
Alun:
[33:27] Is that prestigious now i can't have we won anything at the world travel.
Adam:
[33:31] Awards not not to my knowledge no okay not just yet so it's probably
Alun:
[33:35] Not like that.
Adam:
[33:36] Important yeah i mean the reason why i'm hesitating here is because i do want to say very positive things about the exhibition as a whole but it was very difficult as an experience to detach the exhibition from the number of idiots that were walking around taking photos i
Alun:
[33:48] Totally agree with that assessment yeah so go on what's number two though.
Adam:
[33:52] So well i don't know which order this is in but we're going to talk about very quickly i'm going to mention that it was awarded the just put this into perspective guys asia's leading tourist attraction 2023
Alun:
[34:05] There's a lot well asia has a lot of tourist.
Adam:
[34:06] Attractions yeah these were the other nominees that lost to that exhibition
Alun:
[34:11] Okay are you ready yeah i'll tell you whether i've been there or not and what i.
Adam:
[34:14] Thought of it well you might there's probably about 10 or 12 you can probably just reel off a few and guess them and i'll let you know if they're on there okay they're the ones you're thinking of i would imagine
Alun:
[34:22] Taj mahal uh.
Adam:
[34:24] Correct um what else you got anchor what correct um
Alun:
[34:32] Asia, Great Wall of China.
Adam:
[34:33] Correct. There's another one that's in Tokyo. Pretty, pretty serious.
Alun:
[34:38] Pretty serious in Tokyo, Tokyo Tower.
Adam:
[34:41] We haven't been there, but I have been there without you. It's the Imperial Palace.
Alun:
[34:45] Okay, yeah, I've been there. Nice. Right.
Adam:
[34:47] Also, Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.
Alun:
[34:49] Okay, cool.
Adam:
[34:50] Amazing. The Forbidden City in China.
Alun:
[34:54] Yeah, also amazing.
Adam:
[34:55] Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an.
Alun:
[34:57] Yeah, not been there, but I've seen the picture.
Adam:
[34:59] I have been there. It's more impressive than Team Le Planets. another team lab super nature in macau the taj mahal there's also the sengen and shoko shu saiken museum in kagashima i don't know what that is but it's not as good as team intramuros in the philippines yeah i've been there in manila yeah halong bay in vietnam and then the great one of the most beautiful places i've ever been and then boroboda
Alun:
[35:25] Yeah one of the coolest temples i've ever been to i mean it's difficult to make those arguments if i'm honest for cultural and historical and just aesthetic beauty.
Adam:
[35:39] I i don't know how this was uh team led planets was awarded this but let me just say that to be as generous as possible it's surprising
Alun:
[35:48] This is what i think yeah i think that we're in the new age of travel now.
Adam:
[35:52] Right
Alun:
[35:52] And i think that the way society is going yeah, And the way travel is going is it's no longer enough for something to be beautiful, and historical and culturally important. Now, everything is about its capacity to let you insert yourself into it.
Adam:
[36:15] And how well the Instagram reels perform.
Alun:
[36:18] How much you can get yourself into the thing and be an active participant in the experience. When you go to Borobudur, you can walk around the temple. you can get on it, you can experience it yeah but for the vast majority of people they're not going to look in, to why borobudor is the way it is why they're all those buddha statues, they're not going to look into the history of the taj mahal why it's there what a symbol of it of the adoration for for his wife that that is you know the funerary building, they're not going to look into these things and also it's like they're very passive it's very much just you looking at something that's important yeah, i think that with ai and stuff films are going to be the same way it's going to be about people putting themselves in the movie, you know now people can generate art lots of people generate pictures of themselves doing things oh here's me as a viking yeah people want to be in things yeah but i mean here's me in the koi pond.
Adam:
[37:16] All right do you
Alun:
[37:18] Know what i mean.
Adam:
[37:20] Yeah i don't yeah i mean it's just um i think it's i think it's sad but i don't want to really focus on that sort of thing too much we do always risk um run the risk sorry for being gatekeepers of travel and we know we weren't the first people to travel we get that we're not saying we're better travelers than other people we're just saying that there are a lot of tourists these days that are making things unenjoyable for people like
Alun:
[37:43] Us yeah it's interesting isn't it something to think about something to mull over. The world is changing and I think travel is a, It's a pressure chamber. It's a little cross section of a certain type of society, people who can afford to go away.
Adam:
[38:01] For sure.
Alun:
[38:02] And, you know, we as backpackers share spaces with both locals and holiday makers. Those three sections of society meet at places like Team Lab Planets. a very interesting location one that i think is worth visiting but would be better with fewer people and maybe some changes to their uh, just confiscate people's phones on entry but that's basically what i think about it we'll go over to the patreon section now adam i think that was comprehensively covered and i think something to think about we want to hear your perspective like i said tripologypodcast.com send us a little message send us a voice recording talk to us let us know what you think about what we said because we took a pretty hard line stance yeah.
Adam:
[38:41] We don't always want to come across like we're anti-tourists but we are we'll see you in the lost and found guys thanks ever so much bye
Alun:
[38:46] See you bye
