Daniel Kalder describes the “anti-tourist” as someone who refuses to follow the well-worn paths of traditional tourism, pursuing their “own trajectories” (Kalder) and seeking out the most obscure or strange places instead. While many people travel in order to relax, rejuvenate, and/or be entertained, the anti-tourist is not interested in any of these things. Rather, they “embrace hunger and hallucinations.” (Kalder) They enter into places not found in any guide book and uncover stories that do not make it into history books. For example, Kalder travelled to the neglected region of Kalmykia in Russia, which he describes as “a couple people stranded in this ocean of dead land.” (Kalder) There, he encountered ethnic groups whom no outsiders had ever taken interest. In travelling to this area, he captured stories of people who would have otherwise been lost to time.
The practice of anti-tourism need not be confined to the most remote, rural areas. Kalder describes a “shocking juxtaposition” he encountered in the city of Kazan—a warehouse of “pickled mutant babies” nearby a “spaceship-like” construction of a large mosque (Kalder). The anti-tourist experiences the bizarre realities that exist right alongside of or are obscured by the familiar and the obvious.
The idea of the audio drift is very much in the spirit of anti-tourism. By using a system of arbitrary rules to guide our way through the city and not having a destination in mind, we were able to get out of our normal paths of travel through the city and move into spaces that are neglected or off-limits. On my own audio drift, I ended up in a railyard and inside the gates of a power plant, along with more familiar places which I saw in a new, more attentive way. This is perhaps the greater challenge—to be an anti-tourist in your own city.
Kalder, Daniel. Interview. To the Best of Our Knowledge. WPR, Madison. 17 Aug. 2011.
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