Great post! I instantly follow this Facebook page (Nigel Jones) and thanks to my friend Tim Bushell for sharing.
A couple of thoughts:
— My favorite alternative to air travel is … Just not choosing to fly anymore. It actually opens up worlds in many ways.
I’ve become more present and rooted in the place where I choose to inhabit.
And any travel I do – very infrequently, by bus and train, becomes a rich adventure. Even a city bus trip is filled with adventure, on a deep and granular level. Same goes even for a walk across the bridge in my own city.
That said, the OP offers many suggestions for international and even overseas travel with a low footprint. Since I am committed to no longer fly, I will use one of those modes if I should get some wanderlust in my older age. (I got to travel plenty as a young person, in a very low-key way.)
I have to say though, I’ve gotten sensitive about how we are wrecking other countries’ cultures and ecosystems. So I’ll probably just be a little old lady on foot and bicycle!
— And, Tim or any other friend reading this, I hope I’m not the only person you know who gets around by bicycle! That’s something that has to change. It’s a problem in my area too. A person who gets around by bicycle becomes “that (weird, fringe, unusual) person who rides their bicycle.”
As opposed to someone who is sensibly utilizing a mode of transport that is practical for billions of people worldwide!
— Regarding the OP’s comment about diverting the sixth mass extinction, I don’t know if that’s possible anymore at this point, but I’m certainly going to keep trying and never give up! That aside, regardless of whether the extinction is inevitable, I am here to ease the suffering and increase the joy and comfort of my fellow humans and other fellow creatures while we are all here. A mind-set that is sort of parallel to my work as a death Doula.
Great page Nigel Jones and thanks for your thought-provoking post with lots of tips based on your rich experiences. Love your trans-oceanic travel examples!