There’s a difference between a traveller and a tourist, and I’d like to think I’m the former. So, when it comes to my “favourite places,” many of the more obvious choices take a backseat to experiences like this “M” entry – a Maasai village:

My screen saver is a picture of several Maasai kids huddled around me looking at photos of themselves on my camera playback screen, their colourfully dressed mothers chatting in the background. They are delighted, as am I, and there’s no better image I could conjure of why I travel.

The lights of London and New York are appealing, and the beaches of, well, pretty much anywhere often beckon, but my favourite places invariably are the ones where I am a traveller, not a tourist – such as this Maasai village in East Africa (Tanzania to be precise).

To be sure, I didn’t stumble across the village like Dr. Livingstone – the inhabitants were accustomed to visitors piling out of mini vans – but they were grateful to see us nonetheless; to let us inspect their meagre huts and dusty yards, while gracefully posing for photos and peddling a few crafts, which no one really wanted, but purchased anyways.

The disparity between our lives and theirs was stark, but we were helping, just by being there.

But this was more than self-justification. As evidenced by the wonder of the kids seeing themselves on my camera screen, and the genuine smiles on everyone’s faces, there seemed to be something more to it. On both sides.

Honourable mention: Malta
Bucket list: Marrakesh; Myanmar/Burma

Reader favourite: Matera Basilicata, Italy – Karen LeRose, Totem Travel, Trail B.C.

Unlike the song, I have not been everywhere, so please don’t wonder why one of your favourites wasn’t one of mine. Instead, tell me at baginski@travelindustrytoday.com. I’m already thinking about my next list.

Stay tuned to future issues for the rest of the list. And for previous entries, click HERE.