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Are we assuming a 6 month journey didnt come with exhaustion and certain death from starvation, pneumonias, dysentery, disease, infections, freezing and trauma from attacks on the way ? In cooler moist climates a mere cut could be life or death back then. There was not any penicillin.
Have you not heard the horror stories even of today’s boat slaves who die packed in?
I think video games filled with light quests of picking moss might be deluding a few people with how the medieval times actually were.
Open a book.
Certain death? Of course not, that’s absurd. I think you’ve got a very warped “pop-history” view of what the world was like long ago. Of course it depends entirely on when and where we’re talking about (some periods in some places common folk practically never traveled, other times and places people were traveling all the time) but if we assume a time and place where traveling was common, a traveler could expect:
- Paved roads
- Plenty of places to stop and rest (even if there are no inns available, plenty of people are willing to take in travelers for a night, especially holy men on a pilgrimage)
- Few animals left who are willing to try preying on humans (they learned their lesson looooong ago)
- Infrequent disease (you’re spending most of your time out in the open air with a small group of the same people, the only place for disease to come from is unclean water, which you know better than to drink outside of emergencies)
What part of these conditions reminds you of the tightly-packed, underfed, sedentary life of a slave being transported as cargo on a boat?
You’re being absurd. Cleanliness was not what it is today. Even in war marches more died from water born disease as recent as 1800s just trudging rather than war itself. This is our history and how some of our lineages may have been entirely terminated.
Bring oblivious to this is actually really insulting for some who know very well what it took for our own lineage just to travel to safety.
It absolutely was not a walk in the park like you’re selling it. Some people were hunted for years before getting safe.
Cleanliness was not what it is today.
People like to be clean—that’s part of our nature and wasn’t invented in the year 1900. Ash can be used as soap and is extremely abundant.
Even in war marches
You say that like war matches are less likely to be deadly. Medieval military logistics were extremely difficult to manage. The needs of an entire army are massively different to the needs of a small band of pilgrims or other travelers. It is more difficult to maintain food supplies, clean drinks, and safe lodging when you’re traveling in an enormous group of (sometimes unwelcome) armed men.
It absolutely was not a walk in the park like you’re selling it
For a lot of people in a lot of places in a lot of time periods, it really was. Towns were close together, people were generous with travelers, and the roads were safe.
at least they had full leg space without class difference.
I would rather walk for six months than spend 5 hours squished into modern aircraft.
Not only would I be far more comfortable, I would have life experiences other than dealing with people I would rather be as far away from as possible, and I would be in better shape, and would likely make friends along the way.
I’d walk for 6 months to anywhere but the “holy” land.
Idk, Gary, IN isn’t that nice tbf.
It’s not like Gary is the worst place in the world… Even though I can’t think of any place right at this moment… but statistically… Well how about that town right at tip of the Great Lake’s cock where the sp called “Demon House” was? That place has to be much… What?.. It’s the same place? It is? Ohh…
Try living in New Zealand, where any flight other than to Australia, is around 12 hours.
they had nothing going on so who cares what you do
Pretty much. I’m watching Frieren and they spend a lot of time waiting around for the weather to die down, or for specific events. Often times, they do menial tasks for the townsfolk, train, or read a book.
The last JRPG I played, I was teleporting to grind monsters, play at the casino, trying to woo a NPC, and explore random dungeons, while ignoring all the optional fetch quests.
I think I’d be bored as hell (or connected digitally) if I had to do a 6 month walk.
Leisurely travel vs rush travel? Hmm, I wonder what is better and more enjoyable?!
The monks are not expected to increase shareholder profits in stale air and incessant fluorescent lighting.
At least on a pilgrimage I can lie down
More than that. Planes are just fancy flying cattle trucks. A lot of the time I’m in one it’s so I can get to a destination I’ll be hiking for several days lol. I’m all for Team Pilgrimage.
I’d prefer the plane if I could be emulsified and piped into a holding container.
Or maybe if I got to be in the cargo hold with the dogs.
I am still waiting on Fifth Element style sleeping pods! Sadly they can’t do them even if they wanted to due to regulations.
And die of dysentery. Yayyy.
And no jet lag
This juxtaposition does not take into account airports, or airplane seats. I’d absolutely, preferentially fight off waves of brigands. At least you can move around and stretch.
Plus, you’d get to carry a sword and no one would bat an eye. I mean how cool is that?
Truly, road trips are more fun than flights
Yes, but when you’ve got 300KM between petrol stations and those are bloody expensive, so you’ve really got to plan ~1000KM of fuel, is a lot more of a task than just booking a flight.
But still more fun.
Aussie detected
1000km? So like two thirds of a tank?
This comment sponsored by the diesel gang
Well if modern travel wouldn’t be so upset with the whole “why did you murder them” response of “they were fucking annoying”, it would improve things drastically.
I just opened the door and tossed them out of it. They wouldn’t shut up about wanting the flight to end, and being back on the ground as fast as possible…
Now that baby in 16E…
Dude, you seem to have been for way too long inside an airplane.
I know, but they wouldn’t let me drive it. It’s just like gta, just gotta go full power. We would have been there by now if I was in charge…
Time is a luxury. Even on a small scale - I bike or walk to work most days, because I have the luxury of waking up when I wake up, having a morning and a slow human powered commute. That is privilege, yes? So many have to drive an hour or even more.
If I had the time to walk to somewhere far, I would take it.
I guess on the upside, a faster life means more stuff done in each life?
My entire issue with flying is not it taking a few hours. It’s that airlines make it as shitty as they can. They really go all out in that way.
Flying does suck.
They do pack people like sardines but I don’t think the airline industry is making big margins. If they didn’t treat you like shit there is a possibility that you might be priced out entirely.
You can always pay to be one of the pod people.
Before the 2010s, airlines upgraded people if all first class seats aren’t filled. Today they give you an option to pay the difference between an economy seat and first class, which I’ve never heard of someone choosing.
It doesn’t have to be that bad, I have 2 short flights on Air China today, both come with a meal, carryon, 1 checked bag (sometimes 2 if the cargo space isn’t sold out).
I think this comes down to the type of competition; US airlines compete only with themselves and a handful of other airlines, and at some level they understand a good economy experience competes with their business class at 5x price. Here in asia, you have a lot more countries airlines, but you also have trains and even ferries can be competitive.
At least the monks could vape.
One is a 6 month travel vacation, the other is 5 hours of boredom in cramped space. And before that comes waiting for the flight, stress with boarding, TSA, jet lag,…
And you are supposed to ignore all that and work normally the next day. Or perhaps on the same day, or even on the flight.
our ancestors never could have imagined the horrors of having a middle seat on a plane. there isn’t any room for you to manspread, and manspreading is by far the most comfortable way to sit. when i don’t manspread i feel like i can’t breathe
Alternatively if you’re American - you are expected to work on the plane, and in the airport, in the Uber to the hotel, and then again in the hotel.
Who the fuck wants to travel like that?
It just work but in increasingly uncomfortable locations
Everything is relative even if we agree that some things are absolute by convention. An unchanging signal doesn’t carry much information. 😄
Everything is relative
Yeah, but this is a cheeky meme. Less an issue of relative experience and more an issue of crusaders being zealous idiots who had no idea of the logistics of long distance travel. The history of the Crusades plays out more like a locust epidemic than a military campaign. It was half a year of religious militants moving from village to village along the Mediterranean coast, stripping small communities to the bone and vacuuming up other easily indoctrinated young men or butchering them if they were in opposition.
The Crusades were - at least at the outset - a European solution to the “surplus males” problem that have plagued civilizations with heavy concentrations of wealth since time immemorial. When you have a bunch of old people who are terrified of being murdered in their beds by upstart ambitious youths, you can promise them fantastic rewards for doing something absurdly dangerous and stupid. It wasn’t a jaunt across the country for a week at the Useless Corporate Crap Convention. It was a kind of self-inflicted eugenics.
