Essay - A walking tour through the country is the only way to know the country

 A walking tour through the country is the only way to know the country

Sample essay

Experience is always a better teacher than information. You hear and learn all sorts of things, but the information you receive does not give you a full picture of life. Everybody will agree that only after visiting a country, you get to know it, because when you’ve already made a walking tour through it, you find out that the information you have about this country is not complete and sometimes even wrong. Some of the things you can learn after paying a visit to a country are: the people’s manners, the cuisine’s taste; and you can have a view of the historical and other places of cultural interest. 

Firstly, you can read information about local customs and manners but human psyche is very complex and no one can describe it. When you find a book about a certain country, there is usually a description of what the natives are like – in my people this generalization is absolutely wrong. Of course, all have the same traditions and habits, but everybody has a different character. After taking a walking tour through the country, you can use your own judgement about the natives’ character. Let’s take any given country, in the guides you will find “...the people there are friendly, warm, gentle” ... and so on. But is it possible for all the people who live in the place to have the same character? Everybody will agree that it isn’t. 

Secondly, after tasting the local cuisine in any country, you can appreciate and it and decide whether it is good or bad for yourself. You can’t get a full idea of it when you read a recipe or see a picture of a dish. 

Thirdly, let’s take the historical and cultural monuments and places. Of course, you can learn everything about them when you read all the offered brochures and books – but if you really want to become acquainted with them you can’t just satisfy your imagination with seeing a picture of them – you should see them with you own eyes. For example, no one can feel the grandeur of the Great Canyons and the Niagara falls by looking at their images.

If you really have the desire to get to know the country, don’t just rely on plain facts, because when you have the opportunity to travel to the destination you can be disappointed. Experience is always the best way to get the right idea about something and it is, no doubt, more pleasant having a firsthand experience walking tour than reading books.