It is now easier to travel than it has ever been. Within 10 minutes, I can book a return flight from Leeds to Bratislava for £33. In just four hours, I could have touched down, and provided my EU roaming plan works, within the next 30 minutes, I could be sitting at Tripadvisor’s highest-rated café. But why is it that I, and perhaps you who are reading this, feel no more inclined to purchase that ticket than before we even knew it existed?
The answer lies in comparing ourselves to the adventurous types of Generation X, whose motorcycle trips from London to Cape Town took them through three war zones—extreme adventures onto uncharted frontiers. Perhaps your appetite for danger, or at least adrenaline, isn’t quite as strong, but there is a certain quality that nevertheless impresses upon you: to meet the world head-on, embrace the raw, unruly nature of the world, and experience all the emotions that follow. You certainly don’t get that at Tripadvisor’s highest-rated café.
As the world has grown larger and become more accessible, our view of it has increasingly been curated. The same places, the same experiences, and the same lack of adventure. It’s not anyone’s fault; the genuine wish to explore culture in itself is the same wish that distorts the culture it seeks to embrace. Industries are built, and commodities are sold on the backs of tourism, regardless of whether they begin with good intentions or not. So what of the adventurous? Where should they look when facing the reality that there are few, if any, uncharted frontiers remaining?
The answer is found by looking closer at the world around us and the people within it. That is what Gander is: the opportunity to look closer. It’s for those interested in culture who want to experience it for themselves, rather than reading about adventures that are long past. These adventures are no longer to be found, but new adventures await. Gander is not about geopolitics or economics, nor is it about recommending where you should travel or what you should do; it’s about connecting each other to the past, to contemporary culture, and inspiring exploration.
The content produced by Gander Magazine will be cover articles, photography and short films, with time this will grow. If you would like to be a part of this in any capacity, please get in touch by email as currently it is only I, Jacob Simmons.