A good read at Gadling.com that outlines the dos and don’ts of voluntourism. That’s the term for folks who travel abroad to help their fellow man (or creatures). In other words, responsible travel.

As the article states, the vast majority of people who volunteer abroad say it’s an overwhelmingly positive experience. Indeed, it’s a chance to give back to the planet and bring good to the world. Lord knows, we need as much of that as possible. And it’s a growing movement; the world over, more people shun a traditional holiday on the beach and swap pina coladas and bikinis for work clothes and a burning desire to make a difference.

Interested? There’s an etiquette to it. Consider the following, courtesy of Gadling.com:

Voluntourism Dos and Don’ts

Don’t
Overstate your skills and abilities
Make commitments you can’t keep
Expect a free ride just because you are working
Forget your priorities: In voluntourism, ‘tourism’ comes second

Do
Your homework. Look for transparency about how your fees are being used
A deep self-evaluation of your motives and expectations before voluntouring
Plan to stay awhile. The longer you stay, the more effective you can be
Try it at least once in your life, no matter your age or experience level

And some specific places where you can volunteer to make a difference:

The Dirty Wall Project
Elephant Nature Park (I volunteered briefly with this organization back in 2004)
Shark Angels (I’d love to volunteer to help sharks with these guys!)

Art and JJ of the Amazing Race 20 have proven more than once that nice guys finish first

Now that I’ve whined about the evils of television for the MTV Generation, recent proof that there is indeed such a think as responsible television, and proof that love of one’s fellow man, continues to pull through.

Case in point, two weeks ago, during episode four of the Amazing Race in Turin, perrenial first place winners Art and JJ – both American border patrol officers – once again won their leg of the race, this one being in Turin, Italy. Their prize? Five grand a piece. And when last place runners Mark and Bopper finished the leg, and the border patrol boys saw the spirit of the good natured country boys from Kentucky, and that one of them was running the race so he could care for his daughter, well, Art and JJ hugged the last place Kentucky team and said they’d donate half of their winnings on that leg of the race to Bopper’s daughter.

If you’re an Amazing Race fan, like myself, and you watched the episode, it was pretty hard not to shed a few tears. I think it’s comforting to know that responsible travel teaches us as much about ourselves as it does about the world we inhabit. It’s easy to hurt but it ain’t so easy to help. And when you help a man, you bring good into this world.

Love thy neighbor. That’s what it’s all about folks.

While we’re on the subject of what awesome travel is all about, here is an example of precisely the opposite. You can call this human stupidity at its finest. This August, a fight broke out in a disco at 3AM on a Carnival cruise ship. The fight got out of hand and spilled over into an adjoining art gallery and destroyed a $10,000 painting. Multiple TVs were trashed and several people needed medical attention. The fight, by the way, was caused by a group of drunken teenagers, over a song.

Carnival Cruise Lines wisely kicked the ten people responsible for the brawl off the ship, at a port in Mexico, to return home by their own devices. Mexican authorities also threw some of the offenders in jail.

This is exactly what travel is NOT about. I’m the first guy to admit that I’ve blogged about doing some pretty intense and strange (and often questionable) things. But a group of teenagers, on a cruise ship, and you know as well as I do, probably paid for by their mommy and daddy, starting a fight, damaging property and hurting people because they’re drunk and have nothing better to do is f^%&ing stupid and irresponsible.

I believe we’re on this planet for a reason. For those of us fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel, this is a gift that, frankly, most humans on planet Earth simply don’t have. And responsible travel, and adventure travel, is about learning about other lands and cultures, celebrating our similarities and differences, and learning as much about ourselves as about this amazing planet that we’re blessed with and have the obligation to protect.

Cherish the opportunity to travel. Don’t piss it down the toilet like the idiots in this video have obviously done.  You can quote me on that.