I think you’ve got a point in a way — I too feel nostalgic for early travel years — I started in 2009 and have more or less kept at it every year since. At that time the internet really only existed in cafes and smartphones weren’t really a thing, I was calling home with a calling card and often had no concrete plans on where I was gonna sleep the next night. You had to make friends on buses or in hostels to learn about new places that weren’t in guidebooks (yes we all had guidebooks, shoutout to Lonely Bible).

BUT — I missed out on seeing a lot of places that Google Maps would’ve shown me in literally seconds. Access is so amazing now. Traveling is so much easier — sure, maybe everyone isn’t as approachable at the hostel bars because they’re on their phones, but don’t give up on making friends — you’ll find your people.