Travelling Thoughts

During our recent trip to Lisbon, while capturing the city’s vibrant atmosphere for our Open Road Tales channel, we stumbled upon a powerful, unassuming memorial stone for the Jewish massacre of 1506. Unlike the vast, sobering grounds of a place like Dachau, the concentration camp museum just outside of Munich, this single pillar, embedded in a bustling Lisbon plaza, carries a unique weight. Perhaps its power lies in its very ordinariness. It doesn’t need to be a more stark reminder than that to make us think of past horrors amidst the everyday flow of life. It makes you think about how easily intolerance can take root, even in the most unexpected places.

This encounter, especially as Pride Month looms just around the corner here in early May, made me reflect on humanity’s seemingly inherent fear of the “other”. It begs the question: are those who travel more open to different people than those who remain within the familiar confines of their daily routines? Does the act of stepping outside our comfort zone of the mundane, and experiencing new cultures inherently change us, or are we perhaps more inclined to seek out travel when we already possess a certain openness to the world?

As a Nordic soul, hailing from a culture where even a genuine smile can feel like a rare summer bloom, Southern European places, like Lisbon and Málaga, offer a delightful culture shock. The warmth of the people – the smiles, the direct eye contact, even the occasional playful wink – can initially feel disorienting. Was that a flirtatious gesture, even with my wife right beside me? Or is it simply the beautiful openness of their culture, a world away from our reserved Nordic nature?

This difference in cultural expression highlights the core of our discussion: tolerance versus acceptance. In Lisbon, the city has erected a wall near the memorial, declaring itself a “City of Tolerance,” a visible commitment to not repeating the atrocities of the past. And while tolerance is a crucial first step – acknowledging the existence of differences – is it truly enough?

Personally, my journey towards acceptance has been a delicious one, often guided by my wife’s more adventurous palate. Before meeting her, my relationship with seafood extended as far as the occasional fish finger. Now, thanks to her gentle (and persistent!) introductions over the past 16 years, I’m a fan of salmon, sotong (octopus), and udang (prawns)… to name a few. Tolerating someone else enjoying these delicacies is one thing; actually embracing the taste and adding them to your own culinary repertoire is a whole different level of acceptance.

The modern world, with its instant connectivity and often polarised viewpoints, makes the distinction between tolerance and acceptance even more critical. It’s easy to offer lip service to tolerance while still harbouring underlying biases, as can be seen in, for instance, many political cases. True acceptance requires understanding, empathy, and a willingness to see the humanity in everyone, regardless of their background, religion, or identity. It’s about moving beyond simply allowing someone to exist and actively valuing their presence. Or, as it is in some cases, just idly stand by and not do anything.

This concept of moving beyond tolerance is something we aim to explore, in various ways, on both havestories.com and Open Road Tales. While this blog will likely remain a space where I delve more deeply into LGBTQ+ issues and topics – after all, we both live under the rainbow – these are themes that will undoubtedly surface in our travel vlogs as well. And why shouldn’t they? We both believe in showing the world as we experience it, with all its beautiful diversity. That is why we travel.

Speaking of connectivity and bridging distances, staying connected while traveling is essential for sharing our experiences on Open Road Tales and for navigating new environments. We’ve found Saily to be a fantastic tool for this, offering seamless and reliable internet access across borders. The best thing? Once you download your first e-sim, you can use it again, and again, and again! Just by clicking this link, you’ll be transported to Saily website, and also get a 5% discount on your chosen package! It’s on us, just for you!

As Pride Month of 2025 approaches, it’s time to reflect on these issues, to take account since last year. It’s disheartening to see some entities, like Google reportedly omitting Pride from their calendar, seemingly bowing to “anti-woke” sentiments. And Google isn’t the only one moving on to omit inclusion in the wake of this “return of the old order”, where a bang of a gavel institutes rulings that “only biological men and women are real”, or a stroke of a pen bans transgendered athletes from attaining their dreams. These examples just underscore why our individual efforts to promote understanding and acceptance, instead of just tolerance, are more important than ever.

Sharing these reflections and creating content that hopefully sparks meaningful conversations takes time and resources. If you appreciate these kinds of discussions and the stories we share on both havestories.com and our visual journeys on Open Road Tales, please consider supporting our work with a very small contribution through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps fuel our explorations and allows us to invest in better equipment – perhaps even a new lens to capture those vibrant Pride celebrations!

Ultimately, the journey from tolerance to acceptance is an ongoing one, both personally and as a society. Let’s strive to move beyond simply coexisting and actively embrace the richness that diversity brings to our world.

But enough of our point of view! We’d love to hear your thoughts on this. What are your experiences with tolerance versus acceptance, both in your own life and in your travels?

Please share this blog post to keep the conversation going. Head over to our YouTube channel, Open Road Tales, and subscribe to join us as we explore the world with open hearts and minds. And if you’re feeling generous and want to help us upgrade our gear for capturing all those incredible moments (especially for Pride!), you can Buy Us A Coffee here: Open Road Tales.

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