By Gary Walther

Is it the journey or the destination? The getting there or the being there that counts? This question has long been a litmus test of one’s travel psyche, and for years the judgment has been that the person who journeys is the real traveler.

THD once counted himself among them, but over the past 35 years he has gone over to the other side, mainly because so often now the journey has become standardized. The Orient Express had romance; the TGV and its counterparts offer speed. Business and first class provide a shield from the travail of airports and the chaos of economy, and on international flights, the prospect of sleep. Is flying romantic today? Bottom line: THD will trade 10 journey anecdotes for the pleasure of getting to lunch in Paris or Rome in good shape.

With one exception: A blue-water cruise … continue reading 

Gary Walther, the former editor-in-chief of Departures and ForbesLife, now writes “The Hotel Detective” column on Forbes.com