Listen, I want my money back. Yeah, I understand. Sure, the flight was fine. And, yes, the hotel is great, just like the Best Western at home. Just like it. See, that’s the problem. I wanted mystery. You know, exotic. Dragons, maybe. Guys in robes with long beards, and warriors fighting in the sky. But instead, we get to shop. Shop for chrissakes? These people are supposed to be raving commies. Tomorrow we’re going to the Great Wall. I’m betting it’s a mall. This isn’t the adventure I bought.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Dear Neil,
I guess he didn’t want a home away from home. Perhaps he hired the wrong travel agent.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
The mystery of the orient is not what it used to be
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you want adventure visit Saturn, but beware the pressures are deadly. The Great Wall was supposed to keep people out. Instead it actually encourages us to visit!
LikeLike
Walls rarely keep people out. They just advertise there’s something worth plundering
LikeLike
Life is the same everywhere. No dragons…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whatever happened to exotic travel?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Globalism?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Neil,
At least there won’t be any surprises for the world traveler/shopper. Dull indeed.
~🕊Dora
LikeLiked by 1 person
Travel without beijng foreign, indeed
LikeLike
Oh dear seems the funs gone. Enjoyed that, well done, Neil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Mason
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome!
LikeLike
Globalisation at its best. It’s hard to find a mystery or adventure if you’re booking through a high street travel agent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the dream! To travel abroad without having to encounter nasty foreign food or customs
LikeLiked by 1 person
You made me smile with this story, Neil. He’s been watching too many martial arts films, probably while staying in Best Western hotels.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I apologise for the unintended plugging of one hotel chain. Other equally characterless brands are available
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Great Mall? That’s why I don’t understand prejudices. We’re all the same. Consumer drones. Buy, eat, sleep repeat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I fervently hope you’re wrong
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you go through a travel agent you’ll get burnt, sort it out yourself and the “real” country will still be there, you just have to look a little harder. The real country is probably what he’s seeing
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are brought up on the illusion of exoticism. Actually, as economies become similar, people’s lives everywhere become similar. And the exotic retreats into jungles and mountain tops
LikeLike
Good one, Neil. The Great Mall. LOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much
LikeLike
LOL. The humor reminds me of the Roanhorse story “welcome to your authentic Native American experience”. Well told and sadly all to true to life at times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Anne
LikeLike
“Wherever you go there you are.” He wasn’t looking in the right places, I guess. There’s always mystery, intrigue, and adventure if you know where to look. (I know you know that.) Good story.
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Jade
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re very welcome.
LikeLike
i bet the great wall would be quite a surprise and worth the trip. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Too late. He’s made up his mind
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no! The company seems to have duped him majorly.
Imagine taking him to a mall by the same name as the world-famous attraction 🙂
Hope he gets his money back.
Here is my story- The Red T-Shirt
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure he can get your money back just because a country doesn’t fit with his imagining
LikeLike
Brilliantly done, Neil. Your protagonist is the nightmare travelling companion, like the very nice lady I was stuck with in New York because her daughter had included her on the trip. VNL attached herself to me and kept telling me how much she hated crowds. I had diverted from my passion for travelling alone. To quote Julia Roberts, in somewhat different circumstances: “Big mistake”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jilly. He does have a point though. Everywhere is becoming more and more like everywhere else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure, let the exotics remain exotic (poor, uneducated, uncivilized and whatever else the imperialistic mindset can come up with). He should have booked a trip to Disneyland.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps he’ll wait until the invention of time travel
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure there are more “adventurous” places he can visit. If he doesn’t mind arranging it himself and not being able to get any travel insurance!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t worry, the Great Wall was just that when I walked on it – mind you, that was a couple of years ago!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think he’ll be mollified
LikeLiked by 1 person
Going off-grid isn’t easy these days!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The grid is massive
LikeLike
That’s the shame, so many places are homogenised these days. I hate going abroad to find the same restaurants and coffee shops as here. Reminds me of a song by Everthing but the Girl, called Anytown and which goes, ‘they took the heart and they tore it down, now this place could be anytown.’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank god there are still a few places where nobody wears baseball caps the wrong way round and the beer still has some taste
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was a fun read, Neil. I think maybe you have to go to Disney World to get the adventure you’re looking for 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will never, ever, go to Disneyworld.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Couldn’t agree more. It’s not on my bucket list, or any other list, for that matter 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
HA HA HA
LikeLike
Vacations have changed to dull and boring due to the lack of adventure and complacency.
But, we don’t have any world anymore. We’re creating a new one. Right???
Good one, Neil. Be Safe
Isadora 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope we are creating a new world. At least a little new and a little better. Thanks, Isadora
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your story reminded me of visiting Shanghai in 1987 and then again in 2017. Now, the “Paris of the East.” There are exotic spots, just off the beaten path. Maybe not dragons though. =)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I visited Kunming in 1995 and was surprised by how unsurprising everything was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great piece from the honest tourist. Unfortunately many places bury their history and traditions as they become more commercial. i would love to visit the Great Wall of China, just imagine if we could travel back in time and watch it being built.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, James. I sense a time travel story coming
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah the truth behind travel. People unsurprisingly are just people. Well done
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Laurie
LikeLike
Love the way your story bursts the bubble of ‘adventure’. Maybe he likes to post instagram images of his perfect holidays without ever opening an atlas ?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that sums him up pretty well
LikeLike
Ha! Ha! I am guessing the travel agent misheard ‘the great mall of China’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Easily done
LikeLike