Lesson 59
Economy is one powerful motive for camping. Since after the initial outlay upon the equipment, or through hiring it, the total expense can be far less than the cost of hotels. Contrary to a popular assumption, this is far from being the only one, or even the greatest. A man who maneuvers into his five shillings worth of place at one of the Europe’s myriad permanent site, might find himself bumping a Bently. Ford Coucl will be hub to hub with Renault or Mecedes, but rarely with a bicycle made for two.
That the equipment of camping becomes yearly more sophisticated is an entertaining paradox for the cynic, a brighter promise for the hopeful traveler who had sworn to get away from it all. It also provide- that student sociologist might care to base his thesis on this phenomenon, an escape of another kind. A traveler is often a man who dislike the Splendid and Belevista, not because he cannot afford , or shuns, the material comfort, but because he is afraid of them. Affluent he may be, he is by no means sure what to tip to the doorman and the chambermaid. A master in his own house, he has little idea of when to say boo to the mater ho’tel.
From all such fears the camping releases him. Granted, a snobbery of the camping itself, based upon the technique and the equipment, already exists, it is a kind of that, if he meets it, he can readily understand and deal with. There is no superior “THEY” in the shape of management, or hotel hierarchy, to darken his holidays.
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