@ava.langridge: grab driver in Kuta, Lombok asked me: “where were you before?” i answer, without questioning what it means to him: “the gili islands.” i follow up, and don’t second guess my ask: “have you ever been?” without hesitation: “no. we don’t leave kuta.” i’ve heard about people never taking planes, and leaving their country. but this was new. not leaving within a 30km radius? with more grab rides, i became more and more intrigued. intrigued to understand if this was a unique scenario, or a shared experience. and what do you think? every grab driver answered the same. i’ve not been to “the gili islands, or nusa peninda, or really outside of where i’m from” i ask, cautiously: why? simply because i knew they had a car (as a grab driver), so they could get around. the answer always fell along the lines of: “i want to go beyond here. i want to see my country. i want to travel internationally. actually, london sounds amazing. but it’s just too expensive. the cost of petrol, accommodation, boats. and i can’t afford to take a day off work. what if my kid needs to go to the hospital? i need to make sure that money is saved up” that contextualised the world more than ever. this explains the stat we hear so often of how 80% of the world never gets on a flight. my whole life, i’ve been surrounded by “i traveled here” or “i went there”. never truly exposed to what it’s like to not have the choice to travel, even if the desire is there. let this be a reminder, that if you have ever traveled, you hold substantial privilege, likely geographical privilege. #travel #lombok #indonesia

Ava Langridge

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Region: SG

Sunday 19 April 2026 01:38:36 GMT