Opinions from other travellers and where to go

When travelling one meets lots of other travellers. Some have been there longer, some just have some vague information about the place. When deciding where to go next there are many information sources, like guidebooks, the internet, local people and the travellers. The amount of lack of accuracy, myths, out of date information or information based on personal opinions from the other fellow travellers is huge.

If a place is more off the beaten path, then it will be even more victim of all this misinformation. Same thing if the place has been covered by some kind of mistery. A great example is Tibet. I've heard that it is open to tourists, closed to tourists, open to only groups of 4 tourists of a given nationality, that one has to pay 600 dollars to get there, that it is for free, a so on. I haven't checked better that, partially because it is not in my travel plan, but it is interesting to see how much contradictory information there is about it. I've heard also that Shanghai is the best place in China for various different reasons, stared by different types of people. I didn't like it. Then there is also the show-off traveller that likes to show more than he/she knows, they are a great source of myths about places! And, of course, there is the tolerance of each traveller. I heard scary things about China that I confirmed here, but that didn't scare nor annoy me at all! Sometimes I actually enjoy those 'terrível' things when experienced in its context. That context can only be seen by yourself while being at the place.

In what should one trust when deciding where to go? I have no single answer, but everyone seems to find that out pretty easily. Some places will be great, some not so great. One thing is for sure, one cannot be everywhere, so choices will be made. Personally, I prefer not to plan anything completely until one day before. Some milestones will be in my head, but still I'll miss some of them. So far it has worked for me (like any other approach would also have worked, I guess). I'll be always aware that information about a place will never be correct (what is correct information anyway?), but the inaccurate information, plus my dreams, plus what I need at that time will show me the way.

My opinion about a place is influenced by my mindset at that time, the weather, the time of the year, the people I met there, the contrast with the places I've been before, my vision of the world, my taste buds, etc. So, my fellow traveller, never trust me! (... but make sure that you go to Beijing and avoid Shanghai...)