There was once a great moment where Jerry Seinfeld told Trevor Noah precisely why he wouldn’t want to travel to South Africa, Noah’s home country, to go on safari.
"So these elephants in the wild ... how similar are they to the other elephants I go to see? They're the same. Exactly the same." The comedians are chatting as part of Seinfeld's web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
I found myself rehashing this argument to a friend, shortly after accepting a safari trip to Kenya for an upcoming travel feature. Unlike Jerry, I was interested enough to go and see the animals for myself. But deep down, I really doubted my ability to be wowed. I was in Seinfeld’s camp.
“Dude, safari is like on the top five bucket-list for pretty much everyone,” said friend, desperate to convince me that I would have a good time. “Surely you’d rather go to the elephants than have the elephants come to you?”
Here the friend made a comparison he hoped I might relate to.
Rather than going to see a favourite band perform at a large stadium, with thousands of other people, I was being invited to watch the band jam in their sweaty hometown rehearsal room, so to speak. Wouldn’t that be way better, he asked?
Perhaps only partly. If you straw-polled the next 20,000-strong audience out of du Arena, I reckon you’d find the larger half happier with the idea of driving down the road to watch a polished performance, than flying to London or Los Angeles to camp out hopefully at a sweaty studio and see what happens.
But I got the point. For some fans such an experience would be priceless. It’s all a question of priorities, I guess – if I really loved the animals, I’d want to see them in their native environment. A fair-weather fan would be happy to watch them in the zoo.
Really the question is: how much inconvenience and expense am I prepared to endure, to enjoy a more “authentic” experience?
I could argue here about authenticity, expectation, perception, The Matrix and Descartes – but I'll save you the psychobabble, and say just this: sorry Seinfeld, but I'm going with the animals. See, I went on the safari, and was utterly blown away.
There’s simply no comparison. Imagine driving for six hours in the scorching sun in the flat, dry plains, and then stumbling on a family of wild elephants lazily munching their way across the landscape, with not another human in sight.
Now imagine queuing up for a ticket to the local zoo, and strolling to take photos through the bars, while rows of other mindless tourists next to you do the same thing.
The quest to find the real deal flows both ways – it’s harder work, for greater results.
And if there’s one lesson I’ll take away; it’s that it is always worth going the extra mile, because what you put in, you invariably take out.
Here’s hoping that Jerry will one day also make the effort.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Five expert hiking tips
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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