Photo by Konstantin Klyagin
Everyone has their "quirk"
The list of unusual tourists is quite long. It includes pilgrims who travel to holy places to obtain grace, healing from illnesses, or absolution of sins.
Stringers can be classified as travelers of "non-traditional orientation". Free hunters of sensational news, professional freelance cameramen and photographers (paparazzi) who illegally go to hot spots to get "that very shot" and then profitably sell it to a photo bank or news agency. Making business on risk, a stringer sometimes receives thousands of dollars for a photo. Of course, to call such people real tourists, in the original sense, is a stretch. Nevertheless, they also travel across countries, perhaps using less civilized and sometimes wild ways. Everyone has their own goal.
Through thorns to the stars
They are called "groupies" - "mobile teams" of young female fans of rock and pop performers. This is a very trendy movement that has spread its networks all over the world. Its participants are teenage girls aged 13-17 who, at the peak of infatuation with their idol, are ready to follow the star to the ends of the earth. Overcoming not only distances but also considerable difficulties with the sole purpose: to "get" the intended person and, if lucky, to brighten his leisure time. In short, to become a kind of camp wife with all the ensuing consequences.
The heyday of groupies came in the 60s-70s - the time of hippies and free love. Their services were used by the entire pantheon of world rock music. The musicians of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors did not disdain the company of enamored beauties who not only gratified the carnal fantasies of the stars, but also cooked food for them, washed their clothes, and ran errands.
Growing up or changing their object of adoration, the girls leave their idols. A souvenir to remember – a lock of hair or something from underwear – for variety of memories and an extra "feather" in the list of personal victories. We read on one of the groupie forums: "How are groupies different from fan girls? The former are always up to date with all movements, tours, concerts – in short: what, where, when. They are smarter, more cunning and bitchier than ordinary fan girls. Not every groupie will scream that she is head over heels in love with the artist when he passes by, scratch out eyes for an autograph, push in the general crowd of fans. When meeting the idol, she will have that languid, intriguing look... Even if, to bestow it, she has traveled a thousand kilometers. Groupies often unite in groups, travel in companies on buses and trains. And most often it is they who end up in the artists' rooms after concerts."
The pleasure, frankly, is dubious. At the same time, many of the "mobile" girls are sure that being a groupie is the first step in a "showbiz" career. Moreover, having a huge experience of "close" communication with the idol, already being respectable ladies, yesterday's fan girls sit down at the computer and churn out memories and memoirs.
Shopping Passion
Many are sure that within ten years, the concept of a shopping tour will completely disappear from everyday use. Although it will retain its meaning for professional buyers, who, due to their line of work, will continue their regular trips abroad to hunt for new trends in the Western fashion industry. But their trips never fit the mold of a traditional shopping tour – stylists, designers, and buyers have sought and continue to seek inspiration not in popular, world-famous boutiques and shopping centers. They wander off the beaten path, discovering new names and new ideas in the depths of the world's fashion capitals. And they call their trips nothing other than a business trip.
For everyone else, a "traditional" shopping tour, usually falling either during seasonal sales or during the next vacation, has other purposes: to stock up at a favorable price, and most importantly – to purchase an item that half of one's hometown will certainly not have. Exclusivity, a thirst to stand out, to emphasize one's individuality or uniqueness (whatever one has) – that is what draws them to distant countries. Not to mention such incentives as quality and optimal fit. Short women, in particular, like to emphasize that it is easiest for them to find perfectly fitting models in France.
Here are a few more useful facts from the piggy bank of a foreign shopaholic. "The biggest names in Paris are Christian Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Prada, GAP, H & M, Zara, Naf Naf, and it is most profitable to buy their creations in France itself," says 32-year-old Alina, an experienced shopper. "The stores of famous designers are located on both banks of the Seine. However, native Parisians do not favor these places – too glamorous. So only celebrities can hinder you from choosing a new outfit. Dressing like Parisian women means choosing small, secluded boutiques with a pleasant atmosphere and unobtrusive service. Here, for example, you can find models from the latest collections of renowned designers – without labels and at a price 70% cheaper."
Well, prices in Rome have never been low, life has never been cheap, but the quality of local goods has always justified these drawbacks. Only Via del Corso is democratic in prices – the goods here are no less high-quality, but you can haggle."
Cheering for the Same Club
You can 'cheer' in different ways. Screaming 'Goal!' at the top of your lungs while clinking a mug of beer in the nearest bar is one thing. Being a fan is another. They come in different types. The first group is 'radical fans'. Like a religious sect, they know everything about their 'divine' team, desperately cheer for it, and keep a meticulous count of the number of their away trips. At the same time, as Turist.ru notes, an away trip is considered not just being present in the city where the game takes place, but specifically attending the match itself. If a fan gets into a fight, gets drunk, and ends up in the police (which often happens to representatives of this group), and as a result misses the game, then his away trip is not counted. Nevertheless, by joining such travelers, you can get the most extreme and 'hooligan' impressions from the trip.
The second group is 'periodic fans', those who attend away matches from time to time. The 'middle-of-the-road' fans understand football, sincerely root for their team, and follow the progress of championships and cups. To join them, you need to pass an exam on knowledge of the tournament table and the number of points that separate your favorite team from the opponent ahead of it.
And finally, the third group is 'rare fans', who travel to matches very infrequently. As a rule, they do this primarily for the adventure and interest. They need comfortable conditions and appropriate infrastructure. The higher the fan's income, the greater their adequacy and the less 'fanaticism', so this group can be called the most sensible and well-off of the three. Traveling with this group is the safest and more like a trip with attending a football match. Although extreme situations are possible here too, for example, if tickets bought second-hand turn out to be seats in the opposing team's fan section.
'The main thing is to buy a 'rosetka' (a scarf with the team's logo) and decide on travel companions, and tickets to the match are secondary,' says Egor, a 'middle-of-the-road' fan. 'At any stadium there is a guest sector - 10% of the stadium's capacity. Tickets there can be bought right before the match. As a rule, tickets are bought in advance by specific football clubs or fan organizations that have the club's patronage. They even book entire trains. But on such trips, there are many inadequate fans, drinking, and so on. I prefer to come separately or in a small group and buy tickets right before the match.'
Often after an away trip, you can read horrors in the press or on the Internet about fights that occurred during the last match. But as the fans themselves say, it is practically impossible for a casual fan ('kuzmich' in fan slang) to get involved in such a fight. 'Radical fans' fight in an organized manner, away from stadiums - in vacant lots, large parks, forests, as far from the police as possible. Such 'fights' are planned in advance and are typical for domestic away trips. Abroad, as a rule, everything is more civilized. Many inadequate fans simply do not have enough money for such trips, so such journeys initially have a different character. The organization of such trips is often handled by travel agencies (they organize charter flights, book hotels, etc.), but to get additional impressions from the trip, it is better to travel 'independently'.
'You shouldn't be afraid of such trips, even if someone tries to dissuade you – it's an interesting and emotional type of recreation,' Egor is convinced. 'Of course, anything can happen at any moment. Like, for example, a Zenit fan who was arrested by the police after a match with Sevilla. He spent three months in a Spanish prison for standing up for the Russian flag, which was roughly handled by the police during the match. But such cases are rare.'