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Cameron Dueck

The voices come from a distance, indirect and indecipherable. Unfamiliar voices speaking in a foreign language. They weave in and out of range, in and out of my drowsy dream.
A child’s shout is followed by the tinkle of laughter. Slowly my mind climbs out of the warm burrow of sleep to see what all the fuss is about.
It takes me a moment more to realise the voices are German. I’m still dancing between dreams and reality, enjoying the gauzy confusion. Why German and not English or Cantonese?
I open one eye, and reality comes creeping back. I’m lying on my back on the lush lawn of a city park. I can hear road traffic not far away, and the metallic buzz of a freewheeling bicycle as it rolls by. The sun peers through the leaves of a tree that arches over my head. I can smell the earthy tones of the lawn, feel its prickle through my clothes, the cool firmness of the ground below.
“This isn’t Hong Kong …” I think to myself.
I stretch and enjoy a deep yawn. Ah yes, now I remember; I am in Hamburg. I spent the morning visiting an art museum and then enjoyed a long alfresco lunch at a Portuguese restaurant. With a table on the pavement, not far from a canal. An extra glass of wine, followed by a rich chocolate dessert and an espresso. Then, full-bellied and drowsy, too much so to carry on sightseeing, I wandered into this park.
I found a quiet, sun-dappled spot – not full sunshine, as that would have been too warm – tucked my phone and wallet into a zippered pocket for security, put my head on my backpack and drifted off to sleep. That was about 30 minutes ago. A tourist nap.

They’re my speciality, a skill honed over decades, across continents, in countries and cities as far flung as the wind. Foreign locales, familiar places, impromptu siestas, planned respites. I’ve done them all, gleaned the lessons learned, and then ploughed that expertise into yet more on-the-ground research – literally.
Drifting off to sleep on trains and buses, or in airport lounges, is a normal part of travel and busy modern life. These are simply naps; little expertise is needed and they don’t contribute to the travel experience and passive absorption of culture, place and time. An authentic tourist nap is more intentional and indulgent than that.
It is best taken outdoors, where the sounds, smells and energy of a foreign location can seep into your dreams and memory of a place. Done right, the tourist nap becomes as much of a travel experience as a ferry ride or a neighbourhood walk.
When a park is unavailable or during inclement weather, libraries are one of the few indoor alternatives. A library offers a bare minimum of sensory input, with the low murmur of foreign voices and the smell of musty books, which may enrich the visitor’s cultural immersion, and, as in a park, a napping tourist blends in with dozing locals.
The items you carry when you leave your hotel for the day are all you need for a tourist nap: a small bag of some sort to act as a pillow; a jumper or jacket to cover the ground, or use as an improvised blanket; I like carrying a hat that I can tip over my face. No headphones – they rob you of the sensory experience of your resting place.
The tourist nap takes many forms. My favourite is the postprandial doze, like the one I enjoyed in Hamburg. It extends the enjoyment of the culinary experience and readies the tourist for further exploration.

Another popular form is the I’ll-just-wait-here nap, most often used when travelling with a partner or a group. Some individuals have more energy than others, or they may be eager to visit a museum of 17th century wigs. Taking a tourist nap while they carry on is the perfect compromise.
My most recent such nap took place in Gyeongju, the ancient Korean capital. We’d spent hours wandering among its Silla Kingdom burial mounds, immersing ourselves in millennia-old history. It put me in a lazy, reflective mood, with images of fallen kingdoms swirling around my mind, while my partner wanted to visit a small art museum nearby.
“I’ll just wait here,” I told her, finding a quiet spot where I could recline against the grassy flank of a burial mound. My mind revisited the golden crowns and royal bones I imagined lay under my head as I drifted off.
Another popular form of tourist nap capitalises on the prime location of the world’s great railway stations. Gare du Nord, in the heart of Paris and Europe’s busiest train station, is a short walk from Jardin Villemin and its nap-worthy lawns. New York’s Grand Central Station is only a five-minute stroll from Bryant Park and the New York Public Library, two prime potential napping sites.
I once found myself at Tokyo Station with an hour or two to kill before my next train. If I had hurried, I would have been able to fit in a museum or some other attraction, but instead I strolled across the street into the park surrounding the Imperial Palace. I stretched out for a nap and drifted off to the clip-clopping of passing office ladies in their high-heeled shoes.

So much of modern travel is doing, seeing, consuming – and spending. Sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything, or spending money to take up space in a cafe or museum.
Sometimes one is simply tired of movement, of the act of travel itself. I made an epic motorcycle road trip across the Americas that required endless hours in the saddle, staring at the open highway. The afternoons grew long, so I increasingly pulled into highway rest stops, most of which include a small park. With my motorcycle jacket as a pillow, I drifted off for a quick refresher while hearing the hum of highway traffic and smelling the tang of engine exhaust – still experiencing the open road even as I slept.
It can be the scene that makes the napping spot, as in New York’s Central Park, where the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon creates a cosy green crib. Here, your nap may be accompanied by the hackneyed guitar strumming of a star-struck tourist.
Tourist naps in public places don’t come without risks, of course, for women especially. Pickpockets are skilled at targeting tourists who are distracted by the sights – or the siesta. There are bugs and snakes and itchy plants – minor grievances.
A more likely disturbance may come from a vigilant police officer, or parent.
In Vancouver’s downtown, my feet aching from interesting but aimless walking, I found a spot in Robson Square. It was a bit busy, and the best I could find was a concrete riser, instead of my preferred lawn, but good enough for a quick kip, I thought.
Dream state was nearly upon me, teased along by the rumble of skateboards. I could hear a child mumbling nearby, then, cutting through my sleepy fog, a more persistent voice: “Come here! Get away from that homeless man!”
I sat bolt upright, coming face to face with a slobbery toddler staring at me in surprise. “I’m not …,” I stammered, then let it pass.
I once found myself in Tamar Park, on the banks of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, waiting for my girlfriend. She took her time, and I drifted off to sleep on the lawn.
The sun lit the screen of my eyelids, against which a film about junk-rigged ships began to play, until a dark shadow floated across my dream. My eyes fluttered open to find my girlfriend standing over me. “Were you asleep? Here in the park?” she asked.
“Just a short tourist nap,” I replied. One of the few experiences of international travel that can be enjoyed just as much at home.


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A tourist nap is best taken outdoors, where the sounds, smells and energy of a foreign location can seep into your dreams. Photo: Shutterstock

Done right, the tourist nap becomes as much of a travel experience as a ferry ride or a neighbourhood walk. Photo: Getty Images

If fellow travellers want to visit an attraction that doesn’t appeal to you, take yourself off for a tourist nap. Problem solved. Photo: Shutterstock

Silla Kingdom burial mounds, in Gyeongju, the ancient Korean capital, where writer Cameron Dueck had his most recent tourist nap. Photo: Shutterstock

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Travel

The culturally immersive and sensory-rich siesta – for a uniquely restorative travel experience


The culturally immersive and sensory-rich siesta – for a uniquely restorative travel experience.


Mastering the art of the tourist nap for a richer travel experience

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The culturally immersive and sensory-rich siesta – for a uniquely restorative travel experience

The culturally immersive and sensory-rich siesta – for a uniquely restorative travel experience