Sublime

Under-the-bed

When you do visit Zürich or Cape Town or Bangkok, they are very much alike: the amusement parks have striking similarities, the cafés all play the same Brazilian music, the malls are interchangeable, kids on the school buses resemble one another, and the interiors of middle-class homes conform to the same parameters. This doesn’t mean the world is

But I’ve never given up Airbnbs. I’m too attracted by that abstract promise, to live an authentic life that’s different from your own for a few days, imagining being a sculptor in Lisbon, say, or a Tokyo musician. For me, the illusion of tourism is more total if I stay in a real apartment—though of course it remains an illusion.