South Africa may have messed up many parts of its economy, but somehow the tourism industry has escaped the destruction and it ranks extremely well internationally.

One of the strange things about foreign travel is that almost anywhere you go, there is an enormous number of foreigners. That's writer and former Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry on the subject of tourism, about which he has written several very funny books. In one, Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need, he makes the point that the human race is far too stupid to be deterred from tourism by a mere several million years of bad experiences and today we're travelling in larger numbers than ever.

"We travel because, no matter how comfortable we are at home, there's a part of us that wants -- that needs -- to see new vistas, take new tours, obtain new travellers' checks, buy souvenirs, order new entrées, introduce new bacteria into our intestinal tracts, learn new words for 'transfusion' and have all the other travel adventures that make us want to French-kiss our doormats when we finally get home," he writes.

Despite Barry's weirdly accurate warnings and the enormous expense and discomfort of travelling, I do love it -- as do so many people around the world. The curious thing is I'm not exactly sure why. Relaxation, learning and exploration...