Article: Snow joke in an igloo; Is life getting too comfortable for you? Then you need a deprivation vacation, spending a night in an igloo beneath the north face of the Eiger.

Byline: SIMON DAVIS

IT IS one of life's oddities that middleclass holidaymakers pay money to experience the lifestyles of poor people. This modern-day trend has its roots in Africa when, in the 1980s, safari companies indulged clients keen to escape that brash decade of conspicuous consumption and live in tribal mud huts. To have a "real" experience.

Reality is big business, not only on television but also in the travel industry. You can spend large sums staying in a shack in Soweto, up trees in South America or in tents in India.

I suppose Alain de Botton would tell us that the British take these trips to assuage middleclass guilt. We have a ...

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