tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post3130617313052122668..comments2024-03-28T00:25:10.859-07:00Comments on Madness and Beauty: Trampling Through Bali - The Catch 22 of TourismJessica O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08807873917327445130noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-2927433737704014432009-10-02T01:50:09.804-07:002009-10-02T01:50:09.804-07:00You guys both definitely have good points! But in ...You guys both definitely have good points! But in my experience in Asia the large hotels are all owned by foreign companies and pay the workers a pittance - very little profit trickles down. The lavish meals, bottle of wine and luxury spas are not really helping the local economy and are certainly polluting the environs.<br /><br />The need cash to tread lightly thing was an overreaching statement on my part - I was mostly thinking of eco-tours and such that are twice the usual price - in Kerala an eco friendly houseboat is literally three times the price. But you are right, Stuart - it is possible to be eco-conscious on a budget.Jessica O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08807873917327445130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-57337011580992985962009-10-01T20:03:07.241-07:002009-10-01T20:03:07.241-07:00Sorry, it's simply not true that the backpacke...Sorry, it's simply not true that the backpackers who turn every penny and always eat one dollar dishes are better for a country than 750 dollar per night tourists. even with a foreign investor there is much more money staying in the country per night than a tight backpacker spends in a week.<br />the luxury place has a demand for qualified workers, pais them good wages, leaves money in the supply chain to run the business and over all brings much more structure into a country.<br />you can blame local authorities for the lack of regulations regarding waste water and building regulations, but you can't blame a person who stays in a 750 dollar villa.<br /><br />this is a typical "we safe the world by not spending our money" attitude that is just wrong. Destroying the culture? i can only see that the flair of the poor development country gets lost. thats not what i call culture. ask a local what they prefer. at the end it's their country to live in and not our entertainment as development country backpacker tourists.<br /><br />look at the west, we destroyed a lot of "culture" a long time ago. but just look at the music and art and everything we got right now. people need to have a standard of living to be able to produce culture. you can't make art when you have to be on the rice field from sunrise to sunset.<br /><br />thats the difference between culture and the flair of a poor country.Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-65516885466995059022009-10-01T18:14:12.447-07:002009-10-01T18:14:12.447-07:00Good piece -- and sadly you could change the place...Good piece -- and sadly you could change the place name to just about any semi-popular island in Southeast Asia and your points would remain very valid.<br /><br />Though on your point regarding the environment, you'll be having a lot less of an impact staying in a $2 losmen than a $750/night villa -- even if the latter does have the right lightbulbs ... the "need cash to tread lightly" argument is a bit of a myth in my opinion.<br /><br />Good piece!Stuarthttp://www.travelfish.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-24411481770813767772009-09-16T13:45:00.057-07:002009-09-16T13:45:00.057-07:00Sigh.....yes, I think we've all overheard our ...Sigh.....yes, I think we've all overheard our fair share of ignorant conversations on our travels. But, hey, at least these people are getting out there -- even if it's just to the more touristy places for now. Maybe, just maybe, if they keep traveling, they'll gain a little perspective. We can all hope!Kosmopolighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882393431086333909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-69921953267434503462009-09-08T20:53:10.696-07:002009-09-08T20:53:10.696-07:00I just want to mention that your blog is one of my...I just want to mention that your blog is one of my favorites. Your writing is pretty freakin' impeccable, and a true pleasure to read! <br /><br />I could not agree more with what you are saying about the catch 22 of traveling. It may seem to be frustrating, or feel like a dead end. But honestly, having a conversation about it is a true step towards progress. <br /><br />Thanks again!<br />Oh, and PS: I am Latin American and at least half of my family is blonde (I am a bottle blonde, so I don't count) <br />but none of my aunts have had their pony tails "stolen" haha<br />that dude sounds like a douch. <br /><br />PPS: people tell me all the time I don't "look" latin american....they couldn't be more off....I mean really...it's like a rainbow in that continent....<br /><br />ok, enough rambling on my part.....Paulinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08285865850078224716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-13016339333615709652009-09-07T16:58:14.844-07:002009-09-07T16:58:14.844-07:00I can't stand the rich tourism. People who sp...I can't stand the rich tourism. People who spend thousands of dollars on a fancy hotel and foreign restaurants when they could sleep in a decent hostel and eat in local markets for less than half the price just make no sense to me. What's the point of travelling if you're only recreating the environment you have at home?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-33946702738143007602009-09-07T15:34:00.118-07:002009-09-07T15:34:00.118-07:00I enjoyed this particular post very much.
Unfortu...I enjoyed this particular post very much. <br />Unfortuneatly the ignorant conversations you overheard don't happen only on buses in other countries.<br />I heard the same sorts of things while standing in line to get into the Art Institute in Chicago. There were a few homeless people hawking their wares along the block-long line, and boys playing drums on 5 gallon buckets for cash donations (the music was impressive, by the way).<br /><br />My family is not wealthy by american standards in the least. We scrape & save for everything we have & everything we hope for in the future. My husband & I understood all too well that those people selling papers, keychains, etc., could easily be one of us.<br />Something I think many wealthy Americans forget - a bad turn of luck or circumstance can happen to any one of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-71467861917903168212009-09-07T10:07:39.835-07:002009-09-07T10:07:39.835-07:00I remember the beach in Bali.
My parents had visi...I remember the beach in Bali.<br /><br />My parents had visited there over twenty years before we visited as a family, and remember when it was a small, beautiful, and clean island.<br /><br />When we arrived on the island it was swimming with so much trash that we could not even swim in the waters. The shopping was great, but the beaches need to be cleaned.<br /><br /><br />We also remember how the whole island was depressed because of the nightclub bomibing. The average person was suffering because of the terrorists.<br /><br />Overall it was such a sad situation, that made you pitty the island's people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-56858582377506043512009-09-07T08:46:03.281-07:002009-09-07T08:46:03.281-07:00So true. It seems like many American tourists see ...So true. It seems like many American tourists see foreign countries as the Disneyland versions of them... set up expressly for our entertainment and customer-service gratification. I'll tell you what spoiled Rome for me... not the guy pushing me to buy a rose for a dollar at the Pantheon, but the rich-hippie students in my neighborhood who were so consistently rude and obnoxious that I had to lie and pretend I was German or Canadian to get ANY service from the fed-up shopkeepers in my neighborhood. Hospitality is important, sure, but more important is being a good guest in a place where you weren't even invited. The whole world isn't our colonial playground.Jean Michelle Miernikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08971882597502010124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-86967124463120391252009-09-07T08:15:36.294-07:002009-09-07T08:15:36.294-07:00Your post ties in directly to a very interesting a...Your post ties in directly to a very interesting article that I read last night about an indigenous group here in Argentina that is slowly succumbing to tourism and the modern way of life. These people's lives are changing so radically that many of them feel that suicide is their only option (I hope this doesn't hit too close to home in light of your post about Heppy's brother).<br /><br />Here's the article if you'd like to read it: http://www.theargentimes.com/feature/guarani-suicide-/Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09037164015744825760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4580690295857485095.post-68693041517351714072009-09-07T06:37:13.011-07:002009-09-07T06:37:13.011-07:00It does seem to be one of those no-win situations ...It does seem to be one of those no-win situations whatever the decision is, can't we all just get along? :)AdventureRobhttp://www.adventurerob.comnoreply@blogger.com