The Two Faces of Tourism

Tourism. While it really has some benefits, there are so many harmful things it produces. Thailand isn't losing its culture, but it's taking a backseat to westernized culture. Of course, there are many, many places around Thailand that receive little-to-no visitors, primarily in the east and in the mountains, and their culture is as true as it was 100 years ago. Things are even poor and undeveloped. But when you go to touristy areas, you find yourself questioning your presence there. What am I contributing to?

Think of all the pollution that global travel has produced. Think about all of the water bottles that get thrown away by tourists who can't drink the local water. Think about how all of those bottles don't get recycled and get buried in the ground. Think about all the energy that's used to wash sheets and towels for a guesthouse or hotel. Think about how polluted local's minds get when they see a fat, white man in a speedo.

Were it not for tourism, Thailand would be an incredibly homogeneous nation, with little exposure to anything outside of Asia. I find value in a racially diverse environment, but I think this is a western idea. I want my children to have as much exposure to diversity as possible. But, while not always the case, diversity is capable of eroding a culture. I can't help but think of all the young children who get exposed to white people with purple hair, abnormal piercings, abnormal tattoos, etc. and can't help but feel bad that I'm contributing to the possible demise of their culture.

I don't even want to get into the issues around the sex industry - that's a blog on its own...

Monte and I have been hanging out with Josh who is researching elephants. (He's getting his PhD and was actually the first person to get elephants to self-recognize...he's now doing intelligence tests on elephants...and...he's only 26. Bastard). Anyway, he's been living in Chiang Mai for a while now and has grasped a good deal of the language. He took us out to a mostly all-Thai club the other night that was far enough away from town that many tourists didn't go there. It was amazing to see how westernized it was. Although there were subtle differences, and although we had a really fun night there, it seemed like such a shame that it wasn't more uniquely Thai.

I'm not expecting the world to not change. I'm not saying that cultures shouldn't change and adjust with the world around them. I want people to have access to the same things as I do - like electricity, good roads, a washing machine, hell, a dishwasher! But this brings about minor changes to their culture...

Of course, tourism has brought many good things to Thailand as well. Tourism is the reason that Thailand is the most wealthy nation in SE Asia. Tourism has brought so much money into this country. And, since logging was banned in 1989, the conservation of domesticated elephants is in the tourist's hands. Elephants have nothing else to do but tourism and without it, their mahouts have no food to feed them, have no food to feed themselves, have no food to feed their families, have no money to pay for a house...I hate the idea that elephants are only used for our entertainment purposes, but I hate it less than the possibility of not having elephants. Interacting with domestic elephants teaches people about the importance of the preservation of wild elephants, and that education is precious and irreplaceable.

It's possible for tourism to do a lot of good, it's just important for tourists to be more conscience of the consequences of their actions.

Whims of Impulsivity and Irrationality

Strolling through the aisles at our local grocery store, I'm thinking of how we don't really need anything...so why are we here? I slow as I near the tea aisle. I think of how delightful a cup of tea can be. Yes, that's it. I'll buy some tea. It's not that bad of a purchase - well, we did have tea at home, so we didn't need it, but it's better than chips or cookies (not that we weren't buying those as well). I see a tea box labeled "sliming herb" that was placed on the very top shelf. Interesting. I take it down for closer inspection. There's a silhouette of a skinny woman with perky breasts and flowers surrounding her. I turn the box to inquire further. It says,

"Sliming (herb). Indication: Sliming: this herb is good for the overweighted person who do not want to control food consuming and should be taken both male and female."

The rational side of me thinks this is bogus, but the irrational, hopeful side, the side that wants to believe that a magical tea can make you thinner,doesn't allow me to put the box back on the shelf. What about the power of thought? Perhaps if I will it enough to work...it will...

I ended up purchasing it, much to Monte's chagrin...

So, two times a day I am to drink this COLD tea...

I'll keep you posted.

The Bridge Over the River Kwai

Monte and I have been in Lampang for now 6 weeks. We recently realized how we've spent that entire 6 weeks within the province of Lampang and haven't seen much else of Thailand... So we took advantage of the fact that Richard Lair had to go to Laos for a few days, got on a night train, and went to Kanchanaburi. Most of you probably know this town - the town that surrounds the bridge over the River Kwai.

This was a great experience. The town itself is very touristy, but the area around it is so beautiful. The bridge is majestic (well, only after you know its history...before that, you'd never know it was special). We learned a lot about WWII that school hadn't taught us. Monte and I are really discovering on this trip how eurocentric our education system really is. This realization really hit hard in Mexico when massive civilizations flourished (i.e. the Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, etc) yet they were paid no attention compared to the Roman Empire. I never heard of these civilizations until I stumbled upon them on my own. The same thing is true with WWII. We spent so much time covering what was happening in Europe that I honestly didn't know that Japan had taken over most of Asia until college. I had no idea the atrocities and hardships took place.

For those who don't know the story of the bridge over the river Kwai...The Japanese occupied Thailand and wanted to build a railroad linking Bangkok to Burma to transport arsenal and to further their occupation. The construction of the bridge should have taken 5 years, but the Japanese forced their POW's (Burmese, Malays, Americans, Europeans, etc) to complete it in only 16 months. Over 100,000 men died during the construction of the Death Railway to Burma.



Apart from the depressing sites to be seen, we visited the Erawan Waterfalls. I had seen these waterfalls before, but I knew Monte would absolutely love them. It's a 7-tiered waterfall that you can climb up to, swim in, and in some cases slide down the rocks. After this we took a train ride over the bridge and went into a man-made cave that was used as a hospital.

We also saw some ivory being sold in the markets...This, as you can imagine, upset me a great deal. You can see the disgust on my face...Of course, I will report them. It was fun to get away from Lampang for a couple days. We got so settled here that things no longer seemed foreign or adventuresome, so getting out was a necessity. We’re going to try to get away more often.

2008 Reflections

2008 – it was a good year. It brought many opportunities and blessings to both Monte and myself, with very small challenges here and there. We both held jobs that paid remarkably well without being over-worked. We were able to save up for a year long trip… We are so lucky that we’ve been able to do this. On the one hand, it’s so unfair that we have enough money to leave the country for a year and not get paid at all…think of all the people in the world that would benefit from one of our dollars. On the other hand, we can’t save everyone and we know that.


2008 taught Monte and I how important our family and friends are. We’ve always known and appreciated the people in our lives, but this past year has made it blatantly obvious. Now that we’re so far away from you all, we’re realizing how much we miss you. Really, missing someone is a good feeling…Think if we didn’t miss anyone at all back home. That would be sad!


2008 brought us to Mexico, Cambodia and Thailand. Each of these countries taught us lessons and made us grow both as individuals and as a couple. I can’t help but daydream where 2009 could possibly take us. We will go to Laos in February for sure, but we might even be able to go to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, maybe even the Philippines. Hell—why not New Zealand and Australia?


2008 taught us lessons about the economy and how a bad president can not only change one country, but the entire world.


2008 brought a great deal of change to Thailand as well. Thailand has seen four Prime Ministers in the past year…can you imagine? From an outsider’s perspective, you might think that Thailand really isn’t catching onto the idea of democracy—that you vote, majority wins, and then a few years down the line there’s another election. Here, a Prime Minister is elected and the opposing side doesn’t like him (there are usually corruption charges) so they protest until that PM steps down. Then, that side’s PM takes power, and the other side rises up until he steps down as well…But, to be honest, Americans could learn some lessons from Thailand. Thais are able to mobilize together and stand up for what they believe in. As a group, they can accomplish so much by just being persistent. During the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement Americans were able to mobilize and stand up for what they believed in. Where is that passion now? What’s the difference between Vietnam and Iraq? They are both unjust wars…When there’s corruption in Thailand, the people take a stand and demand change. That’s admirable, even if it’s not all that efficient.


2008 brought personal challenges to some of our good friends and family members, but all in all, we have so much to be grateful for. Thanks to all of you who made our 2008 a wonderful year :)