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Here are my thoughts in response to Space's remark abt tourists looking for fun and show while visiting other countries.
According to our tour guide, who has lots of experience in dealing with tourists of all kinds good and bad, there are several main types:
* The hippy-trippy type who come to SE Asia for enlightenment and other spiritual reasons.
* The mostly young ppl who come here to party and get drunk.
* The mostly male customers looking for sexual gratifications and exploitations.
* The eco-tourists who come here to hike, bike and enjoy nature.
* There are those who simply want to "bag" and brag abt their visits (e.g. checking off the 100 must-see places on their list)
* The type that Space has mentioned: The tourists who come here mainly for their own fun and self-gratifications. They have very little interest and respect toward the local ppl and their culture. To these tourists, visiting a developing country is like, as Space put it, visiting a zoo and looking at exotic animals.
* And then there are the so-called cultural/educational tourists who truly want to learn and interact with the local ppl (as opposed to following the beaten-path and visiting all the touristy hot-spots).
Haricot
(Vientiane LAO PDR)
2011-01-17
17h55 local time
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4 comments:
Most western tourists came to SE ASia(or less developed countries)and seeing the people with a sense of condescension.
Even their donation is part of the their condescending act about the people.
Space:
As I said in my previous blog article, I can only speak for myself.
As well, many developing countries such as Laos are depending on tourism as a source of revenue. As long as the tourists are not doing anything illegal or being disrespectful, the govt of those countries will encourage ppl to visit and spend their tourist money.
哈哈哈！ well hari big brother， I guess we have differences in understanding the meaning of the word or the act of "Condescension".
Space:
It is my understanding that “condescension” means disrespect, arrogance and disdain. Yes, there are ppl who would have that kind of attitude when they give donations to others. But there are also those (regardless of where they are from, east west north south) who are genuinely trying to help.
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