Egypt 2014
If you take a step out of your hotel, the locals will flock to suck money out of you. That is pretty much the only cultural interaction you get in Egypt. Food isn’t interesting, transportation is separated, and there is nothing in common that we share with the people. This country has nothing to offer other than archaeology, and everyone is trying to milk the hell out of this.
If you want to see the pyramids, you have to look through the gauntlet of vendors, camel riders, beggars, and general harassments from people that have nothing better to do. As annoying as it is, it’s an experience that brought to my attention a dire issue on how the world works. It’s a country that is dependent on the past civilization and has nothing in relevance to today. Is it designed to be this way? I can think of a few responsible entities, but I doubt any revolution is going to change this anytime soon. Much of the world suffers from this limbo, and I felt that tourism is the product of it. I went to Egypt to see the pyramids and ended up getting a lesson in the global economy.
Istanbul 2015
Turkey is not a rich country, but I see it as a progressive nation in its own way. Religion is mostly Islam, but liberal and open. The population is young and bilingual and are happy to interact with tourists. Some just want to sell stuff, but at least they have the decency to be courteous and usually not annoying; clear indication that people are proud of who they are.
The city is mostly old and run-down. Walk a few miles away from the center and it’s a slum. However, people are always socializing and generally seem happy. They may not have the luxury of the more developed countries but smiles everywhere. I found Istanbul to be an ideal balance of development because anything more they’d be consumed by commercialization. I’m glad they didn’t win the Olympic bid because that would have corrupted them in exchange for a new stadium and a massive debt. There’s still plenty of humanity here, and simply a wonderful place to be. This used to be the center of the world and rightfully so.
Indochina 2016
As soon as I got through the Thailand immigration, I ordered a taxi from a vendor with a huge sign inside the airport terminal. It’s a scam. Very expensive compared to just picking one up with a meter on. It’s not some bad apple tricking people. It’s the every-man-for-himself mentality present in the whole nation, much like in communist China. I don’t think sense-of-decency translates in their languages. Nothing is legit and everything is game.
Elephant sanctuary is a joke. They “rescued” elephants from other places so they can earn some tourist cash themselves. They are simply borrowing these animals and eventually will have to return them to circuses or wherever they came from. So much for “saving” animals from humans. This is tourism at its worst.
There’s just lack of ethics in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Maybe that’s why these countries are very popular with western tourists and expats. There are spots of wild parties, mostly of white people, which is good and all, but what happened to the locals? I wondered when things went wrong for these people. Colonialism? The war? I sensed no pride in the people there. Everyone seemed to be bitching and whining about a few bucks here and there… They’ve gotten used to living off the leftovers of westerners. No wonder Asians are looked down upon.
