Nothing is black or white
Generally, I’m having a great time. I’m learning quite a bit about the countries I’m visiting, the world in general, and about myself. I enjoy new experiences: scenery, buildings/temples, food, people.
I am not regretting going on this trip, it’s good for me.
I feel like I’m growing up while doing this, becoming independent. This is the first time I’ve done things on my own.
The only time I’ve cried was on the trek down from the volcano. Half the time I’m walking around with a big grin on my face.
But…
It’s not *all* good, and I haven’t really put my thoughts into writing about the other side of things. (I wrote most of the below 3 weeks ago in Saigon, been flat out and not in the mood for finishing it till now).
Feeling like/being a tourist
I do not enjoy knowing that I’m going to everything everyone else is going to, and being hassled to buy things (transport, tours, stuff), every second step I take. Though I don’t get mad, somehow I keep smiling at all of them! But it turns me off so badly, I’ll generally say no to anyone trying to push anything on to me, or avoid a restaurant or shop, even if I am actually interested in the product. Indonesia and Vietnam have been like this, Malaysia hasn’t, and I’ve heard Laos is not like this at all, and Thailand a lot less.
And being a ‘rich’ western tourist in a poor developing country, it just feels wrong. I haven’t even been to a really poor country yet, generally Indonesia and Vietnam are doing ok (areas where I’ve been) and Malaysia and Thailand have seemed very ‘western’.
I feel I should be doing volunteer work here, or using all my travel money for charities. I make myself feel better by saying my tourism is helping the economy, and giving a bit of money to a few random charities occasionally, like restaurants that train street kids. But tourism is definitely not always a good thing.
And if I start thinking like this, my thoughts progress to ‘there are so many problems in the world, what are the biggest problems, and where’, and that’s just too hard to think about. So what do I conclude to stop myself becoming depressed: when I get back to WA (which has felt more like home now I’ve left), I need to do something ‘useful’ there, something I’m passionate about. I have a few things in mind. I also reserve the right to change my mind, because I’m not done with traveling yet! Yes, I want to keep traveling. Sometimes I think I’m just putting my life on hold, but those things I wrote about at the top of the post, that I’m learning, I guess they outweigh the negatives…
Since I’ve wrote the above (and most of below) I’m now in Thailand where I’ve got a bit more time and have heard about volunteering opportunities. You’d think that with me traveling for 6 months here I’d have plenty of time, but it’s amazing how fast it’s going and how many places I’m still skipping!
In Thailand I now also have ‘tiger petting’ and elephant rides to think about. The tiger zoo place where you can pet tigers is definitely not happening, even if they’re not drugged, they’re especially raised for tourists.
And I’m hearing the elephants aren’t treated well either, so I need to find a trek that doesn’t include an elephant ride.
The Human Zoo
I just reread Scott’s post about how he felt about taking photos of local people, the Human Zoo, (which mirrors my feelings, I hardly have any people photos), and also about being able to go with locals in the spur of the moment. I agree with that it would help speaking the local language (especially Vietnam, even in cities I’m finding the english level quite low or non existent, surprisingly), but also I’m afraid to say, it would probably help not being female, from the locals perspective in inviting me, and from mine, in accepting. By many I’m seen as a brave person, but I’m not that brave that I’ll hitchhike. Contemplated it in Malaysia, and for some unknown reason I think I’d dare to do it in Australia too. But who knows.
Smog
Adding to the general tourist/tout/hassle craziness and rubbish and dirty rivers, now in middle and northern Vietnam I’m experiencing the smog/haze. Pretty sure it’s mostly smoke thanks to slash and burn activities in the hills nearby, and also burning rubbish.
On the one hand, developing countries need to develop, but partly they’re doing it by turning forests into farming land, or making money from logging. I’m not sure about the exact reasons and issues, but I have a feeling one of the main issues (in the whole world), is overpopulation.
Vegetarian?
Which brings me to eating meat. The world can’t sustain a growing population that’s eating more and more meat. For that reason, and the fact that animals are often treated badly to produce meat, and eating a lot of meat is not healthy, I’m eating less meat. I would like to become a vegetarian (never a vegan, I couldn’t give up eggs and cheese, I think!), and I have enough reasons to, but for now I will just try and eat a lot less meat. Especially here in Thailand it’s easy, though I already started cutting down in Vietnam. Part of it is remembering to, often I forget and just order something with meat. Another issue is that I want to try all the dishes in a new country. Luckily in Thailand they often substitute the meat with tofu, which is why it’s easier for me here. Still, I do love hamburgers, so we’ll have to see if I ever manage to be completely vegetarian. But every little thing helps.
I’ll leave it at that for now. As you can see, I’m still lost in many ways, but I do feel this travel is helping things, even if it also brings extra issues to think about.
