“There are kids starving in Africa!”
This statement can mean at least three things. First (and I know how obvious this is, but bear with me when I say it isn’t): there are children starving in Africa. Secondly, and the interpretation most of us are familiar with, is that we shouldn’t take our own food for granted. At least it is how my mom intended this statement whenever she uttered it. The fact that so many mothers learned to use this guilt tactic to force us into eating whatever was served on our plate is no doubt a symptom of the “We Are the World” times. It is the result of an 1980s/1990s zeitgeist disabused of a Second World. Because after the so-called Cold War and the dissolution of industrial Communism, the First and Third worlds had to face each other with an illogical gap. It pronounced the so-called plight of living below rank. With a Second World, the Third might just be another place. Without it, the First was a status. Without a Second World, the First must reach its hand out and unite humanity. The First World confuses its status with the Oneness of its demeanor. It never occurs to the First World that the Third World can reach out and help us, instead.
So if you ponder the distinction between rank versus order, you end up with the third interpretation of the “there are kids starving in Africa”: that problems can outweigh each other; that there are ultimately much bigger problems in the world than just my not wanting to finish dinner. So not only should I eat because there are kids in Africa who are hungry, but because kids are hungry in Africa, I should also stop complaining about butter that’s still frozen or low-fat dessert.
Maybe precisely because of the morphology of African hunger, we now say people have “first world problems” when being fussy. “First World Problems” are the result of a 2000s zeitgeist of “context.” Famine and terror could strike at us too. There aren’t just kids starving in Africa, but kids starving in America. Be aware of your context. Take the plank out of our eye before judging the fleck in our neighbor’s. Case in point: KONY2012.
But back to the salad that hasn’t been properly dried. The rented yoga mat that still smells like the last person who used it, the weak AC system. When your metal fork tastes metallic. When fish smells fishy.
When you conflate your problems with your self-awareness you have Irony. Multiply this process enough times and you end up in Tokyo. Because absolutely nothing can prepare you for the First World Problems you will have after living in the center of Japan.
I realize it is unfair to characterize an entire city, so let me clarify to the uninitiated that there is a region of Honshu that encompasses most of the Japan we talk about when we talk about Japan. Let’s say I’m referring to the waistline of Honshu, around the bend of its boomerang, which includes most of the major cities (Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa), but not all (Sapporo, Hiroshima). Whatever you thought “first world problems” were…Japan is what comes after First. Maybe I’ll call it Ground Zero.
The so-called culture of shame and honor, I’d argue, is actually a culture of irony, and I don’t mean irony like humor or sarcasm or Alanis Morissette, but as in: the process of making an entire cycle of conflict capitulate in one gesture.
If we grant that the sorries and self-conscious bows are possibly pre-emptive or self-aware, sometimes even sarcastic, we can start to see that being of such advanced manners is disingenuous. The ten minutes it takes for a cash register clerk to process your purchase; the solemn but identical greeters at Takashimaya; the decade of apprenticeship required before a bar-back matriculates to “bar master” (that’s what bartenders are called in Tokyo). These cultural touchstones of service have all but become aspirations for the rest of the first world but if you give these service people the benefit of mundane workplace ennui, you’d realize that obviously the through-line is “paycheck.” These aren’t laborers of love.
People can’t take pride in something that does not demand it, so a system designed to show honor and humility at the same time is saying “I am loyal to an inconsequential belief.” It has levied a consumer culture that does not travel well. Let me explain this through the prism of Japan’s most vaunted civic contribution: The Toto Washlet Toilet.
Anyone who has visited Tokyo has no doubt experienced “the Japanese toilet,” but suffice it to say what makes the Toto Washlet special is its full-service bidet. This bidet and the toilet’s other components are controlled by push-button technology. What’s amazing about the Toto toilet in Japan on top of the fact that it is itself amazing, is that you can actually use one in a place as mundane as the subway. For the majority of Americans this is already unbelievable — we hardly have functioning train systems, much less bathrooms at every stop, and absolutely inconceivable is a toilet not covered in the fermented effluvia of someone who hasn’t showered in a month. In Japan, you can use a toilet in the subway without worrying about sitting in someone’s santorum. You can leave your ghost in the shell in the middle of winter, and activate a small speaker that plays the sound of flushing to obscure the sounds of your rectum. Once finished, you press of a button on the toilet’s armrest — yes, armrest — and initiate one of a few options for washing your groin: a spectrum of pressure settings and target range: Front or Back.
[A tangential anecdote about the toilet: I’m told that when Toto was first developing the Washlet, they had trouble testing the “front wash” function because they weren’t able to find female volunteers. I find this impossible to believe. More likely that men developing the toilet weren’t sure how to ask women to give feedback on vaginal washing.]
“I can’t believe Americans don’t have Toto Washlets!”
I hear this from everybody. One Japanese woman I know told her Western beau that she wouldn’t move in with him until he bought a Toto. And I know what you’re thinking…if I had my druthers wouldn’t I want the Toto? The thing is, No. I might be the only one in the world who doesn’t want a nice toilet. Maybe for the same misplaced reasons I didn’t think it was fair to fight for marriage equality before we fixed healthcare. But fuck it, I am entitled to certain sanctimoniousness and this is Medium, not a cover letter. I am willing to admit to being a little bit plaintive for the sake of hearing my own whining: I also resent complaints that trains aren’t as punctual and post office clerks aren’t as nice. Because yes, these things do suck about America, but it would be fucking weird if everything did work, and when things do get cleaned up, it’s usually not for the right reason anyway. *cough* Giuliani */cough*
The tragedy in Toto-dependency, is that Japan thinks advanced toileting is a Western thing. A First World thing. Japanese people frequently refer to Japan’s past as a “developing country” when referring to current advances. They aren’t just hoping they can find Toto Washlets in New York City, they are surprised they aren’t par for the course. Well inside my lifetime, the average toilet I visited in Japan was a squatter tub in the floor with negligible plumbing. In less than thirty years, Japan went from pooing like humans to pooing like robots, and it is no doubt because being human would be too close to the third world.
Another anecdote: I once waited in line for the bathroom, diarrhea threatening to explode at my seams. It was at the airport, and one of the stalls was open but there was a woman ahead of me. Even though she looked of Asian descent I asked in English what was wrong with the open bathroom. She replied in American-English, “I’m waiting for the Japanese toilet. You go ahead.” What’s funny is it’s the squatter that’s referred to as “Japanese-style” in Japan (labeled “washiki” in Japanese, on the door). It’s the modern seat-style toilet that is labeled “Western.”
Talk about Morisettian Irony.
If I were a mother, and the woman ahead of me my daughter, I might’ve said: there are are people using shovels to dig holes to poo in, in Africa! But that’s a little wordy, and I’m not her mom. Also I can’t really speak to what toilet culture is like on the African continent. Sally Struthers never said anything about that. Maybe I can tell people what it’s like in India, where I spent a Spring break a few years ago. India, the gem and genesis of all of Asia as we know it. India, where like Japan, you will always find a public bathroom. The difference being that the potty priority is not heated seats or a pre-recorded flushing sound. Sometimes not even plumbing is a priority. The primary purpose of the public bathroom in India is to eliminate with some privacy.
“There are bathrooms in India where an old untouchable woman has to push your poo down the drain with a fabric cloth and no gloves but that’s what they are willing to do for each other!” I should scream. But again, I am not your mom. At this point it might become obvious that public bathrooms are a bit of a personal obsession. I am appalled and mystified at the general lack of them in the US and the inconsistent ways we use them.
I mentioned before that the stereotype of great Japanese service is tied up in a contradiction of pride and shame. Add to that, redundancy and uselessness. This may be confusing, because visitors to Japan will have all experienced superior service at the point of a successful transaction and it does feel nice. But it takes only one attempt to reverse the transaction; to return or exchange a product, to lodge a complaint or ask for a modification, to understand the futility of these manners. It won’t matter how polite someone is when they tell you “no” because they are still saying “no.” It will make one wonder: would I rather the pettiness of a someone begrudgingly serving my needs, or the treacly refusal to compromise.
I don’t pretend to have chosen, personally, between a bitchy yes and a polite no. I think service cultures in America and Japan are equally annoying a lot of times. I’ve learned how to elicit a nicer Yes in America. I’ve learned to thrive in the No’s of Japan, and on my latest trip to Tokyo, I noticed pleasant updates to modes of negotiating with the world.
Public transit signs finally include Hangul and Chinese. For so long, the only other language used in Japanese signage was English, because: Anglocentrism. I find, finally, that beneath the hostility of Japanese pride and shame and the conflation of them in Western stereotypes and in the tragedy of self-awareness, my people (not the Japanese race but I just mean my friends and milieu universally) are mostly honest with their real problems, and able to talk honestly about their accomplishments.
I met one person in particular I am going to garble in citation. Akira the Hustler, thus named after his days in sex work, is known as much for his fine art (repped by the same gallery that shows Yayoi Kusama), as he is for his anti-racist, anti-fascist activism. Akira said, in reference to the possibilities of a Constitutional referendum on Japan’s pacifist laws: Japan thinks that having modern military technology is what makes it an advanced society but it’s not. It’s when people can protest war.
I think Japan should be really excited that it has finally learned to speak to their neighbors. I think they should learn not to be afraid to refuse to exchange an expensive sweater for me. I think they should not worry so much about appearing third worldly but also just not give af about appearing third worldly because their version of First World is kind of problematic. I think Toto should collaborate with others and maybe re-route some of their technological toilet exigency toward fixing the real problem: shitty hand dryers.
Anyway, I’m tired of assuming such a high threshold of first world problems, and the West’s unchecked glorification of the superior Japanese service structure (because it belies its failures). Until we get used to the area between the hole in the ground and the robot wiping our ass, we need to find a better way to tell each other we’re hungry. I don’t want to take the fact that people are starving for granted in my attempt to contextualize advanced technology, and I don’t want to keep yelling “first world problems” at everyone who misses their magic butt wash. But what I really don’t want to do is let Ground Zero be any indication of how much closer we are to becoming human.
Are you one in a billion?
If you travelled internationally in 2015 then you are. In fact you are 1 in 1.2 billion. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation that’s how many international trips were made last year. And by 2030 it will be nearly 2 billion.
2030. 2 billion people. Spending just over $2 trillion, in all corners of the world. 2 billion people, experiencing new cultures, sharing new friends, creating new business. 2 billion people providing jobs and an income for 400 million people.
By 2030, Travel & Tourism will be 11% of the world’s economy. Each and every person who travels will play a part in this story of growth, adventure and experience.
But will this story have a happy ending?
When we’re on holiday we can consume double the amount of water we do at home, and can create up to three times the amount of waste. We can alienate local communities by wearing inappropriate clothes, or by going to areas they hold sacred. We can trample on precious biodiversity, or visit places that cannot cope with our presence. We take 32 million flights creating 781 million tonnes of carbon each year.
2030. 2 billion travellers. 4 billion footprints.
We are already seeing the challenges play out.
We need to change how we think about travel if we really want to be sure that the positive impacts outweigh the negative.
The notion of travelling ‘sustainably’ or ‘responsibly’ is certainly not a new one. Since the Brundtland Report first coined the term ‘sustainable development’ in the late 1980s, tourism’s role has been promoted, questioned, and debated. Economic vs environmental impact. Foreign vs local ownership. The visitor vs the visited.
Amongst academics, the international development community, businesses, industry organisations, and NGOs the debate has raged for 30 years. Groups and individuals from around the world have dedicated themselves to raising awareness of the issues around unchecked tourism growth, providing solutions, campaigning for change, and developing new ways of doing tourism that ensure positive impacts.
Across the globe, there are great examples of sustainable tourism in action. WTTC’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards highlight but a few.
But of last year’s 1.2 billion international travellers, how many knowingly or unknowingly took steps to travel more responsibly?
Evidence suggests relatively few.
Speaking at WTTC’s Global Summit in Dallas, USA, last year, ocean campaigner Fabien Cousteau said: “I look forward to the day when there is no sustainable tourism, just tourism”.
As the realities of climate change begin to emerge, social and political tensions rise across the world, and resources become scarcer in the face of growing populations, there needs to be a step change in how people undertake their travel.
We need to combine the forces of those thought leaders who have been driving the sustainable tourism agenda for so many years, the businesses who provide the means for tourism to happen, and the experts who know how to deliver sustainable development on the ground, with the power of the people who travel.
The seminal phrase of the Brundtland report was “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
We need tourism now and future generations will need tourism. Not just for jobs, livelihoods, and economic growth, but for peace, community, and wellbeing.
It is no longer enough to congratulate ourselves on what we are doing well, or point fingers at what we are not doing so well. We need to pose the tough questions and find the solutions together. What sets tourism apart from other sectors is the fact that most of us who work in it, are also consumers of it.
We each have a perspective but we are in it together. From now on it needs to be “just tourism”.
Let’s get talking about how to make this happen. #RedefineTourism
The Andaman and Nicobar islands offer an amazing holiday experience in India. Though about 700 kms away from the mainland, the Andaman tourism packages are very popular among the Indian and foreign tourists who seek a perfect holiday destination far away from the hectic concrete jungle. The varied landscapes of the Andaman and Nicobar islands offer a great escapade into nature for the tourists. There’s a lot of greenery here and the islands are strictly Eco-friendly. Even though the population of these islands are less, there are some rare indigenous tribal settlements in the dense tropical forests that are yet to be explored by the civilized humans. The mangrove creeks of the Andaman Islands offer a fantastic holiday experience exploring the wonders of nature. Some of the islands in the Andaman are blessed with beautiful mangrove creeks that offer soulful and exciting boat cruises through them exploring the vivid nature all around.
While the beaches and forests are explored the most during Andaman Tour, boating through these beautiful mangrove covered creeks offer a completely refreshing experience. Since the entire islands support Eco-friendly tourism, the authorities and tour operators take utmost care to make sure that the tourists and tourism does not affect any of the natural surroundings or the ecosystem adversely by pollution or indifferent behaviors by the tourists. The dense tropical forests are home to some rare and vivid species of flora and fauna found only in the islands. During your creek cruises you can see some of this amazing colorful world of animals and birds living in their natural habitat maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Trekking and mountain climbing are also popular activities enjoyed by the tourists who can enjoy an interesting rendezvous with nature without disturbing its emotional balance. The clear water of the sea is the most inviting factor of the Andaman Islands. Tourists can enjoy a wide variety of water sports and other activities on the beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands making the most of their holidays.
Mayabunder
Mayabunder is a small village located in the northern part of the middle Andaman. You can reach Mayabunder by road or by ferry from Port Blair. The tidal creeks lined by mangroves offer a beautiful visual treat to the tourists on Andaman Holiday Tour Packages. The Avis Island is another interesting beach destination in Mayabunder visited by the tourists. The Karamatang beach is very popular among the nature lovers for the turtle nestling here during the right seasons. Another interesting fact about Mayabunder is that, it has the only other port than Port Blair which can harbor passenger ships coming to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Baratang Island
Baratang Islands are very popular among the tourists for the limestone caves and mud volcanoes found here. These wondrous natural formations attract a lot of tourists on Andaman Tour Packages to this beautiful island. Baratang Island also has beautiful mangrove lined creeks where the tourists can enjoy boating. Boating through the creek takes you to an amazing world of greenery through the dense forests. The natural tunnel made by the mangroves and trees are an amazing formation which is home to a large variety of rare and beautiful birds and insects. Parrot Island is another amazing island in Baratang Island where tourists can see hundreds of varieties of parrots due to which the island got its name.
Dugong Creek Village
Dugong Creek Village is located in the Little Andamans and is an amazing way to explore this nature’s wonder during your Andaman Tour Packages from Kolkata. The Little Andaman Island is an amusing destination that’s a little distant from the main islands. You can reach there by boat or by seaplane. Even though the village is picturesque the place is more popular among the tourists for the breathtaking waterfalls and the elephant safari offered here. There’s an elephant training center where elephants are trained to welcome the tourists arriving here on various tour packages and are used for a ride to near the waterfalls through the forest. It will be an amusing experience for the tourists.
Lohabarrak Salt Water Crocodile Sanctuary
Located in Port Blair, the LSWCS is a part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Marine Park located here. LSWCS was started way back in 1983 as a part of the movement to protect the rare salt water crocodiles that were savagely killed for the skin trade. The authorities arrange for a visit of the mangrove creeks, marshlands, the dense tropical forests and the beaches nearby. Boat rides through the creeks are arranged which are safe and enjoyable during your Andaman Tour Packages from Chennai.
Creek cruises offer an incredible and unique holiday experience to the tourists visiting the Andaman Islands. More than the beaches, the creeks show the tourists how to co-exist with nature and make it flourish for a healthy living environment. The authorities and tour operators take utmost care to make sure that the tourists do not endanger the ecosystem in any way while also making sure that they are not endangered by animals. There are many bird sanctuaries, marine life sanctuaries and other natural habitats of animals, birds and the marine life of the islands to preserve them and help them survive in their natural habitat. Turtle nestling is a wonderful way in which the locals and the tourists do their part to preserve these endangered species of sea turtles reproduce and maintain their population which will reflect in a healthy ecosystem. Turtle nestling is done in many of the beaches in the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands every year during the season. So plan your visits to the enchanting islands of Andaman and Nicobar for an astounding holiday experience in the cradle of nature. Experience the refreshing ways of nature and help the islanders preserve a healthy ecosystem by cooperating with the authorities. Do not litter during your holidays in these islands and stay away from interacting with the animals, birds and the tribal settlements so that they can maintain their natural lifestyle which is precious.
I would be one of the many who have visited Mumbai (Maharashtra, India) countless times, and also someone like many others who have fallen in love with the city every time they go. I shall count out the people already residing there, envious as I am.
But what makes the place so likable? What makes me wanting to take a trip to the ‘City of Dreams’ time and again?
Here is a tour of Mumbai, as captured by me.
The Sea
Of course (duh!). Being someone who loves the company of the sea, spending countless minutes staring into abyss with the misty wind lashing my face, I would recommend both Marine Drive and Worli Seaface to anyone who loves a similar setting. Early morning is the best time to be there, however these two places don’t disappoint at any time of the day or year. While Worli Seaface is often swarming with people, Marine Drive is often less crowded and best enjoyed during the monsoon — with a serving of a light drizzle.
Bandra-Worli Sea Link (Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link)
This one is for all the people who love to drive, with their window shades down and sunroofs (if their cars have one) open. This beautiful 8-lane architecture, about 6 kilometers in length, towers over any vehicle passing beneath it, and provides one of the finest views of the sea. While it is a treat for all the driving fanatics out their, the fact that stopping on the bridge to shoot pictures is prohibited by the government disappoints every photographer, including me.
Although, I am fortunate to get the below view from my uncle’s place where I stay during my visit. Needless to say, it looks far more beautiful at night.
And another view while driving through. I’m smitten, I know.
The Cafés, the Urban Culture
Mumbai is one city which youngsters love. Reason being Mumbai loves them! With some fine eateries, shopping centers, and entertainment arenas, the younger blood flocks in numbers to these places brimming with ebullience. Every individual, be it a teenager, or a 20-something, is spoilt for choice with numerous shopping centers to choose from and restaurants, bars and nightclubs which offer them the perfect ambiance to unwind on weekends, holidays and sometimes even a weekday.
The Monuments & the Heritage
Mumbai is one of the city famous for it’s monuments, making it one of the most visited cities for foreigners as well. While memorials like Gateway of India, Prince of Wales Museum of Western India (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), Jahangir Art Gallery, Shivaji Park & Bandra Fort offer an insight in the rich history of India, prominent shrines such as Haji Ali Dargah, Siddhivinayak Temple, Mount Mary Church denote the religious diversity of the country.
I am sure there are many other places that I haven’t covered. But these are the few which I admire the most and I think most other people do too.
Mumbai being one of the busiest metro cities of India, it’s difficult for an individual to cover so much ground on a weekend, or even perhaps a week. But, I am sure many people who have visited this charming place or those who will visit it in the near future will truly go back with fond memories of India and it’s rich culture and heritage.
Do hit the ♡ below if you have enjoyed reading this, it would encourage me to write more and shoot more (pictures)!
What makes Balthali an ideal short hike?
Can be toured in a day or lesser timeBird’s eye view of rich cultural village, panoramic Himalayan peaks in the north horizon and green terrain – A perfect blendOnly ~40 km away from Kathmandu
Overview
We, the group of 3, decided to catch up a local bus at Old Bus park around 8:30am which drove us to Panauti (Old Bus Park-Banepa-Panauti, approx. 1.5 hrs), bus fare being 60 per head and 35 if you have student’s id card. We took next local bus from Panauti to Khopasi, another ~30 mins drive. There’s a small settlement at countryside, culturally rich, with off the beaten track for the hikers after Khopasi, and there lied our destination- Balthali Village, lying at the plateau above ~1700m. The village extended its entrance with suspension bridge (jhulunge pul), which was fun for city slickers like us.
We stretched inside pine forest, warm sun rays penetrating from the trees.As we walked passed this, we retreated our eyes with green fields, making our heart content.Then it was the turn of river meandering down the village, soothing the heat and sweat.
We playfully crossed another suspension bridge, enjoying whatever laid on our way and as we ascended upwards, the village warmly welcomed us with the snowy peaks standing in the northern horizon- comprising of Dorjee Lakpa, Langtang and other ranges. The elevation provided us the bird’s eye view of exceptional hamlet that still lay far from modernization and observed ancient traditions.
In the green and yellow mustard field, the terrain had more to offer us where we satiated ourselves with oranges.
Other attraction that lies in the vicinity of this place are ancient temples like Indreshwar Mahadev, Brahmayani temple and monastery like Namo Buddha.We concluded our one day hike by retreating ourselves with local food and fond memories and longing for our next destination.
