An eye opening online report about Sri Lanka’s civil war
Here is a link to an eyeopening video piece about the tragic civil war that took place in Sri Lanka, and ended just two years ago. Both the Sri Lankan government and opposing Tamil Tigers have recently come under increased scrutiny from the west for war crimes and human rights violations. The government forces were known for shelling hospitals and no-fire zones, and the Tigers were known for using human shields, suicide bombers and child soldiers.
While visiting Sri Lanka, it was apparent that the government was trying to forget the war. After watching this documentary, you will understand why they want to bury the memory of their war.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sri-lankas-killing-fields/4od#3200170
Looking (and thinking) Back on Sri Lanka
First, an anecdote:
Walking through the streets of Kandy, Sri Lanka was a terribly irritating experience. I went with four others from the study tour to explore the city. We found barnacle type men who clung to our group, while trying to give us information we didn’t want, while leading us to stores we were not interested in.
One of the barnacles finally crossed the line. He wore a brightly striped orange and white polo that contrasted wildly with his dark as night skin. He had been clinging to our group for about five minutes, yet none of us were acknowledging his existence. Realizing this, he decided to test our patience. Going up a flight of stairs, he trailed one of the two girls in our group (I was just behind striped polo). Well within ear-shot of one of the girls and myself, he said something that ended with the words “…you’ll be saying my name in the morning.” Hearing this, my anger and frustration with these barnacle men reached its climax. Without thinking, I surged from behind striped polo, slamming him into the wall of the stairwell.
Surprised by my sudden response, striped polo trailed me, quietly directing baseless threats in my direction. No more than 2 minutes later, he wandered off.
Kandy was a turning point in the trip for me. Traveling had become monotonous. I would compare the feeling to eating too many doughnuts. Assuming you like doughnuts… The first doughnut bursts with flavor in your mouth. The sugary taste is overwhelming. The second doughnut still tastes good, but not as intense as the first one. With each additional doughnut, the satisfaction you derive goes down, until you get to the 10th one and want to throw up. So, Kandy was like my 3rd doughnut. Don’t get me wrong, the city was interesting and I was still enjoying my time overseas, but the novelty and had worn off. I began asking myself what I should be getting out of these experiences. They began to blend together. In other words, my brain had become overloaded with thoughts and ideas, and surprisingly, I was growing numb to the cultural bonanza in front of me.
It’s times like these when I find I need to take a step back, and turn off the portion of my brain that soaks up everything around me.
Now that I am back in the U.S., I have been wringing my brain sponge. Looking back on the trip, I now am able to pick up on nuances from my experiences that I didn’t pick up on while traveling. I am making connections while realizing ideas and concepts that I am only able to make now that I have left South Asia. That ability to reflect on my experiences in a different light is one of the reasons I like coming home after traveling abroad.
The greatest realization I’ve had is how much I enjoy the people of Sri Lanka. I have told many people my story about helping the young boy fix his bike in Negombo, Sri Lanka. I always end the story lamenting on how that kind of interaction, that kind of connection, will never occur in the U.S. While fixing the boy’s bike, we communicated via body language and facial expressions. No spoken language was used. Nonetheless, he communicated to me a sense of happiness and joy through non-verbal communication that could never be matched by spoken words.
Sri Lankans in Trincomalee.
Walking the neighborhoods, virtually everybody who was outside stopped to say hi, smile and wave. The warmth in their smiles, and their delight in seeing me was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my own neighborhood in the U.S. To say that these people were friendly would be a massive understatement. It’s difficult to describe the feeling I got connecting and communicating with the Sri Lankans. I will take a stab at it, and describe it as the most pure, nonjudgmental interaction I’ve ever had with people I had never met before.
The warmth of the Sri Lankan people is something that does not exist in America. Most of the people I encountered in the streets (with the exception of Kandy) were genuinely nice to a level that I am not used to. All too often I feel that Americans fake politeness and interpersonal interest when it comes to interactions between strangers. When someone I don’t know or barely know begins a conversation with small talk, I always see through their attempt to be friendly. That’s why I am so bad at small talk. Those American interactions contrast wildly with the interactions I had with people in the streets of Negombo.
I know the Sri Lankans aren’t all saintly (remember my anecdote from above?), they did have a very bloody civil war based on ethnic divisions that lasted almost 30 years. Still, my impression of Sri Lankan culture (based on my week there) is that radicals aside, Sri Lankans are some of the most friendly, hospitable people in the world. For that reason I have developed a strong connection to the island nation, and know I will return!
A Great Day in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
While traveling through Sri Lanka, we wrote blogs to be submitted to the Sri Lankan tourism board. These blogs were intended to be promotional pieces, and may end up on their website. My first blog entry about Trincomalee (viewable here) was not positive enough to be submitted to the tourism board… So I wrote another blog which examines Trincomalee from a different, more positive perspective:
At the Chaaya Blu hotel.
Trincomalee is located on Sri Lanka’s east coast. The region has experienced many hardships over the past two decades. In 2004, much the coast line was decimated by a massive tsunami. Up until 2 years ago, the area in and around Trincomalee was a war zone. With the post-tsunami coastline rebuilt, and the war over, tourism is beginning to pick up in the region. I experienced what Trincomalee has to offer for tourists while staying at the Chaaya Blu beach side hotel.
I had only one full day to spend in Trincomalee, and I made the most of it. Waking up early, I went for a run on the beach. All along the coast, fishermen stood in lines pulling their fishing nets. During my run, I stopped on multiple occasions to help a line of men pull their nets in. The fishermen were always pleased to have the extra help and we all enjoyed the intercultural cooperation that came of it.
Beach fishermen.
Back on the Chaaya Blu beach, a group of fishermen were hauling in their net lines. I was happily surprised to see them there on the hotel beach. At most other beach resort areas I’ve visited, local fishermen would not be allowed on the resort premises. Seeing these fishermen made me realize that the locals and their culture were not being pushed away by tourism.
Later in the afternoon, I and other members of my study tour took a boat out to Pigeon Island to go snorkeling. The reef surrounding the island had a healthy population of fish, but in some places it was apparent that the coral had sustained damage from swimmers. Hopefully, now that the island is a national park, funds generated by ticket sales will help establish reef conservation efforts.
While I was out surveying the deeper sections of the reef, I had an encounter with two reef sharks, each 4 to 5 feet long. Having never encountered sharks, I was shocked to see them. As I was about 200 yards out from land, I felt very vulnerable while the sharks swam a loose circle around me. I kept an eye on each shark to make sure they kept their distance. When I realized they were as curious about me as I was about them, my fear turned to awe.
Sculpture of Ravana at the Koneswaram temple.
Back in Trincomalee, I visited the Koneswaram temple built high upon Swami Rock overlooking the Trincomalee harbor. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
As I was walking through the temple grounds, the sun dropped towards the horizon. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow upon the intricate hindu statues and figures of the temple. With the smell of incense, glow of the setting sun and location high above the water, the Koneswaram temple presented a rich spiritual ambiance.
Back at the hotel, I ended my fantastic day by DJing on the beach. With the clear night sky overhead and my friends dancing like fools around a bonfire, it finally dawned on me just how wonderful the day had been. Trincomalee made it happen. I’ll be back.
American perspectives while traveling abroad
I enjoy traveling because it puts me into uncomfortable situations. At home in Lincoln, Neb., seldom do I feel out of my element. Having lived in Lincoln my whole life, most of my day-to-day experiences are not new to me. The roads I drive, the sidewalks I run, the restaurants where I eat and the wildlife I encounter are all very familiar. When I travel internationally, everything is new and unfamiliar.
Kandy, Sri Lanka... no U.S. city looks or feels like this...
Having traveled a lot internationally, the new places I visit, especially cities, no longer feel so strange or uncomfortable. I have visited cities like Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver and Frankfurt… Those places have many contrasts and variables, culturally, geographically, and in population density and climate. Every time I visit a new city, I feel comfortable because I have been to similar feeling places before. I now feel a wonderful since of familiarity when traveling abroad. The world as a whole has become my home.
After I went running in Sri Lanka one evening, another student from my study tour said it was brave of me to have gone out running alone. I didn’t feel brave at all. I felt extremely safe and comfortable being out in the village. This brave comment got me thinking. What is the experience of international travel like for someone who has not yet grown comfortable being abroad? I was once in that position, but have forgotten what it feels like.
I have little doubt that my perspective on the world, based on my past experiences, differs greatly from some of the other people on this study tour. By watching how other people in my group handle certain situations, I’ve seen glimpses of how they view the world abroad.
While traveling in Malaysia, we visited the Batu Caves. The caves are a Hindu shrine and tourist attraction just outside of Kuala Lumpur. One of the main attractions for my study tour group was the local monkey population.
As someone who realizes the diseases and danger feral monkeys pose, I was very careful to keep my distance and leave the monkeys alone. After all, these were feral animals that fed on piles of rotting trash and constantly fought with each other.
Monkey touch in Kuala Lumpur.
Defying what I thought was common sense, other members of my study tour took the opportunity to interact with the monkeys. A couple people let the monkeys climb on them like a human jungle gym. Unsurprisingly, one of the individuals was scratched on the arm and bit on the head.
Watching the monkey attack was surreal. It also offered a glimpse into the ways other people perceive danger, fear, and discomfort in new situations, versus those that are Familiar. For example, the same person that the monkey big and scratched (unfamiliar situation) later demonstrated her fear of common frogs. (I would call that a familiar situation, because the frog was not poisonous and was similar to the frogs native to the U.S.)
Growing up and living in the U.S., I haven’t had to fear much. I think many Americans have unrealistic understandings of the dangers existing in the world around us. Do to our location in the higher latitudes and disease eradication that was a part of American modernization, there are fewer dangerous diseases in the U.S. compared to other parts of the world. Tropical diseases like Malaria and dengue fever don’t exist in America (or are exceptionally rare), and most people receive countless immunizations for diseases that do exist in the U.S. We do have dangerous animals, but not in high concentrations and in close proximity to people like in the tropics. We don’t have monkeys running around in the wild. Our monkeys are harmless to us, living in closed quarters in zoos and appearing in cartoons or on TV.
"Don't touch me."
With the exception of class and poverty based violence, it’s easy for many Americans to feel comfortable and safe living in the U.S. If someone does us wrong, we sue them. If we get sick, we go to the doctor, get drugs and are healed (or so we assume). If we are hungry, we go to the store and buy food, of which there seems to be an endless supply. When we get thirsty we can turn on the tap and drink the water. We buy insurance, to ensure should bad things happen, we won’t experience what is perhaps the greatest American fear… financial devastation through the loss of home, car etc.
Outside the U.S., there is a need for an increased sense of caution, and the ability to think twice about what you are doing (ie. don’t drink tap water like you are used too in the U.S.!). You can’t always trust the food, water, medical facilities etc. All that said, it’s important to keep your fears and sense of what’s comfortable or uncomfortable in check. I would argue letting wild monkeys crawl over you is dangerous, while going out running in a Sri Lankan fishing village is generally safe.
Perhaps the uncertainties of traveling abroad keep U.S. passport numbers low. A 2011 CNN story reported that 30% of Americans have passports, and 50% of people who do have them only go to Mexico and Canada. In comparison, 75% of U.K. citizens have a passport.
What I’ve observed happening to people with little travel abroad experience is the desire to surround themselves with the familiar. For instance, on this study tour, we were given lots of free time to do as we pleased. With this freedom, some of my peers chose to spend much of their time hanging out in the hotel or at the pool. As someone who would much rather get out to explore the unique places we were visiting, I couldn’t understand the attraction of remaining at the hotel. After all, we have pools and television in the U.S., but to experience Kuala Lumpur, you have to fly around the world!
I think those who spent more time in the hotel did so because it was a familiar and comfortable environment compared to what existed beyond the hotel. That said, what seems familiar when traveling abroad may actually be dangerous. Just because monkeys are a familiar part of our culture in the U.S. (because of zoos and entertainment), the wild monkeys encountered in the tropics are a completely different animal than what we are used to in America.
Despite their reserved nature, students on the study tour who were initially hesitant to venture out, eventually seemed to become more comfortable doing so. Personally, I don’t need a structured framework like the one built into this study tour, but for some people, it makes international travel more accessible. The structured framework of study tours provides students with an opportunity to travel abroad in a way that is more manageable than if they were to plan a trip themselves.
The view from the front of our Sri Lankan travel bus.
A study tour can at times be like an amusement park ride, where you simply have to be present and go through basic motions to experience something fun and relatively wild, while not being completely immersed in the society you are visiting. For instance, riding in motorcoaches through traffic in Sri Lanka and Malaysia gave us only a taste of what the experience would be like verses if you were in a rickshaw/tuktuk/taxi. The bus was air conditioned, quiet and safe in ways that differ from most modes of transportation in Asia. Thus, our buses acted as a barrier that in some ways separated us from the outside world.
Study tours are a great way to introduce new perspectives about the world that exist outside the U.S. These perspectives are especially valuable in the modern interconnected world.
From War to Tourism in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
On Friday, May 27, Sri Lanka celebrated the two year anniversary of the Sinhalese government’s decisive victory over the Tamil Tigers, an army representing Sri Lanka’s separatist Hindu Tamils (the Tigers have been labeled as terrorists by 32 nations, and were the first organization to widely use suicide bombers). In Colombo, a victory day parade was held that featured displays of Sri Lanka’s military might and an appearance by the president. “The event… will set a record in terms of pageantry and gallantry,” wrote Sri Lanka’s English newspaper, the Daily Mirror.
The Trincomalee branch of the the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) was originally a militant group similar to the Libertation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The TELO and LTTE both desired a Tamil independent state in Sri Lanka. In 1986, the TELO fell apart amidst internal conflict as well as external conflict with the LTTE. Following their collapse, the TELO became a political party with two members in parliament as of 2010.
While the celebrations were occurring in Colombo, I was driving to Trincomalee, on Sri Lanka’s east coast, where Tamil Hindus and Muslims outnumber Sinhalese. During the civil war, the Tamil Tigers included Trincomalee in the territory they hoped to take from Sri Lanka to form their own country. In Trincomalee, I observed no celebration of the war’s anniversary.
Trincomalee was described by Sriyani Tidball, one of our study tour leaders, as an undeveloped part of the country.
“We are going into the wilderness,” she said.
About 30 km out from Trincomalee, the highway quality suddenly plummets. The road is terribly rough, and the 40 person bus I am riding in groans and clunks as the suspension system struggles to withstand the abuse of the crumbling pavement and potholes. The highway leading to Trincomalee is in such poor condition compared to the other highways that I wonder if the government has deliberately neglected the road, perhaps a reflection of lingering anti-Tamil sentiments. On the other hand, Trincomalee is a component of Sri Lanka’s budding tourism industry, thus it would seem counterproductive for the government not to develop roadways in the region.
A roadside bunker on the road to Trincomalee.
While bouncing down the road, I notice numerous military bunkers on the side of the road, at least one every kilometer. Some are made of concrete, others of mud, wood and sheet metal. Some have razor wire laced around them, others have a soldier or two sitting inside. The bunker appearances differ in size and construction, but each one carries an eerie reminder of a not forgotten war.
The countryside and towns along the east coast carry the telltale characteristics of rural poverty. Many homes are made of mud and grass with thatched leaf roofs. Men standing outside their homes appear thin and undernourished, but not hopeless. Feral dogs run around as cows with protruding ribs hang out on the road.
Trincomalee cow.
Turning off the crude highway to the luxurious Chaaya Blu hotel, the bus drives along a narrow dirt road lined with small homes and shops made of mud, brick and sheet metal. Entering the perimeter walls of the hotel is like passing through a wormhole and entering a different dimension. Inside the walls, I would soon be gorging on buffet breakfasts and dinners while ordering chilled drinks from a fully stocked bar at poolside. Meanwhile, outside the hotel walls a world of people lives that will never know the level of luxury I get to experience.
Tsunami evacuation route sign.
Standing on my balcony, I had a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean. Five years ago, this would have been the last place on Earth I would have wanted to be. Looking out to the horizon, I can imagine the ominous tsunami wave of 2004 barreling towards me. The tsunami crushed the coastline around me while devastating the lives of those whose livelihood depends on the sea. To now be standing there years later, contemplating those past events was remarkable.
I went running on the beach the following morning. Passing some friendly fisherman pulling in their nets, I got in line with them and helped pull in their catch. One man began openly talking to me about Sri Lankan politics and about his dislike of the president. He told me how the price of food kept going up, especially coconuts. He was skeptical about this, and his distrust for the government led him to believe the higher prices were lining the pockets of politicians.
Fishermen were also on the Chaaya Blu hotel beach pulling in their nets. I was surprised to see them there, but saw it as an indication that tourism hasn’t yet begun to take precedence over local society’s basic needs. The government, it seems, is trying to change this balance and I found myself caught in the middle of one such event that symbolizes the shift towards tourism.
While making a snorkeling trip out to Pigeon Island, a rocky island 1 km offshore with a coral reef, my fellow travelers and I discovered the place crawling with uniformed men carrying AK-47s. They were securing the area for the arrival of public officials, including the president’s brother, Basil Rajapaksa. While I was snorkeling amongst reef sharks and coral, the men ceremoniously unveiled a plaque declaring Pigeon Island a national park. As it would happen, I and my fellow snorkelers ended up being some of the last people to visit the island without paying a fee, a component of the island’s new national park status.
The government’s decision to turn Pigeon Island into a money maker is a controversial move in the eyes of the local Tamil boatmen who ferry passengers to and from the island. Until now, anybody could hire a boat on the beach, pay the captain and get a ride to and from the island. Now, island-goers will have to purchase a park ticket before hiring a boat. The boatmen are concerned they will lose business because it will now cost tourists more to visit the island, and it remains unclear where the tickets will be sold. If the tickets are limited in availability, that too will harm the business of the boatmen who rely on ferrying tourists for their income.
This issue can also be connected to the questionable treatment of Tamils by the Sri Lankan government. On the surface, it appears as though local Tamils may be hurt by Pigeon Island’s national park status. Plus, it is questionable as to where the Pigeon Island profits will go. They could be put to good use on the island, perhaps to help bolster coral reef conservation efforts. But if the profits leave the island and the Trincomalee area, the local tourism economy will be hurt.
As for my perspective on this issue as a foreign tourist, the newly added cost of park admission on top of the boat ride fee would act as a deterrent for me to visit the island because I feel the government may be trying to squeeze more money out of foreigners (This would surely be the case if there is a foreigner price and a Sri Lankan price, a ticketing method often used). I already feel slightly ripped off paying 10 American dollars to locals for a boat ride to and from the island. To then pay 8-10 more dollars to the government to visit an island that was once free to access seems like a case of foreigner rip off. If that money was put to productive use on the island or in the nearby areas of Trincomalee where public infrastructure could use serious renovations, then I would be more willing to pay.
The heavy armament prompted by the visit of the president’s brother carried over to the mainland. Men with AK-47s were also patrolling the areas near where the brother was staying. Although armed protection is understandable for high level political figures, the way in which this protection was executed reeked of political posturing and intimidation. The perimeter of armed gunmen extended for miles around the hotel. Road blocks were in place.
As a student of ethnic studies, I find observing these political interactions and social conditions to provide fascinating insights into local culture and society. From the perspective of a tourist looking for peace and relaxation, snorkeling on an island off the coast amidst 50 armed gunmen might seem unsettling. Back in Trincomalee, the underdevelopment of the town, surrounding areas, and the clear presence of relics of war may also come as a shock to tourists. Americans aren’t used to seeing armed soldiers standing guard in public places so recently scarred by war.
To be traveling in this part of Sri Lanka so soon after the civil war’s dramatic end is bizarre. Two years ago, it would have dangerous for me to travel to Trincomalee. In the two years since then, the local tourism economy has begun to develop, but the rest of the community remains undeveloped. My fear is that the government will continue to neglect the local Tamil population, and eventually push them out in favor of more hotels and tourist attractions. If this happens, Trincomalee would become a resort town, void of the authentic local culture and character that make it so interesting now. The town could become like other coastal towns in resort areas of countries like Mexico, Costa Rica and Thailand.
The advantage Sri Lanka has over other tropical countries is that there is no well established tourism industry. This means Sri Lanka can still build its tourism industry into something truly unique that doesn’t follow a resort-on-the-beach formula that pushes the locals inland, and out of sight of tourists. The biggest obstacle to creating a unique Sri Lankan tourism industry, I think, is the government. If their plan for developing tourism focuses on making money while neglecting local culture, infrastructure and society in Tamil areas, problems will occur.
While flying from Sri Lanka to Singapore, I met a man named Melvin who was on his way home to Melbourne, Australia. A Sinhalese, he told me that during the civil war, he and his brothers fled Sri Lanka to live and study abroad. I asked Melvin about the aftermath of the civil war. He said that today there are still some radical individuals that try to rekindle tensions, but their followers are limited and they aren’t capable of doing much. He went on to say that Sri Lankan politicians and other ethnic leaders were to blame for exacerbating the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka. He added that most people of both ethic groups live in harmony with each other, and don’t want war.
Still, with only two years since the conclusion of the civil war, tensions and misgivings between sides continue to exist. That said, the changes that have occurred in those two years have been significant enough to make it possible for foreigners such as myself to relax on beaches that were once a war zone.
A sign for peace in Trincomalee.
Thoughts on Malaysia
I have mixed feelings about Kuala Lumpur. The city provides a range of cultures, but is also similar to other big cities of the world.
Alley way staircase in Kuala Lumpur's chinatown.
I find major modern cities to be a lot alike. Take a lot of people with different ethnic backgrounds, add a lot cars, high rise buildings, wealth, poverty, trash and noise… and there’s your city, and it could be anywhere in the world. (Yeah, I am generalizing here, but even when variables like spoken language, climate, culture and the status of the country (developing or developed) are factored in, the world’s major cities share a lot). I personally find small towns, small cities and the countryside to be more interesting because metropolis’ in the developing world are made up of people who have moved to the city. Thus, the countryside contains the untouched cultural influences that become diluted and intermixed in big cities along with other cultures, both of domestic and international origin.
The Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In countries like Malaysia that are still developing, cities like Kuala Lumpur can give the wrong impression about just how much the country has developed. People might be driving Porsches in the city, but there are still rural parts of the country on the opposite end of the economic and development spectrum. Nonetheless, Kuala Lumpur did offer an insightful perspective into how Asia is developing.
Kuala Lumpur’s source of wealth is due to oil, hence the Petronas skyscraper towers. The Petronas twin towers feature an observation bridge connecting the two buildings that is open to the public. Admission to the bridge is less than $10. Before you can go up the skyscrapers to the bridge, you must first watch a Petronas propaganda film that tells you how technologically advanced and wonderful the Petronas petroleum company is.
After the film, high speed elevators whisk you up to the observation bridge. From the bridge, you can see much of Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, the combination of fog and pollution obscures your view of the city. As an interesting side note, our tour guide Rozie said the haze was not due to pollution, but was actually a result of forest burning in Sumatra. I remain skeptical of that claim. What major metropolis in the developing world is without air pollution?
Murugan, the Hindu deity of the Tamil land, stands at the entrance to the Batu Caves.
We also visited the Batu Caves. The caves are a Hindu shrine and tourist attraction just outside of Kuala Lumpur. Not surprisingly, the Batu Caves, despite the religious significance of the site, was perhaps the dirtiest location I observed in Kuala Lumpur. Hindus are litterbugs. I hate to make generalizations, but after living in India for four months and having visited Hindu religious sites outside of India, I have noticed a pattern regarding trash disposal by Hindus… they simply throw their trash on the ground as though the Earth was a waste basket.
In spite of the trash, the Batu Caves were impressive. The caves were huge. I would guess the main cave ceiling was 200 feet high in some parts, and 100 feet wide. Along the sides of the cave were eerily lit shrines featuring Hindu gods and goddesses. At the other end of the cave, the ceiling opened up to the sky. Standing and looking up the sides of the cave felt like looking up from the bottom of a giant dry well.
A Batu Caves monkey.
Economically speaking, Malaysia’s money well appears to be anything but dry. Driving through the portion of the city designed and built for the government, I was struck by the modern appearance of the buildings. In America, like much of the West, government buildings frequently feature Greco-Roman architecture. In Malaysia, a country still considered to be developing by the International Monetary Fund, a very modern style of architecture predominates. Superficially, Malaysia looks like the future, while America and the West look like the past.
Looking into Putrajaya, the recently built planned city that houses Malaysia's federal government.
I want to expand on this past and present distinction between America and Malaysia by mentioning just how ferociously hungry Asia is to develop and modernize. I think Asia, and specifically Malaysia in this case, has a much greater determination to grow, develop and advance their society than exists in America. This hunger in Malaysia was hinted at when Jake Hoy-Eleswick, international recruitment coordinator for UNL Admissions, said that more Malaysian students have attended UNL than from any other country outside the U.S. Today Malaysia has the highest number of foreign UNL alumni. Malaysian students usually study in the U.S., and then return to Malaysia after they graduate.
While Asia is accelerating developmentally, America feels like it is idling. Although America is much more advanced, and significantly more developed than Asian countries (with the exception of Singapore), countries like China and Malaysia are closing that gap. Asian countries are also accelerating by investing in each other. For example, Dr. Reinier Bouwmeester, dean of Taylor’s College in Malaysia, said that 80% of development in Malaysia is by the Chinese.
The futuristic Seri Wawasan Bridge, leading into the Putrajaya federal district.
Foreign investments from the west have also been on the increase due to the worldwide economic crisis and faltering economies in Europe and America. The supply of money in the global economic system works very similarly to water and the global water cycle. When there is a water drought in region A, region B floods. The money cycle works very similarly. While the U.S. is experiencing a financial drought, other parts of the world are experiencing financial downpours (digression: I’ll take this analogy another step by adding that too much money too fast is causing inflation in countries like China and India, inflation being the financial equivalent of a flood).
“The difficulties of advanced economies actually had the effect of promoting growth in the emerging world, as investors began funneling funneling money into up-and-coming economies,” wrote economics Paul Krugman in The New York Times Magazine.
Even with all the development and financial injections, Kuala Lumpur still feels third-world in many ways. Walking through an alley of Kuala Lumpur’s chinatown, my travel companion Paige was repulsed to find a large bucket of decomposing chicken organs sitting next to caged chickens.
Me in The Star newsroom. Photo Courtesy of Tom Tidball.
In terms of free speech and the government, Mohd Hafidz Mahpar, associate editor for Malaysia’s largest newspaper, The Star, said they must apply for an annual permit to publish from the government. The Star is owned by the Malaysian Chinese Association, a political party representing Malaysian Chinese. Because of this direct political affiliation, Mahpar said that his paper, like others in Malaysia, had to be careful how they reported news about the political party they are affiliated with, as well as the ruling party. In the 1980s, Mahpar said The Star was shut down for a few months and 100 people were detained by the government due to content that was published.
Without having seen rural Malaysia, it’s hard to gauge just how developed or underdeveloped the country is. My guess is that parts of the country are still vastly underdeveloped. As the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur is at the hub of Malaysia’s rapid modernization. Although I foresee the rest of the country developing as well, I am curious about what will happen to the people who have thus far been left out of Malaysia’s rapid development. Will these people living in the far reaches of Malaysia eventually be swept up by the tsunami of development that is currently pounding Kuala Lumpur, or will they only get their toes wet, left out by the influence of modernization?
Along with Malaysia's modernization comes clean socks.
Dissecting the Thought Processes of Tour Guides
When traveling abroad, I am sometimes skeptical of tour guides (which is why I only have guides when traveling with a group on organized study tours).
I am skeptical because of how tour guides and other individuals representing their countries to foreigners communicate. Sometimes, it becomes obvious that they are presenting only part of the story, while withholding information.
Rozie was a great guide, but she didn't think we could handle some of the local food...
Guides communicate on two levels, both of which are interrelated. Level one is the overt communication of basic facts, such as, “on the left you can see the American embassy for Malaysia.” (That was a quote from our lively Malaysian tour guide Rozie, a rotund woman who blames Indian food for her weight gain.)
The second level of communication pertains to the underlying reasoning and decision by the guide to disclose and withhold certain information from foreigners (in this case me, the American traveler). The decision making process that determines what is said, I think, reflects these factors:
-An individual’s belief in stereotypes, such as Americans can’t handle spicy ethnic foods (this one drives me batshit crazy).
-A desire to do what’s in the best interest of their country, which could mean obscuring some aspects of society, such as a taxi driver saying that Singapore has no poor people (a claim I can refute because I saw homeless men sleeping in underpasses during my morning run), while simultaneously promoting other seemingly positive aspects of their society (Rozie frequently pointed out Kuala Lampur’s extravagant malls and hotels).
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A good example of tour guides and other individuals showing off their country occurred in Singapore. Both levels of communication came into play when our tour guide and other Singapore locals adamantly insisted that we visit shopping malls for meals and sightseeing. Based on what some of the locals said, shopping malls were the best way to spend our day and a half in Singapore.
As somebody who sees no point in visiting western style shopping centers abroad, I questioned their motives for pushing us into their malls.
I think there were four thought processes that influenced their chosen discourse. First, Singaporeans are assuming we (Americans) have money to burn, which in my experience is a stereotype held by people around the world. Their logic may be that since I am an American who can afford to travel abroad, I must have lots of disposable income.
Building off that, Singaporeans may think Americans love shopping, another stereotype commonly associated with Americans.
Third, Singaporeans want us to spend money in Singapore to bolster their economy (See my other blog post about Singapore where I mention how Singaporeans desire further economic development over increased freedom of speech).
Fourth, Singapore wants to flaunt their wealth and status to the world, especially to the West. Malls and high class retail stores are a means of communicating this, albeit very superficially.
The annoying determination of Singaporeans to get Americans into their malls was demonstrated in one peculiar instance when my travel companion and fellow feral traveller, Trevor, told a newspaper editor we had met about our plan to visit Arab Street, an Arab quarter of Singapore. Trevor elaborated on how we wanted to find some delicious Middle Eastern food and smoke a hookah. The newspaper editor replied by saying that we should change our plans and instead visit Orchard Street, Singapore’s main shopping street featuring many high-end retail stores.
His recommendation was so out of sync with our intentions that I thought he was joking with us. He was dead serious! Even after we explained to him how we specifically did not want to go a mall, he encouraged us to visit the shopping district on our way back to the hotel. We never did.
On a final note, I should point out that I was in Singapore for a total of 48 hours. Because of this, my analysis was based on limited first hand experiences. I also rely to some degree on stereotypes about Singapore. But, as the newspaper editor we spoke to said, “stereotypes are always based on some element of truth.”
This enjoyable Singapore experience was not made possible by advice from a tour guide or other Singaporean.
Singapore: Toy City
Singapore is surreal. I came to this conclusion about 10 hours after arriving in the city. It is a city-state with 5 million people and a land area of about 275 square miles. It is clean, unsettlingly clean, without any feral vibes… It feels and looks like a toy city.
What kind of major city bans gum chewing? Singapore! What Asian megalopolis has no poor people? Singapore! (said a cab driver). The Singaporeans who inhabit this artificial metropolis have attempted to create their own perfect little country. On the surface, it appears as though they have succeeded (granted I am basing this off observations I made during my stay in the city which was no longer then 48 hours). Singaporeans, including our tour guide Foridah, are very proud of their city. I respect Singaporeans, and their realized utopia, but in my opinion, Singaporean perfection is deadly bland, and nothing more then a novelty.
Tom Tidball, one my study tour leaders, said it best when he described Singapore as having “no soul.” I agree.
Here’s why I think Singapore has no soul:
-Singapore is a rich country that flaunts its wealth with extravagant building projects and an overwhelming number of malls, but lacks distinguishing cultural landmarks. Singaporeans try hard to fit the stereotype of modernized Western society, and I think they have gone overboard. They are more modern and Westernized than any Western city I have visited.
-Vice taxes. If you are a native Singaporean, you will be charged 100 Singapore dollars to enter a casino. Our Singapore tour guide Foridah said (note that 1 American dollar equals 1.25 Singapore dollars). This is a government enforced fee that is an attempt to prevent Singaporeans from developing a gambling addiction, she added. Foridah also said alcohol, tobacco and automobiles are heavily taxed. A cheap beer in a restaurant will cost at least $7. Go to a bar and expect to pay around 20 Singaporean dollars for a common brand of beer. A common brand of cigarettes runs about 12 Singaporean dollars.
The obligatory supporting anecdote: One member of our group, Calvin, attempted to buy alcohol from the Singapore airport’s Duty Free liquor store. When he went to pay for his bottle of booze, the woman at the counter asked if he had come from Malaysia. When he said he had, the women wouldn’t sell him the liquor. Later, I learned from Mohamed Salim, a Singaporean working at a major advertising agency, that the airport duty free shop is not allowed to sell alcohol to people who have flown in from Malaysia. The reason: Airline tickets from Malaysia to Singapore are so cheap that an individual could start a lucrative business by simply flying in from Malaysia, buying lots of alcohol at the duty free shop and selling it in Singapore at much lower prices than official retailers.
-They value economic growth more than freedom of speech. “A MAJORITY of Singaporeans prize economic growth over freedom of speech…” wrote Singapore’s English newspaper, The Straits-Times, in a recent article. (http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_672033.html)
-The government has limited tolerance for public discontent. I heard an anecdote that goes like this… Singapore’s prime minister was golfing in Sri Lanka with a Sri Lankan public official. At the same time elsewhere in Sri Lanka, students were protesting the government. The Sri Lankan official asked the prime minister what he would do about protests in Singapore. He said he would have the leaders of the protests rounded up and shot dead.
So, in conclusion, I will say that visiting Singapore was a very unique and perspective enhancing experience. Singapore fits into a category of its own, and for that reason it is a city-state worth visiting. Other members of my study tour very much enjoyed the city, for it is exceptionally safe and clean on the surface. It’s kind of an Asia lite, in that there is little apparent poverty, little crime, and little filth on the streets. I saw many timid looking western men and women freely wandering the streets after dark. These individuals would probably be overwhelmed in more chaotic but culturally vibrant cities like Mumbai, India, or Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Running for my Life in Sri Lanka
I love to run because of how it exposes me to the world. This results in an intimate relationship between me and the world that I move through. People, animals, plants, smells, rocks, dirt, smog, fog and sun are just a few of the worldly elements I may encounter after I lace up my sneakers.
This kind of exposure makes running a personal thrill. Running is a very feral experience for me. It is an escape from the domestication of modern life that allows our bodies to move and perform to their full potential.
On May 18th, I experienced a truly spectacular run in the village of Negombo, Sri Lanka.
Fresh off an 11 hour flight from London, I found myself at an all-inclusive resort being waited upon by native Sri Lankans. I hate finding myself in a social hierarchy that places me above other people whose ancestors were colonized and oppressed by Westerners. I am no a colonizer and I have no desire to be waited upon by people who were once victims of colonization!
To get away from that situation, I decided to take a run outside the resort gates. Running along a busy road sans sidewalks, I quickly veered off onto a quieter road that wound through a neighborhood. After my experience at the resort, it was unbelievably liberating to interact with Sri Lankans who were not calling me sir.
Children and adults were congregating in the street to celebrate a Buddhist holiday. One celebrating family called me over to share a holiday drink they had made. Everyone was overjoyed to see me, a white guy, a foreigner, partaking in their celebration. Walking down the street sipping my drink, I found myself saying hello to everyone. When I came across a quiet stretch of houses, I reflected on the warmth of the people I had just walked by.
I thought to myself, about how these kinds of social situations keep me traveling abroad. Seeing the faces of men, women and children light up as I say “hello, how are you?” warms my heart. No American stranger has ever smiled so warmly to me in America, yet here, everybody, even seemingly crusty old men smile as though my presence has brightened their day.
Continuing on my run, I passed by a young boy, probably 9 or 10, who was walking alongside his broken bike. Realizing I might be able to fix his ride, I went back to see what I could do.
I gestured to the boy that I wanted to see if I could fix his bike. Unable to speak English, he nodded in understanding and pointed to the problem. His chain was stuck in the spokes. Without hesitation I grabbed the greasy chain and began tugging. By the time I pulled the chain free, my hand was bleeding and greasy. With the chain back where it should be, the boy, overjoyed with his fixed bike, rode along side me as I ran. After a few minutes, the chain again flew into the spokes. Again, I pulled the chain free, realigning it. Realizing the source of the problem, I gestured to the boy that his chain lacked necessary tension. I loosened the wheel from the bike frame, pulled the wheel back in the axle slots thereby tightening the chain and solving the problem. Thrilled, the boy gave me a huge grin as he rode off down the road ahead of me.
That interaction left me feeling high on life… and it all happened because I decided to go for a run.
The spectacular Powerman Gym was closed...for good... so I kept running!
Reflections on international travel
From May 17th… thoughts I had during my flight from London to Colombo Sri Lanka…
Ever since I first set foot in Chicago’s ominous O’hare airport at age 12, International airports have always been magical places to me. Walking through airline terminals with my parents when I was young, my imagination would run wild every time I saw gate marquees with destinations like New Delhi, Tokyo, Istanbul and Buenos Aires. Turning my head to look through the expansive windows of airports like those in Denver International Airport, I would gaze upon jumbo jets resting on the tarmac. These big planes possessed a sense of grandeur that the domestic flights I was accustomed to lacked.
Looking at the people mingling around the gate, I felt like they were about to do something truly extraordinary. I could imagine myself with a boarding pass to Cairo or Bangkok. What a thrill it would be! The allure of flying over the ocean to a far away land was something that I longed for. What would it smell like in Mumbai? What would a subway be like in Shanghai? What would I eat in Munich? What would Panama City sound like?
Over the past 10 years, I have been experiencing the magic of travel. I have swam at deserted beaches in Panama, eaten curry in India, observed communist China, gone clubbing in Poland and more. The edges on my passport are fraying, and the pages are filling up with visas, immigration stamps and memories of foreign lands that I will never forget.
Still, adrenaline tickled my toes and fingers just hours before as I stood at the London Heathrow gate for my flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Handing my boarding pass to the flight attendant, I felt like I was 12 again, though this time my imagination would soon become reality…
My airplane sleeping technique. Sleep is essential for living feral after landing at my destination, wherever it may be.
