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Want to see the world? Hurry up!

Swammerdami

Squadron Leader
Joined
Dec 15, 2017
Messages
5,582
Location
Land of Smiles
Basic Beliefs
pseudo-deism
Decades ago people told me they'd like to travel when they retired. My answer was always the same: Want to see the world? Travel NOW while there's still a world to see!

Just now my Google news feed (or Samsung news feed?) presented me with a List of tourist destinations NOT to visit. The problem wasn't that tourists no longer liked these places; it was the opposite, that tourists liked them too much! They are overrun. Balinese beaches "are now buried under 300,000 tons of plastic waste." Barcelona and Mallorca were also mentioned as places where "the locals don't want tourists."

Topping the list were Bali and Ko Samui. My daughter visited both recently and liked them OK, but I'm sure they weren't like they were decades ago.

I've never been to Indonesia at all, but I visited Ko Samui 40 years ago. No airport; bungalows were cheap. Tranquility! Most of Phuket was similar in those days. I stayed at one beach where electricity was available for only 2 hours a day, right at sundown. Patong was nearby (as the crow flies) for nightlife but neighboring beaches were not connected: you had to drive your motorcycle halfway to Phuket Town to find a road for a different beach. The beaches near where construction on a Club Med was just beginning were electrified 24 hours but still very tranquil. For lunch I had swordfish steak (less than $1) and in evenings I went to a "disco" where beer and hamburger were each about $1. Everyone was very friendly. I was care-free and very content. Altogether I spent several very happy weeks on Phuket Island.

That was 1984. I visited Phuket again in 1990 with my future wife and changes were very tangible. Patong had turned into a mini-Pattaya. I've not gone back since and I don't want to.

- - - - - - - - -

The same newsfeed presented me with an article on Bhutan, the country that emphasizes happiness over wealth. The King had to impose democracy: His subjects were happy with the monarchy. With schools taught in English, they're now suffering a "brain drain": Other countries want the happy English-speaking Bhutanese as workers. So now Bhutan is promoting tourism to provide work for young Bhutanese. If you want to check it out, my advice remains: Go NOW!
 
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