Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/we-just-want-to-be-tourists/27618/ en-us Design Observer Group 2011-06-21T11:21:01-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0
The author kept a cool head once the problems began. She made good decisions given what information she had, got a bit lucky, and got back to a safe place to ponder it all more deeply. I agree with her that some people (Theroux as one) are too flippantly dismissive of danger; most of us are not looking for life-threatening travel experiences. I also agree that some tourists are an embarrassment to humanity. In seeking "kodak moments," we should all at least attempt to overcome ignorance rather than assume or expect every place to be "just like home." There are "ugly tourists" who expect to be catered to, who lack the decency to try to understand the people and the places they invade, flaunting their privileged status without enough sensitivity to realize that they are indeed relatively privileged compared to many people.

Thank you for sharing this.]]> Jan http://places.designobserver.com/feature/we-just-want-to-be-tourists/27618/#comments 2011-06-21T11:21:01-05:00
Sadly, i thought this was going to be a tourist view of Magallanes' gas crisis. Instead this is just a tourist view of a tourist, of a "native" looking no further than her nose, bothered by another "native" reality.
Our vacations are our time, our time to relax, to get to know new places, new sight, new realities...i'd would be glad to have been in Egypt in the middle of the uprising, i wouldn't be bothered that i couldn't get to Giza, i'd would be able to talk, to listen to the story, feel the "natives" reality...i wouldn't be nostalgic of my own backyard.

When you travel the world looking at your own belly you miss lot.

By the way, you've now missed new protests in Chile.
Now we are fighting against a dam that will flood a lot of the beautiful landscapes you might have seen. Yes, in Patagonia. Look for HidroAysen...you'll see.
And that's all over Chile.
Oh! And right now we are fighting to get a better educational system...with protesters all over the country...100K just in Santiago...imagine...you better stay away from countries like ours...it might get awkward.]]> angelo antonucci http://places.designobserver.com/feature/we-just-want-to-be-tourists/27618/#comments 2011-06-21T10:59:25-05:00 Brittany http://places.designobserver.com/feature/we-just-want-to-be-tourists/27618/#comments 2011-06-16T22:40:14-05:00