Harsh Reality of the Tourism Trade

*Disclaimer: I firstly would like to point out that I am by no means an expert in this field; this is just my opinion and view on the matter.

As we made our way through the never-ending, overgrown paths of the island, without the faintest idea of where we were headed, all I was aware of was the searing pain from what I could only assume at the time was a fractured heel. I pushed on; hoping that wherever we were headed would provide somewhere…anywhere… to rest for a while. We were unlucky, until we ran into our group and were taken to our next destination for the day. As we arrived, I immediately caught sight of a seat. Instinctively, I rushed towards it, not paying attention to any of my surroundings or what I was actually headed for, since the only thing filling my mind was the pain of my overworked foot. After four others and a driver climbed aboard, the seat began to move, rather jerkily and with a lot of swaying from side to side. It wasn’t until we had been on the road for at least two minutes that I came to my senses and began to realise what was going on; we were sitting in a carriage being pulled along by a “horse”…

Welcome to the tourism trade!

Picture this image above, with five average sized passengers and a driver aboard the cart. It sounds ridiculous but this was the situation.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that in most cases like this where we find ourselves on a small island somewhere in Asia, there is a shortage of jobs going around, therefore for some people, the only option for them to sustain themselves and their families, is through the tourist trade. Also, I am fully aware of this being a cultural difference, and a part of the Vietnamese lifestyle. Transporting goods and people around these small islands by means of horse and cart is likely to be age-old tradition, and the most convenient way for these people, therefore they may not recognise the harm that is being done.

 

The issue I am trying to bring awareness to here, is that it has been so well incorporated into the tourism trade, that many tourists visiting these places agree to pay for these trips as part of their holiday, and are more often than not blissfully unaware of what is actually happening, and the suffering these poor creatures are probably undergoing.

 

My point here, is to try to encourage tourists and holiday-goers to properly think about what they are signing up for in these places, rather than just blindly dishing out money for what is described as a “must see/must do” tourist activity. These poor creatures don’t deserve to live their lives simply for the purpose of carting ignorant tourists around islands for their pleasure and grinning photo opportunities.

 

This was by far one of the most upsetting moments for me to date and I have never jumped out of any mode of transport so quickly in all my life. Turning around to see another struggling, fragile horse following quickly behind with another full load of grinning tourists, was enough to break me down for the rest of that day, and even now every time I think back to it or see a photograph from that day I can’t help but cry.

 

 

About a week later, I landed in Bali…

 

After a long night in downtown of Kuta, the last thing I wanted to do was to be driving around in small motorboats and parasailing off the back of them, so when we had the chance to pull ashore and exit the boat, I took that opportunity gladly.

 

Once on the island, I was immediately confronted with some startling sights thrust in my face.

 

First was a man holding a snake, who was insistent we hold it for a photo, and before we knew what was happening, we had the reptile draped around our necks and a multitude of cameras, some of which our own, surrounding us as we had our unwanted photos snapped.

 

Only after the photos were taken, did I realise that the poor creature had its jaws strapped together with tape to prevent it from biting or harming any tourists.

 

It’s so upsetting that just for the sake of tourist entertainment and pleasure, we need to put humans before snakes and torment these poor animals who don’t have a say in it.

 

The same principle here goes for a poor Iguana I saw only moments later…

 

Venturing further onto this miniscule, tourist-infested island, past cages of birds, tiny tubs with far too many turtles crammed in, and monkeys who were only there because their excretions are turned into some form of coffee consumed throughout Indonesia, (sensing a theme here? Their tourism strategies are goooood) I became aware of two Iguanas sitting on wooden planks in the middle of the walkway, but each with the end of their tails sliced off. The reason for this is what I can only assume as being for the tourism trade, yet again, for the unsuspecting tourists to gawk at and photograph themselves with whilst remaining safe from potential injuries from the sharp tail.

 

After photographing these instances for evidence I turned and walked as fast as I could off the island and onto the boat, with no intention of ever returning to this place as a “tourist”.

 

I hope these stories and thoughts can help encourage more people to stop and think next time we are in a situation such as these, and hopefully share these thoughts with others throughout the world. Let’s all join together and help bring more awareness of this tourism industry to the world.

Please, if anyone has any comments, suggestions, ideas etc feel free to contribute!

Mel xx