Asia Observations

---

These are my observations following several recent trips to Asia, along with recommendations of what to try seeing, and what to avoid. I will include individual country summaries afterward.

Feeling much like I've just barely scratched the surface of Asia, nevertheless I've been in the last year to Nepal (twice), northern India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Also, I've spent brief periods in China (Beijing, Hong Kong, Tianjin), Korea and Japan. I have opinions and recommendations to share. Here are my general impressions, subjective as they may be.

Asians, like people everywhere, are as diverse as life can be; they do have a certain shared character however. They at times infuriate me, with their:
Pushiness in lines/ques (“me first”)
Often-lackadaisical attitude (this comes from a typical problem-solving American)
The inexplicable superior attitude of city-dwelling Asians. Maybe this is true of most city dwellers, but for example in China, the new urban class seem to be enjoying their financial comfort a little too much, all the while looking down on anyone perceived to be of simpler rural stock, or even a little more rough around the edges. Mao is rolling over in his grave.
The way many seem to lay about for much of the day. Again, I'm American (but really not your typical “Type A” American).
The way many do not understand any sign language, as contrasted with Latin Americans, with whom you can communicate with your hands if all else fails.
These are the WORST THINGS from my point of view: The capability of many to abuse animals. I witnessed this a number of times amongst the young, and nearly lost it. Exceptions include Thailand, where they love their dogs. Also their careless littering.

But all of that said, I love many things about them:
They find joy in everyday life, laughing and joking much more than you see in the West.
Many are charmingly naïve (I mean that in the best way), with not a cynical bone in their bodies.
The way they dote on their children
Their devotion to their work and to their God is inspiring.
They are so easy to push to laughter & silliness with even the most stupid of my antics.

One note about the typical Asian resignedness, which is a two-sided coin: This is where most just accept the corruption, the abuse heaped upon them by their government and corporate leaders, the woeful state of their infrastructure, in short every curve thrown their way in life. It is frustrating to see from someone who sees these problems at least addressed, if not solved. Does it enable the problems to continue? But on the other hand, it is an excellent survival technique, a way to go on enjoying life, and most important for the millions of Buddhists, very much in keeping with their spiritual outlook.

Asia, an enormous continent, surrounded by equally enormous seas, is of course very diverse. The places people live here are filthy and beautiful, devastated and pristine, harsh and nurturing. I am often reminded there of the extremes, the yin and yang, of a place I once lived, Alaska.

Each country I visited has its own special nature, each its own distinct feel. A surprising fact about SE Asia's closely-spaced countries is that each has a distinct feel. Of course geography only changes gradually across SE Asia, and the cultures are similar in many respects. But in daily interactions with the people, I quickly realized that the region retains the tribal separateness of its distant past.

Many places are more defined by their tribal identities than any national identity, something that has been noted countless times, but which you need to experience first hand to really understand. For example, the Khumbu of Nepal is Sherpa, bound to Tibet and to their own grand mountain valleys, while the Terrai in the south of Nepal shares much with hot and dusty northern India. (The Terrai is very beautiful and rich in wildlife - where it is protected.) The Mekong Valley in Laos is made up of people influenced by their Thai and Chinese neighbors, while the rugged and forested land away from the great river are a hodgepodge of quiet, hardworking tribal peoples. Here I was reminded of the dramatic change you see in people when in South America you leave the lowlands and climb into the Andes.

A word about the influence of the modern vs. the traditional in Asia: I really feel the erosion of tradition is mostly due to the influence of television. Traditions hold most rural peoples to a lifestyle that seems impossibly primitive to western eyes. But in built-up Thailand, and in the larger towns, TV has had a huge effect. Even in most small villages now, the availability of electricity is followed rapidly by TV. This means of course that too much of people's lives are spent glued to the tube (especially in Thailand). To make things worse, much of TV is even more inane and stocked with more commercials than we get in the U.S. Thais seem particularly affected, probably because they have had it for longer. Many Thais watch morning to night. This has made them much the laziest of any Asians I came across, and much more devoted to material values. But even in innocent Laos, the same thing is happening, just at a much earlier stage. It is a sad, sad thing to observe. If I was not seen as representative of the lifestyle that TV teaches these people to desire, I would go on tour to evangelize about the evils of the tube. I want to visit Bhutan very much, but I know over the past several years more TVs have found their way into this country, and know I would find this tragic.

This said, in many countries people do not seem to be as infatuated with television as in other countries. SE Asians of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are perhaps more susceptible than Indonesians and Nepalese, for example. I don't know why this should be so. But for example Thais are allergic to walking, and are much more sophisticated (in a bad way), while Cambodians still ride bicycles everywhere, and Indonesians and Malaysians can be seen being physical.

Now comes the individual country summaries. I decided to do it this way instead of blogging. All of these observations I made on the spot in a written journal, and now I am distilling them instead of just blurting and yammering away, as in many blogs.

---