Travel And Tourism

[Joel Barlow]

In times ling past, a tribe or even a nation might completely relocate – possibly even twice during the life of its longest living. To maintain its integrity, or simply survive, a people might need distance from another. Or they might move to escape plague, or draught, and to find better, and safer, sources of sustenance. There was room enough then, and seeking improved opportunity was often imperative. These relocations took place all over the world, and were as much of a norm as adjusting by becoming acclimated to a place. Often, those who acclimated became subject to those who did not, choosing instead to exploit. Religious beliefs may tend to discourage exploitation, but thirst for power has a way of overcoming that.

Now nations are no longer ethnic, and people travel for other reasons. But sometimes still from desperation, sometimes still for exploitation. Why do people traverse half a world to drink in public to excess, scream and holler on carnival-type rides, and spend time with other travelers as insulated from what they are traveling through? Mostly, I suspect, because they feel they’re getting away with something.

And they are – they’re getting away with irresponsible destruction. They’re not messing up their own backyards, but those of other people, people they see as curiosities, and find little consideration to give to.

We may all be able to predict sunrise tomorrow, but the future remains opaque. Most think roads from northern Thailand to Yunnan, China, will increase travel and tourism, but there’s reason to think the contrary. The rampant consumption by modern consumers that has recently driven the world economy might well not be able to persist. The extent of expendable income for huge numbers of people might become much less. The desire to travel far at great expense, to see and do little of meaningful consequence, may cease to exist. And friendliness that strangers have long found may well quite simply dry up.

By coming to ChiangRai, Mangrai may well have saved the now-Thai central plains form the havoc of bubonic plague (the Black Death epidemic resulted from increased transportation resultant upon the Mongol’s temporary success at empire). Mangrai may be the most significant person in all of Southeast Asian history. There were no tome markers in the early chronicles which tell of him, but the “Mang” means “King” and one possible interpretation of the “Rai” is “evil”.

For the various Karen, Mon, Palaung, Lawa, Khamu, Htin and Mlabri people – many peaceful Buddhists – living around ChiangRai when King Rai and his Tai Lue and Yue people arrived, the advent of Lanna was perhaps but a mixed blessing. Much as release from dictatorship into the clutches of globalization might well become for the Burmese. And inevitability has little to do with right or wrong.