Time for tourists in Asia to stop behaving badly

Dawn was breaking when I reached the neighborhood of Wat Xieng Thong, one of the most significant Buddhist temples in the historic town of Luang Prabang, in northern Laos. I was there to witness Sai Bat (also known as Tak Bat) — the morning ceremony in which Buddhist monks walk in single file through the town, collecting alms from devout locals.

The procession is a well-known sight on the Southeast Asian travel circuit. Many years ago, I watched it in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, where locals knelt in front of barefoot, maroon-robed monks, and reverentially placed sticky rice into their bowls. This alms ceremony is an important part of Theravada Buddhism, intended not as charity but as a way of connecting monks with the people who live around them.

In Myanmar, I found this spiritual exercise — the respectful silence, the mindful offering, the bent heads and averted eyes — profoundly moving. In Laos, however, I arrived with conflicted feelings because of reports that this sacrosanct ceremony had turned into a tourist circus. As I watched, three vans pulled up on the empty road, decanting dozens of tourists who were led to red plastic stools by a guide. They were given prepacked offering kits and sashes to cover their shoulders.

So far, so good. But a few of the tourists abandoned their posts at the first sight of the orange-robed monks, rushing to take photographs. Other tourists had arrived by then, and within minutes the street was filled with people shoving mobile phones in front of the monks — and even trying to take selfies with them. The monks carried on purposefully, but the tourists’ behavior made the experience feel intrusive and voyeuristic.

Walking around the UNESCO-listed heritage zone of Luang Prabang, I had noticed signboards with advice on how to participate meaningfully and respectfully in the morning ceremony. Clearly it had made no impact on the eager hordes.

This sign in Luang Prabang, Laos, advises tourists on how to dress and behave during the morning alms ceremony. (Photo by Charukesi Ramadurai)

This memory fresh in my mind, I tried an internet search for the phrase “tourists behaving badly” and was startled to find 689,000 results. They included a long and disturbing list of antics — carving initials into ancient monuments, from the Colosseum in Rome to the Toshodaiji temple in Nara, Japan; trying to scale precarious and precious rock formations such as Uluru, in central Australia; and kissing or even stripping naked inside religious sites in Bali and Bangkok.

Tourists do not restrict their cringeworthy vandalism to any specific part of the world. A Danish photographer decided to have sex on Egypt’s Great Pyramid, and proudly posted photographic evidence of the act online. And an American tried to steal metal parts from train tracks at the former Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, for souvenirs.

But Southeast Asia seems like a favorite target. It would be easy to blame this on perplexing social and cultural beliefs, but I am inclined to believe there is a deeper reason that springs from not ignorance but arrogance.

Many tourists have left their mark on China’s Great Wall.    © Getty Images

For example, I keep seeing social media posts from travel “influencers” who complain about having to remove their footwear at Thai temples. As an Indian who grew up regarding “no outside shoes inside the home” as the norm, I don’t see what the fuss is about. But then, I have often struggled to explain Indian notions of cleanliness and purity to Westerners.

I find this kind of behavior particularly dismaying because I was one of those optimistic souls who believed the COVID-19 pandemic had taught us precious lessons about being grateful and mindful, especially when we travel to faraway lands. But if the summer of 2023 showed us anything, it is that those long, anxious years are now just a fuzzy memory, and we are back to taking our world for granted.

We would not dream of walking into strangers’ homes and casually spray-painting graffiti on their living room walls, or breaking into song and dance when the family is about to start dinner. So why do we imagine it is OK to wander into a new country or an unfamiliar city and immediately start disrespecting local traditions?

A few popular Western destinations have begun asking unruly travelers to stay away. But Asian countries have not yet gone to these lengths, and travelers should reciprocate their civility. Respect comes naturally when there is genuine interest and curiosity in other cultures — this is what has helped me retain my sense of delight and awe even after traveling to more than 60 countries.

That is a lesson that the disrespectful tourists in Luang Prabang would do well to heed.

source : asia.nikkei