Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Last month my husband and I went on our first trip to India. What an experience!
In America it is easier to stay in areas that are not poverty stricken and only see beautiful areas. In India, it's not far from the extremely rich area to places with extreme poverty.
I asked our tour guide to take us away from all the palaces to the places where Indians live, far from the tourist attractions. I saw some incredible poverty. While it was terrible to look at, I was glad to say we saw both sides of this troubled country.
Would you want to see the bad side of town when you travel overseas? Why or why not?
There is a whole subsection of tourism known as "slum tourism" - look it up. For example, visitors to S. African will take organized tours to a township, gawking at the people living in poverty from the comfort of air conditioned buses, taking photos of barefoot children. Most westerners visit and then leave back to there 5 star hotel and "feel good about themselves".
To me that sounds creepy and exploitive.
Touring a country need not seek out these areas for the lone sake of visiting an impoverished area, you will find them on your own if your interests in a particular sight or area interest you, particularly in India where the sights are typically side to side with poverty. Nor should you look down at such areas as a pitiful experience. People live, work, and play there, and many are happy and content. It's part of the cultural experience.
There are some areas of course, best avoided due to safety concerns. Those places again, you do no favor to anyone including yourself by visiting.
In summary - please don't visit an impoverished area just to gawk at it...
I looked at Youtube videos of India before we went there and there were lots of great ones where the person just recorded what he saw as he walked down the street. WOW! Here is a great example:
I looked at Youtube videos of India before we went there and there were lots of great ones where the person just recorded what he saw as he walked down the street. WOW! Here is a great example:
I've been to India more times then I can count, finding a place without poverty in India is the exception rather than the rules. But see, this is a video NOT where a person was "searching out ugly areas" but just walking down a typical road in India. That's the difference.
I could have taken numerable pictures of people publically defecating in India as well. Does a normal person seek that out?
There is a whole subsection of tourism known as "slum tourism" - look it up. For example, visitors to S. African will take organized tours to a township, gawking at the people living in poverty from the comfort of air conditioned buses, taking photos of barefoot children. Most westerners visit and then leave back to there 5 star hotel and "feel good about themselves".
To me that sounds creepy and exploitive.
Touring a country need not seek out these areas for the lone sake of visiting an impoverished area, you will find them on your own if your interests in a particular sight or area interest you, particularly in India where the sights are typically side to side with poverty. Nor should you look down at such areas as a pitiful experience. People live, work, and play there, and many are happy and content. It's part of the cultural experience.
There are some areas of course, best avoided due to safety concerns. Those places again, you do no favor to anyone including yourself by visiting.
In summary - please don't visit an impoverished area just to gawk at it...
I totally agree. We were in South Africa in November and had to drive by Townships. The idea of taking a bus into the townships made me feel like tourists are treating those human beings like zoo animals. Degrading to the max. Ugh.
I totally agree. We were in South Africa in November and had to drive by Townships. The idea of taking a bus into the townships made me feel like tourists are treating those human beings like zoo animals. Degrading to the max. Ugh.
I disagree. I think seeing the extreme poverty has helped me understand the human condition and now I give more to charity and support foreign aid. And I feel so lucky to have a good income and an upcoming retirement in relative wealth.
I disagree. I think seeing the extreme poverty has helped me understand the human condition and now I give more to charity and support foreign aid. And I feel so lucky to have a good income and an upcoming retirement in relative wealth.
We could EASILY see that poverty every time we drive on the highway. We did not have to pay somebody to take us on a tour where we could stare at human beings who live in that environment while we ride comfortably ensconced in a bus or taxi, happily snapping away with our cameras.
The poor and destitute deserve respect - not degradation and embarrassment!
Americans don't really need to travel abroad for slum tourism. They exist in most large cities already.
That being said, no, I don't want to see ugly areas. I am from a developing country so I know what poor areas are like so no need to spend money to see that in India or Vietnam.
Americans don't really need to travel abroad for slum tourism. They exist in most large cities already.
That being said, no, I don't want to see ugly areas. I am from a developing country so I know what poor areas are like so no need to spend money to see that in India or Vietnam.
The poverty found in American cities is like the nicest areas in third world countries. If you think America is poor, you have not seen anything.
Americans don't really need to travel abroad for slum tourism. They exist in most large cities already.
That being said, no, I don't want to see ugly areas. I am from a developing country so I know what poor areas are like so no need to spend money to see that in India or Vietnam.
The poverty in America is nowhere near the poverty you see in India, please. And I thought you are from Canada, hardly a developing country.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
