Full Circle to Bangkok

Back from a beach shared with dozens of other folks to a city of 10 million. That's quite a change. We also notice the difference in heat from the sun -- not nearly so torrid here. And clouds. First time we've had shade for a while -- and I must say it's welcome.

But getting here and wrapping up the trip causes me to contemplate a bit. We sure have covered a lot of ground in a few short weeks: from the extreme north of the country to the deep south as well as the length of both Laos and Cambodia. But one constant has accompanied us throughout -- and it is our fellow tourists that have caused me much pondering.

Things have changed a great deal since Ingrid and I first went to Central Asia in the mid-70's -- OK that's a trivial statement, but what I mean is that the character of our fellow travellers has undergone a transformation.

I've been thinking in terms of Tourist 2.0.

Back at the dawn of time, Ingrid and I travelled in order to more fully experience a variety of cultures, to better understand our place among the societies of the world, to meet people from other nations and to learn about ourselves as culturally-placed young Canadians. Many of the others we met on the road were undertaking a smiliar voyage. Our ethic reflected that of the the 60's and 70's, but we were clearly seeking new understandings.

And we were isolated from our normal lives by distance and principally by primitive commuications technology.

Things have changed. Most of today's 20-somethings seem to travel in order to party hearty. The raggedy backpacking chicks of yore have been much displaced by young ladies who can hardly shoehorn their wardrobes into hard-sided suitcases that require bungee straps on the cab trunks.

Cute dresses and halters have replaced patched jeans. And I'll grudgingly admit they look way sexier. Which makes sense, because they are here to party.

That's curmudgeonly. This is even more so. Over and over we see young folks casting their social networks over new experiences before they've quite had the experience. Dozens hermeticaly sealed in air-conditioned internet cafes, others texting and chatting on cells while seated in a noodle stand. Skyping and Facebooking, and youtubing and myspacing seems to significantly disengage them from the immediacy of the possible experience.

But there can't be any blame attached to this observation -- indeed the locals do the same: minority girls in colourful costume texting, shopkeepers gaming on line between customers, airport staff bluetoothing with their girlfriends.

The world IS flat. We ARE deeply dedicated to our social networks. Pensioners have blogs.

So I knew the world was getting flatter. I just didn't recognize that so much of it had turned into a dance floor!