For my part, I just really, really
Anthony Bourdain (an undeniable influence on our thinking here) observes one of the many ways in which this certainly seems to be the case:
One of the great wonders of the New World Order is how you can find an internet connection, a cell phone signal, just about anywhere. At a tiny bed and breakfast in a far flung 16th century village in Yunnan Province, high speed wireless that beats what I’ve got in my apartment in New York City. At home, my cell phone kicks out every time I cross Central Park. But in the mountains of Szechuan Province - where they still cook over wood - four bars and clear as a bell. Underneath every djellabah, abaya, burka and kente cloth, it seems, lies a cell phone. In a one horse town in the Moroccan desert, dirt floors, fly-blown market, and little else - there’s an internet café.
And yet, where I am now - on vacation in Sardinia - connection to the internet is a sometimes kind of a thing. It’s ITALY for God’s sake - in a rather luxurious hotel and spa in a mountain range near some major towns and yet, here I am, bent over my lap top in the lobby, the only place where there may (or more likely may not) be a signal.
5 comments:
I heartily endorse your plans for travel to SE Asia. Matt at wherethehellismatt.com (unavailable for the last day or so due to heavy traffic, it seems) points out folks should see Asia (instead of Europe) when they're young, because (a) it requires legs and (b) it's changing quickly and (c) Europe with all its knee-sparing infrastructure will still be there when you're old.
Mind you, my new friend Mariam (missing both legs below the knees) recently informed me that some old places (like London where she works) are complete shite for people who have walking disabilities, as so much of the place is old and not built for people who aren't great walkers. But as you say, you've seen plenty of Europe.
As for Bourdain's comments about cell phones (I can just hear his voice -- can't you? He rocks.), there is *some* logic behind the madness. Many emerging economies never had a chance to build the enormous landline infrastructure that we have in the US. But they WERE/are able to build the much easier structure of cellular telephony at reasonable prices. That's part of the explanation behind why everybody in the Philippines, say, has a cell phone. (In recent years, the wait to get a land line installed was often measured in months.)
As for Sardinia, I can't explain that except to guess that it's because the Italian government is whatever the Italian word for "shite" is. One of my US friends lives in Sicily, and has spent the last frustrating year and a half trying to telecommute to his office in SFO. But internet and phone suck on the big island where he is, and he has to go to another island to get any decent telecom.
Go figure.
Local forces shape holy bajeezus out of telecom infrastructure and rates. In Mexico where I spent the first part of this year, I couldn't make a cell-based phone call to the US for less than 60 cents per minute, because of Carlos Slim and the tight hold he has on much of Mexican telephony. But when I visit Guatemala, I can buy a cell phone and call the US for ~10 cents a minute. (In Cuba, I didn't even try.)
Don't even get me started on US cell phone stuff compared to the rest of the world. In ~1995, I read that there were only two countries in the world where cell phone users paid for Incoming calls: the US and... Uganda.
Yeeps -- please pardon the long comment. You hit a vein!
If you have any work to do, stick with Thailand -- much better infrastructure, and when you need the occasional american style fried chicken or cold blast of AC it's as close as the nearest 7-11.
One thing I highly recommend is a trip to Burma. You'll need to spend a day at the Burmese embassy, and should be prepared to be thoroughly investigated for any "agitator" type tendencies (mostly they're looking for stuff you've written on the internet), but for those of us who were too young to visit communist europe before the fall it is the next best thing.
Particulary recommended is the dollar circle train around Myanmar -- if you can get on without being noticed by the soldiers you'll have a chance to speak with the "real" Burmese, some of whom speak English. Bring Marlboro cigarettes, which will cost you all of 17 cents a pack.
phil--no need to apologize, that was information rich and terribly useful!
david--if I tried to work on this trip I'm pretty sure it would result in divorce...um, how good are the Burmese at tracking what you've put on the internets?
BTW, David, I'm going to vote for you in November, but...do you really want to spend that much time in Raleigh...?
No, I do not.
With respect to the Burmese, unless you've written specifically against the junta you should be OK. Besides, you'll be bringing hard currency they desperately need.
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