Elephant pants, elephant camps & white dreads: navigating nuance in a globalized Southeast Asia
There’s something of a epidemic among tourists and travelers in glorifying “authentic” elements in cultures different than their own. It’s natural (and healthy, I think) to seek authenticity in life, but the discovery will always be more of a subjective impression than an actual qualifier. Each time we deem something “authentic,” it comes with hundreds of subconscious qualifications, entirely based on our own limited knowledge of the history and space.
What makes a monument authentic — if it’s preserved in its original state, or if it ages naturally, with time?
Is the “real” Thai culture lying somewhere in the countryside, surrounded by water buffalo and subsistence farming? What makes that more authentic than working at a fast food chain in Bangkok? In Thailand, and most other places, that which is untouched by the forces of globalization tends to gain this title of “authentic” more so than, say, a statue of Ronald McDonald greeting you with a wai (see below).
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