BALANCE of CULTURE

Perfect Storm in Paradise

The political turmoil in Male, the capital of the Maldives, continues to escalate as Islamic extremists have enforced their "Taliban-style intolerance" not only on the streets of the city but also towards the various ancient 12th century Buddhist artifacts housed in the Maldives National Museum.

A senior museum representative stated that the history of the Maldives' Buddhist past has effectively been "erased," as the delicate coral and limestone objects have zero chance of being restored due to their brittle and age. Five men have since been arrested for this.

An interesting fact here: the Maldives National Museum was built and financed by the Chinese government and presented to the Maldives on July 10, 2010. Considering that this Indian Ocean paradise is now a premium destination choice for many newly-wealthy Chinese travelers -- and conveniently located just south of India, China's regional geopolitical sparring partner -- we can probably expect to see much more Chinese influence in Maldivian society in the the next decade.

Off the beaten path: A small hospital we visited on a residential island in the Maldives, 2007.

Most travelers to the Maldives won't see much more than the usual perfect clear turquoise waters and sugary white sands of their island resort. Vacation plans rarely include a visit to see typical everyday life on a residential island (though we were lucky to get a glimpse of this on our first visit several years ago), which is vastly different from the polished experiences offered by their tourism industry.

The Maldives is clearly in a challenging phase of its current political and social existence. The recent coup of President Nasheed, the society's religious "soul searching" (to put it nicely), its frontline position in the battle of climate change, and its internationally-powerful tourism industry is a perfect storm of dynamic factors that will define the country's bumpy road ahead.

I just hope that its pre-Islamic past is not further deleted from history's documentation by modern day "radicals." So tragic.

Live Music as a Melting Pot

Music acts are touring the world more than ever, so it's always intriguing to hear how different audiences around the world react while watching live music performances. Glam rock band Scissor Sisters recently shared their experiences with different audiences and cultures throughout Asia:

On Hong Kong: "...people were just on the verge of being polite and subdued but having a great time. There’s no mistake people react differently culturally, and it doesn’t mean they’re enjoying it any less or more."

On Bali: "In Bali, I have to say it was half of a tourist crowd, so you get the classic, really drunk Westerner who has no social decorum at all next to the people who are traveling from within Indonesia who are just so thrilled that we’re even in their part of the word."

On Singapore: "This continent has been a little bit surprising to all of us. It’s almost, if not more of a melting pot than New York. I don’t get the sense that it’s oppressive."

Now I'd like to hear what Swedish death metal band Opeth thinks of the different audiences in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Maldives after their Asia tour concludes! Wouldn't that be pretty interesting?

Fabien Cousteau & Yuan Xikun bring more awareness to the Maldives

At this point in my life I've visited numerous remote beaches and islands around the world and so far none of them have ever come close to the atolls of the Maldives in terms of beauty, privacy and uniqueness. While most people from the US bristle at the +24-hour trek to reach this distant and secluded place, the exhausting journey is amazing in and of itself (we call it the "Indian Jones" journey).

The region's sugary white sands are primarily submerged only a few feet below warm crystal blue waters that reach the flat horizon in what seems to be in the middle of nowhere -- and indeed, the nearest land mass is at least 1,000 miles away from any given Maldivian island. For me, it is truly the most stunning location on our planet.

These amazing low-level waters is what makes the Maldives claim some of the most spectacular sandbars and lagoons in the world. But this very same attribute is what worries the leaders of this Muslim nation: rising sea levels have thrust this small country at the forefront of planet Earth's climate change battle.

It's very easy to dismiss notions of climate change when you're living so comfortably in the US or any other western society. Even though first world countries are the ones creating the majority of the world's pollution, it is the less-powerful states that often end up dealing with the aftermath before anybody else has to.

Fabien Cousteau, who took the photo above (yes, he's Jacques' grandson) recently went diving deep in the Baa Atoll with a crew of concerned environmental experts and discovered that much of the area's coral is in pretty bad shape (what they call "bleached"), thanks to pollution by man, natural causes, as well as rising water temperatures.

The poor health of the region's oceanic plant life -- and the rising water levels in these atolls -- is an ominous signal for us to keep researching the effects of climate change and strive to discover what can be done for those in the most urgent need. The Maldives will ultimately have to make some kind of extreme decision over the next decade, as many of these beautiful islands will be submerged in our lifetime.

Any disruption to the Maldives will be a huge loss for this planet. I just can't imagine not having this travel option as the destination it currently is -- let's not only be relegated to the accessible and conventionally-pretty landscapes of most tourist traps!

Other cool news: prominent Chinese artist (and environmentalist) Yuan Xikun is currently exhibiting his art in Male at the National Art Gallery. His opening talk was attended by local artists as well as the new Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Yu Hongyao and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Mamduh Waheed.

Yuan's upcoming sculpture project will comprise of sand from five continents and water from the two Arctic Poles, which he will discuss with Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed on Wednesday.

Tourism Elixir: Free Flights to Japan

I miss Tokyo -- especially since I haven't been back since before 3/11. I'm sure a lot of people feel similarly about this so there's been a lot of buzz this week about the announcement from the Japan Tourism Agency: they're proposing to offer free airfare to 10,000 foreigners to come to Japan next year.

Obviously, tourism has been way down (lost 32% from last August to this year) due to well-grounded fears regarding radiation contamination and incessant earthquake and aftershocks since March. In order to assuage these fears, the government wants to invite a wide array of people around the world to visit and publish their (hopefully positive) experiences online.

Accommodations and expenses won't be covered by this program but free airfare sounds pretty enticing -- especially considering the flights will be on Japanese air carriers (free trips are wonderful but using American airlines is already paying a high price!).

You know another country that could use a program like this one? Mexico. You'd think that after all these years of horrific news on gruesome cartel murders -- thus their own steep drop in tourists -- the Mexican Tourism Board would eventually offer this kind of incentivized plan to foreigners willing to share their positive reassurances about going there. But all I've seen so far are weak marketing campaigns (that are heavily made fun of by the way, and that link is only a mild example), and prices have dropped only recently in Acapulco.

Marketing has to be backed up by tangible benefits, especially since nobody believes what the government or news says either way…so what's the holdup?

Globe to Globe 2012: London as Cultural Agent

London's about to get some major global cultural kudos in 2012. Hip hop, Maori and sign language aren't really things one would automatically expect to be a part of the upcoming Globe to Globe festival (which is a part of the city's World Shakespeare Festival and "Cultural Olympiad" for next year's Olympics), but times are evidently changing.

[Reuters photo]

People the world over already travel to the UK for this Shakespearean experience but this time much more attendees will be able to personally participate because the focus isn't on the mere beauty of Shakespeare's works, the city of London or even the UK itself. Instead of glorifying the mere local setting of the event, this time the artistic direction encompasses a very international sensibility (quite fitting for London).

From Chicago-based hip hop acting group Q Brothers (you might recognize them from a recent Lollapalooza tour) performing their urban take on Othello, to a special theater group from the newly independent South Sudan performing Cymbeline (the group actually sent a 20-page document requesting to participate in the festival!) the world of Shakespeare will be interpreted by different cultural perspectives that are uniquely un-British.

An impressive aspect of this daily 6-week event is how each Shakespearean work will be performed in so many different languages other than English. In order to maximize the viewership/participation, official Globe "ambassadors" will venture out to various local communities (the South Korean community in Kingston-upon-Thames; Brazilians in Stockwell, etc.) to encourage ex-pats to experience these plays in their own languages. To my knowledge, this hasn't ever been done before.

Most festivals or exhibitions of this scale just use the same boring templates done by so many before them, and expect the masses to simply come. The public "ambassador" effort to attract new communities strikes me as thoughtful, effective and progressive -- characteristics that too-often get lost in the shuffle of large-scale events.

The biggest social profit of the festival's inclusion of so many foreign communities? The agency of large-scale cultural experience vis-a-vis the realities of today's globalized world. Art in general is much less relevant without this context now, though this might be news to many art world characters even in 2011.

The notion that the US and UK are both currently riding a downward spiral of cultural cogency is something I've heard rather often lately, mainly in casual but robust conversations about globalization and the unavoidable balancing game that occurs with this idea. I think such an assertion is definitely premature right now, but I see where this claim comes from. It isn't too hard to notice that the leaders of the Western-dominated 20th century have a very different status in the international arena today. But come next April, London is probably going to be quite an exciting and dynamic place to be.

Lots more information here!

Treading on the Edge of a Waterfall

This looks so thrilling! You'll never go wrong by taking Dr. Livingstone's advice if you're looking for some adventure…

North Korea's juxtaposition continues

A recent Balance of Culture online dérive linked to North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, once a symbolic link between the two Koreas based upon tourism and exchange. After the tragic fatal shooting of South Korean Park Wang-ja by a DPRK soldier in 2008, the South halted all tours to the area and the resort has primarily relied on Chinese and Western guests since.

Reuters photographer Carlos Barria recently joined a tour group headed to North Korea for an exotic vacation. He of course couldn't bring his cell phone but luckily his group was permitted to take lots of fascinating photos nevertheless.

I've known several people over the past few years who have gone on similar tours to North Korea and thoroughly enjoyed it. Though they admit that they didn't have the freedom to do whatever they please while on tour, every traveler actually returned very impressed by the overall experience. I guess that's the general result of extremely specific and strict management by the North's hosts. They know what they're doing and what they're working with.

Brother, please...

Traveling solo in different parts of the world is inevitably a different experience depending on whether you're a man or woman. Obviously one of the main examples is how women, not men, are usually approached with inappropriate romantic or sexual overtures.

This isn't a bad idea at all: "learn how to say 'brother' in the local language and use it to admonish clumsy and annoying suitors."

Actually, I can see how this just might help in the context of many cultures where properness is still a revered social condition. Seems like a solid and inoffensive first try at swatting away those often pesky lurkers, though the more steadfast suitors probably won't be very affected. Still, a clever and rather safe initial approach!

(And if all else fails, just channel your inner *%$^#& and say NO like they'll hope they never met you!…)

Using South Korea for Polish

Sarah Palin is heading to South Korea in September for an economic forum in order to "give a US leadership perspective on how to lead the world out of the latest crisis."

Despite how mind-boggling it is that she would even be giving a talk on such matters (is any American politician qualified to discuss that subject right now?!), Palin's in relatively good company -- she'll be rubbing shoulders with former UK PM Gordon Brown, EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht, and Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida, among others.

The most obvious difference between Palin and most of the roster is that the other speakers already have quite extensive international credentials, while Palin's lack of global experience was one of her most glaring obstacles during her political campaign in 2008. (Who wants a president who thinks that seeing Russia from her Alaska home is at all important or relevant? Can we say "hee-haw"?)

So now she's embarking on a trip to a rising South Korea in order to remedy that quaint, provincial image of hers. Hope she doesn't get scared of all the Asians in Korea because there are even more of us there than in Hawaii! Good luck, ma'am!

A Gorgeous Baja Cali Morning