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Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

bbc.com

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Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#11

Post by doublerabbit »

foxglacier wrote: post #9
doublerabbit wrote: post #4

> Do not spit" signs > Some tourists have complained about the ban, saying it should have been implemented on a weekday instead These should not be a thing. What is it that makes folk feel so entitled? "Lack of litter bins"; isn't an excuse. I've seen folk stand next to a litter bin, light up and then throw the cigarettes end to the ground. You're literally standing next to a litter bin! It should be common sense not…

How do you reconcile you complaint about complaining about the tourist ban with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says people have the right to freedom of movement within the borders of each state?

Nothing is stopping you from travelling within the borders. A village is nothing more than a province within the state.

If the law ruled: "you may not traverse through the state on Sundays"; then one could argue that is a breach of human rights.

However, the last time I checked, detours exist. Enabling you to bypass a village that may be closed on Sundays.

If you're a tourist and a village says no, why can't you obey that, why does that upset you?

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#12

Post by mc32 »

doublerabbit wrote: post #4

> Do not spit" signs > Some tourists have complained about the ban, saying it should have been implemented on a weekday instead These should not be a thing. What is it that makes folk feel so entitled? "Lack of litter bins"; isn't an excuse. I've seen folk stand next to a litter bin, light up and then throw the cigarettes end to the ground. You're literally standing next to a litter bin! It should be common sense not…

What in hell? I haven’t seen or heard people spit on sidewalks other than some homeless people in ages.

In parts of Asia where people chew betel nut, of course that’s a different story -they put the old west custom of spitting tobacco chew to shame.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#13

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

rayiner wrote: post #3

> In a country known for its lack of sanitation, this is no small feat. But in Mawlynnong, children are taught to tidy up from a young age, with many taking to the streets each morning before school to sweep the town of dead leaves and empty rubbish bins. Villagers see to the disposal of biodegradables and take pride in public landscaping. Culture is real.

This is kind of fascinating to me because the few times I visited India I was completely gobsmacked by the insane levels of trash and pollution such that I never wanted to return. Like Gurugram reminded me of some type of ecological disaster dystopia out of Blade Runner. So I was particularly glad to see this story was about an Indian village and not one of the usual "amazingly clean Asian city" suspects, e.g. Singapore or somewhere in Japan.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#14

Post by rayiner »

doublerabbit wrote: post #4

> Do not spit" signs > Some tourists have complained about the ban, saying it should have been implemented on a weekday instead These should not be a thing. What is it that makes folk feel so entitled? "Lack of litter bins"; isn't an excuse. I've seen folk stand next to a litter bin, light up and then throw the cigarettes end to the ground. You're literally standing next to a litter bin! It should be common sense not…

Its rooted in culture and how people are socialized to relate to public spaces and the people around them. Here’s Lee Kuan Yew talking about the same problem he faced in Singapore at first: https://medium.com/@barronqasem/the-moral-behind-lee-kuan-ye... (“The difficult part was getting the people to change their habits so that they behaved more like first world citizens, not like third world citizens spitting and littering all over the place.”).

I only really have experience with Americans and Bangladeshis, but in my experience Americans are Nazis about littering and recycling. I was talking with a law school professor once after class and dropped a diet coke bottle into the trash in front of her. Without missing a beat she reached into the trash bin to take it out and threw it into the recycling bin.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#15

Post by angry_octet »

It should be clear that this is about the stress that visiting Indians bring. And their trash.

But it also highlights how you need to restrict access to move up the value chain. Hordes of bus tourists who eat elsewhere or bring take away contribute little economically, you can sell some trinkets. People with a hotel booking are also likely to eat locally.

Venice faces a similar situation with cruise ships and Airbnbs raising the price of housing. They should be capping cruise ship numbers, and a weekend break would be good too.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#17

Post by scythe »

jazzpush2 wrote: post #8

Reading the title generates imagery of a city in Japan being overrun by foreigners. The actual content is about a self-proclaimed 'Asia's cleanest village' in India, banning Sunday visits from other domestic Indians. Probably wouldn't be a popular story if this was revealed in the title.

On the contrary, my first thought upon reading the title was "I hope it's not just Japan again". No disrespect to Japan, but articles about Japanese tidiness are a dime a dozen.

Re: Mawlynnong, India, transformed by tourism, bans visitors on Sundays

#19

Post by weikju »

foxglacier wrote: post #9
doublerabbit wrote: post #4

> Do not spit" signs > Some tourists have complained about the ban, saying it should have been implemented on a weekday instead These should not be a thing. What is it that makes folk feel so entitled? "Lack of litter bins"; isn't an excuse. I've seen folk stand next to a litter bin, light up and then throw the cigarettes end to the ground. You're literally standing next to a litter bin! It should be common sense not…

How do you reconcile you complaint about complaining about the tourist ban with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says people have the right to freedom of movement within the borders of each state?

Does that Declaration give you an inalienable right to do anything you please? I doubt it. As the old saying goes, your freedom stops where someone else’s freedom starts.

Or in Seinfeld speak, “we live in a society!!!”

Have to consider others not just oneself. That’s the price of freedom and being responsible about it.

The alternative is a nanny state or anarchy.

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