People talk about globalization and say we are becoming more homogenous. You really have to see it to believe it. Coming to Singapore via Batam, I was next to a party of Korean tourists. The old guy in front of me had a Pierre Cardin suitcase and a small bag made by Columbia, the same as mine. At the McDonalds where I hand my passport over, a Chinese family with 2 young kids are speaking English, the father asking his son if he wants butter.
Its really quite amazing, people who might not of been overseas, now are familiar with aspects of a foreign culture through the availability of foreign foods, and the amount of marketing that comes flooding at us through traditional and modern means, such as the internet, cell phones and DVD’s.
Modern media is so powerful and its reach is strong. Villagers in the highlands of Bali can watch live English premiership football every saturday night on local TV. With the choice of DVD’s and mpegs one can access, people who are barely worthy of any news coverage (David Beckham, Britney Spears etc.) are household names in countries they are not even aware of. Another thing that has dawned on me lately, is that as many people have access to greater power (learn to use the internet, have their own blog, own a cell phone, an iPod etc.) they seem to secumb to the western habit of not doing much exercise. Many of the Asian travellers I’ve seen around are chunky monkeys, like their English, Australian and Amercian counterparts. That’s one big downside of the tech revolution. Last night Fauzi said to me, “Today kids in Singapore are pussies, they don’t play with a ball anymore and complain about everything.” You can’t say that about the Balinese at least.
