A different perspective of things

I read this article with amusement particularly when the author says,


In the section dealing with precautions that all travelers should take, she included the following statement: “Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.” I later checked other tourist guides published in the West and found most of them to have a similar advice.

This statement is truly fascinating because it indicates an assumption by Westerners that anyone visiting a country will naturally have sex with one of its inhabitants or a fellow tourist.

Think about that for a moment.

This brings to mind the behavior of the more gregarious members of the animal kingdom. Surely, a people who are incapable of controlling their sexual appetites for even a short time such as a visit or holiday are not worthy of the high regard that some of us have for all Westerners.


Is it just the Westerners that have sex when they are abroad? Then juxtapose them with the "vacation Time" blog when the author says,

There are 3 main reasons why we Saudis go abroad, and the Supreme Commission for Tourism can't do a lot about them.

3. The third reason applies to single men only, or those in unsatisfactory marriages. The Emirates is the favorite destination, although sometimes Bahrain suits the requirement. Young ladies fly in from Russia, on 3-month visas, and then head back home on the proceeds. A friend of mine once went to Bahrain with his family, tried to book in at the "Al xxxxx Family Hotel", to be told that they didn't take families, and only rented rooms by the hour! This form of tourism is very popular with young Saudi men, for obvious reasons, they also combine it with "alcohol tourism", although with the obvious limitation that Shakespeare warned against.

These two examples show the bipolar nature of the local society here. One does not want to acknowledge the existance of the other and yet they co-exist in the same space pretending that the other spectrum does not exist.

Then there is the Queer Sheik article by John Bradley about the homosexuality in the Kingdom.

I would have to say that the sight of young boys holding hands and men having their arms around each other is what I am not accustomed to seeing. I am not homophobic, just that I am not accustomed to seeing men being touchy feely with one another!

I guess we are all a product of our own environments.