America's favorite theme park.

I don't think that people see all corners of the globe in order for their lives to be complete. I appreciate that not all people enjoy exploring towns and country sides far from their own. But at the same time, I think that this is fairly (incredibly) stupid.
It seems that Guy Trebay, crack reporter for the New York Times, has just uncovered that there is a big wide world out there beyond the horizon! And just how did he come to unearth this gem? Because, apparently, Americans go there! Who knew?
And how does Mr Trebay feel about these strange and mysterious lands that lie beyond the boarders of his own? From his article: "For recreation [William Sofield] ventures mainly to South Asia where, along with garden variety worries like Delhi belly [Delhi belly? is this guy for real?], it turns out that visitors run an increased risk of encountering earthquakes, landslides, cyclones, tsunamis or floods."
O My GOD! Good thing there aren't any of those in America!
What a dork.
But it gets better: "As has never been clearer [one assumes that he is referring to the tsunami in Southern Asia], risk is the constant, the unwelcome reality underpinning all the tempting commercial come-ons and the brochure blandishments."
Uh, Mr Trebay? Risk also happens to be "the constant, the unwelcome reality underpinning all the tempting commercial come-ons and the brochure blandishments" of automobile ownership. Or eating.
Really, it's amazing that this guy even gets out of bed in the morning.
But really what annoys me about it all is that, while acknowledging it as an incredibly dangerous place, where theives and kidnappers, bad food, worse hotels and even nature itself conspires against you [well, as long as "you" is an American you], he neglects to mention (or seemingly to realize) that the Big-Wide-Scary-World (including what he so charmingly refers to as "what used to be called the Third World") is an actual place. Where actual people live. People that don't work in hotels.
Again, from Mr Trebay: "For the past quarter century she has spent six months of each year traveling mainly to what used to be called the Third World [there it is!], she said, places where 'fishermen are actually fishing and not selling T-shirts.'"
Imagine! Fishermen who catch fish! Somebody call the New York Times! oh...um, nevermind.
As if he assumes that most fisherman stand around all day hoping to sell "My aunt Sally went to the Andaman Islands and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" t-shirts to chubby American "global nomads". bah.
...
I think this little rant has gone on long enough...
here's a little photo from "what used to be called the Third World":