Throughout the course of our 5-month sabbatical in South and Southeast Asia, my wife and I were continuously exposed to a crushing poverty that, if most Americans were to see it themselves, they would find it abhorrent and intolerable. From each child attempting to kiss my feet in desperation for money, to the men who would not live beyond 40 after a career of smelting aluminum without protection, I found myself asking in each instance, “what does it take for these people to move up in the world?” Over and over again, the answer was simple: education and training.

In the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh, we happened across a non-profit organization that has made education and training a centerpiece of their mission. Through their restaurant near the banks of the Mekong River, Friends International assists marginalized street children by giving them hands-on experience in the hospitality industry. From learning how to provide exceptional service to the restaurant’s clientele of mostly Western tourists and expats, to mastering the culinary arts in the kitchen, these children are offered an opportunity to succeed in a society where the odds are stacked against disadvantaged youth.

After an extraordinary lunch at the Friends restaurant in Phnom Penh on a warm and sunny day in December, my wife and I can attest to the great progress that this organization is making. The service was exemplary, the food was exquisite, and the atmosphere was jovial and energetic. But the most satisfying aspect of the visit was knowing that the slightly higher prices that we were paying were going to support the next generation of hospitality service workers who would go on to work in some of Cambodia’s finest establishments. With their continued training, hard work, and a little luck, the tourism industry in Cambodia will continue to grow and deliver some well-deserved cash to this country’s magnificent people.

Photos Courtesy of Tricia A. Mitchell

A weekend visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to Vietnam as part of the Shangri-La Dialogue suggests that Vietnam and the United States are ready to put old ghosts to rest and begin a constructive dialogue about encouraging Vietnam’s economic development and its continued integration into the community of nations engaged in international business. However, will stronger defense ties, particularly in and around the former wartime American logistics and tourism hubs of Cam Ranh Bay and Nha Trang, translate into sustainable development gains? Or will progress be short-lived, environmentally disastrous, and profitable only to a select few? In order to gain insight into how Vietnam will continue to develop, we must turn to the former South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it has been known since 1975.

Situated north of the Mekong River Delta, Saigon’s economic foundation rests on the delta’s rich and productive soil and its proximity to the shipping lanes of the South China Sea. As a result of this, Vietnam has risen to become the world’s second largest exporter of rice after Thailand and a supplier to half the world’s population who depend upon it as a staple. Today, Saigon has capitalized upon this geographic advantage to propel the country up the value-chain of economic development.

Saigon has also become a magnet for the other 80% of Vietnam’s population that grows rice for a living. This rural-to-urban migration, similar to other developing nations, is causing an acute strain on the city’s infrastructure and on the fertile land that surrounds the city. Rampant urban sprawl is devouring delta farmland and forcing farmers to produce more rice on less land. While productivity gains are generally welcome in developing nations, they must be balanced with the costs of achieving them. In Saigon’s case, the costs manifest in the form of increased air and noise pollution from the millions of motorcycles that are added to the streets each year, higher soil acidity from acid rain, and urban runoff into the waters of the delta that threaten ecosystems and tourism alike.

As the Shangri-La Dialogue draws to a close, it will be important to remember that the secret to Vietnam’s long-run success hinges upon the sustainability of its development, and whether or not its people are as concerned about their environment as they are their military security. Sustainable development is the key to a rising Saigon, and it is the only thing preventing a second fall.

Photos Courtesy of Tricia A. Mitchell

The continued economic development of Bali, Indonesia, is dependent upon a thriving tourism sector. However, ocean plastic pollution threats to derail progress on this island paradise.

Bali is certainly not alone in facing an ocean trash epidemic. From the rapidly developing countries of Southeast Asia, to the mature economies of the Western world, every nation is facing the challenge of uncontrolled solid waste disposal in the global ocean commons, where national boundaries are ignored by floating rubbish. In fact, of the 260 million tons of plastic produced each year, over 10% of it winds up in the oceans, creating massive ‘garbage patches’ that act like islands of plastic that continue to grow each year. The Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, which lies between California and Hawaii, is now estimated to be twice the size of Texas. When considering the whole of the Pacific Ocean, researchers estimate that over 5 million square miles is now a soup of plastic confetti.

For the coastal regions of countries attempting to climb the value-added ladder of economic development, tourism is often the first rung of that ladder. This dependency on visitors is threatened by the continuous arrival of trash and deceased marine life  that wash ashore in areas with high concentrations of ocean plastic pollution. Exposure to surf, sun and sand is designed to refresh a weary city-dweller’s connection to nature, not remind them of the world’s environmental problems.

While membership in transnational agreements designed to stem the tide of ocean plastic pollution is definitely an important first step for ocean-based tourism development, local governments and chambers of commerce must recognize that the vast majority of all plastics entering the ocean come from land-based sources that are carried out to sea by urban runoff into rivers and storm drainage systems. Thus, to prevent tourism from receding, efforts must be made to stem the flow of plastics from the source. Liberal deployments of trashcans, an effective system to dispose and recycle trash, citizen behavior modification techniques and environmental law enforcement are all effective mechanisms that must be used in synchrony. While the solution employed by the city of Santa Monica, California, to build a water runoff treatment and recycling plant is an effective stopgap, collecting some 40,000 pounds of rubbish in 2007, its price tag of $12 million dollars makes such a solution prohibitively expensive for a developing island-state such as Bali.

Western environmental indifference and the rapid economic development of places like Bali, Southeast Asia, China and India is equivalent to a massive earthquake in the world’s oceans, and it is sending a tsunami of trash to a beach resort near you. How will you respond?

Photos Courtesy of TriciaAnneMitchell.com

Can the principles of Islamic finance, where no interest on loans can be charged, be reconciled with the fundamentals of economic development and the need for flexible lending arrangements for small businesses?

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Photos Courtesy of TriciaAnneMitchell.com

Unfortunately for the people of Laos today, the war continues. A huge amount of the explosives dropped on Laos during the war consisted of cluster munitions, 30% of which failed to explode. Considering that the number of cluster bombs dropped on Laos was in excess of 260 million, the estimated number of active ‘bombies’ in Laos today is at least 80 million. It is this nightmare that the Japanese have come to help clear up with a new machine built by the Japanese construction conglomerate Kohmatsu.

After an extraordinarily successful run in Cambodia, where the legacy of landmines laid by the Khmer Rouge continue to pose a danger to the people, the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS) had brought their $1 million machine to Laos to see if a similar success rate could be had in removing smaller cluster munitions. However, before the armored bulldozer could be put to work in Laos using its rapidly spinning plow that bristles with metal teeth and can clear the ground of hazards 30cm below the surface, JMAS would need to conduct a series of trials to see whether or not the machine could in fact destroy the cluster munitions. It was during these trials, where no live bombies would be used, that we were privileged enough to observe their noble work.

Gripped with a sense of purpose, our gracious Japanese hosts led us to a tent that had been erected to act as a command center for the machine’s trials. Inside we found computers, diagrams outlining their project, sample bombies, and a small Shinto shrine where the Japanese men could observe their native religion. Outside the tent, a group of Laotian men stood waiting for instructions. Once the trial and training period of several months was complete, it would be these men who would take over operations of the machine and allow the Japanese to return home to their families.

As is Japanese custom, the morning began with a brisk stretching regimen before the team could enter the field to begin testing the machine. Their movements, while militarily precise, were conducted with an air of good cheer and humor. With their blood moving, the team broke and took to the field to play in one of the most critical games that will decide the economic future of the Laotian people: industrial-scale demining.

Roaring to life, the giant demining machine, with its ability to clear huge tracts of land, and in the process plow the soil for farming, began rolling forward in the moist, red dirt. With a remote control for the machine fixed to his waist, the Japanese engineer from Kohmatsu turned to me and smiled.

“Always a kid at heart!” he exclaimed just before pressing a button that lowered the rotating blades into the earth, churning the dirt into a fine, red powder. As the machine began moving forward, he described how it could be operated either by remote control or by an operator inside the machine’s cab. Considering the sweltering heat of the Laotian summer, he indicated that the air conditioning in the cab would probably lead to an operator driving the machine from the cab for most of the year.

After watching the machine in action and enabling me to practice my limited Japanese, our generous hosts returned us to downtown Phonsavan where we could return to the burgeoning tourism facilities being developed in this remote corner of the world, but not before providing us with a souvenir of the day’s adventure. The small representation of the Kohmatsu machine may be a children’s toy, but it will be sitting on my desk as a reminder to ‘always be a kid at heart.’ It is a small memento to the Japanese efforts to save the children and people of Laos from the death and dismemberment delivered from above over 40 years ago. We wish them every success!

Photos courtesy of TriciaAnneMitchell.com

How do countries with cheap, abundant labor pools develop an incentive to save and invest in capital?

Home Construction in Bali, Indonesia (triciaannemitchell.com)

Bali, Indonesia (triciaannemitchell.com)

On the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean, there is an island that the world must visit and understand. The people that inhabit this paradise believe that what goes around, comes around in the next life, and they will go to great lengths to ensure that their interactions with others are of the highest integrity. They smile freely and genuinely, and will welcome you into their home and their hearts without reservation.

Traditional Balinese Offerings (triciaannemitchell.com)

A Balinese Fire Ceremony (triciaannemitchell.com)

It is here on the tropical island of Bali, in the island archipelago of Indonesia, that my wife and I spent three amazing weeks dialing down our Western operational tempo and absorbing a lifestyle worth living. We practiced yoga and meditation, ate remarkable cuisine in moderation, and acclimated ourselves to living with the understanding that life’s two most precious commodities are health and time. With enough of both, one can do anything.

In Bali, the people are dependent upon the two basic economic drivers common to developing countries: agriculture and tourism. While the former has remained relatively consistent for thousands of years, evidenced by the terraced hillsides sprouting rice stalks at various stages of their lifecycle, the latter is a much more recent phenomenon and subject to an enormous array of different influences. In conjunction with exchange rate fluctuations and macroeconomic shifts that affect tourism flows from Australia, its largest source of foreign exchange, Bali has the unfortunate challenge of being on the front lines of the Global War on Terror.

Rice Farming by Hand (triciaannemitchell.com)

Rice Farming in Bali (triciaannemitchell.com)

Rice in Bloom (triciaannemitchell.com)

Ancient Rice Terraces (triciaannemitchell.com)

Following the nightclub attacks in 2002 that claimed the lives of 202 people, the river of tourism revenue into Bali slowed to a trickle, leaving many who had built their livelihoods catering to surf, sun, and culture enthusiasts without a job. It occurred again in 2005, just as a recovery was beginning to take shape. However, in 2006, Elisabeth Gilbert published her best-selling memoirs titled, ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ which reignited an interest in Bali. In the years following the publication, culminating in Hollywood’s rendition in 2010, the number of arrivals in Bali to view elements of Ms. Gilbert’s book increased steadily, with a 12% increase in annual visitors in 2010 alone. Visitors in 2011 are expected to be even larger than the 2.5 million visitors in 2010.

This dramatic improvement in economic fortunes for the island has had the unintended effect of pulling more people from neighboring islands to Bali in search of opportunity. The challenges endemic to the Harris-Todaro model of rural-to-urban migration are on full display in Bali, where expected, rather than actual, income gains are the primary motivation for migration to urban areas, resulting in a surplus of unskilled labor. The result is a taxi driver offering his services every few feet along the sidewalk for a pittance of a fee.

The Face of Balinese Underemployment (triciaannemitchell.com)

My very first recommendation for the Balinese government would be to slow the rush of agricultural workers into urban areas by centralizing the control of taxi services into a handful of companies. By regulating how many taxis are on the road, how many drivers are behind the wheel, and where a taxi can be hired, not only will the experience for the tourist be more pleasant by minimizing aggressive taxi drivers selling their services, but it will also lower the urban unemployment rate by discouraging rural workers from moving to urban areas based on expected income gains by driving a taxi.

The need to write about the issue became apparent after a walk back to our hotel in the cultural city of Ubud, where after declining offers from seven taxi drivers in our .5 mile walk, the 8^th pleaded with me as I walked away by saying in the most desperate and heart-wrenching plea, “Please Sir! Give me a job!” Bali’s first and foremost job-creator is tourism. Ensuring that tourists have a pleasant stay and will return is essential to getting that man a job, and it probably won’t be driving a cab.

Rice Farmer in Ubud, Bali (triciaannemitchell.com)

Today, life is dramatically different in the air and surviving a long-haul flight is infinitely easier. Emirates Airlines, based out of Dubai, and Qatar Airways, based out of Doha, were our carriers for our flight halfway around the world, and they have taken every step to ensure that their customers leave the concourse at their destination in a positive frame of mind. From in-seat entertainment that is customizable and includes hundreds of movies and television shows available on-demand, to exemplary international cuisine, air travel today is infinitely better than it was 30 years ago.

As the developing nations of the world continue their relentless push forward in living standards, the demand for air travel is projected to grow in tandem. With this in mind, some cities are staking their futures based upon this growth in airborne trade.

The city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is based at the southern end of the Persian Gulf and halfway between the developed markets of Europe and the roaring economies of East Asia. As a natural pivot point between the east and west, Dubai is capitalizing upon its strategic advantage by accelerating its efforts to become a leading global center based upon its airport. Not only has it dedicated itself to being an intermediary for people by building hotels and convention centers around the airport, but also warehouses and automated distribution centers for high-value cargo logistics in a global, just-in-time environment.

Venti-sized Arabian Blend (triciaannemitchell.com)

Inside The World's Largest Building (triciaannemitchell.com)

My wife and I arrived at midnight in Dubai, with our next flight to Singapore at 3am. During our 3 hours in the airport, we brushed shoulders with Chinese businessmen returning to Shanghai, merchants from New Delhi headed to Africa, and European vacationers of all nationalities destined for resorts in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. A never ending flow of people passing through aisles of duty-free shops set underneath flashing lights indicated that Dubai was open for business.

The city-state of Singapore is yet another shining example of the future of air travel. Unlike American airports which have adopted a post-9/11 militaristic greeting designed to intimidate newly arriving international guests, Singapore was spacious and relaxed. Every worker, from the security agents to the customs officials, smiled and laughed with the travelers in an effort to make them feel as welcome as possible. For a country that is based upon international trade, Singapore clearly understands the importance of first impressions and will invariably be a role model for the aerotropolis of the future.

Singapore's Spacious and Efficient Airport. (triciaannemitchell.com)

A Concern for Customer Service. (triciaannemitchell.com)

Peles Castle, Romania

From the coast of the Black Sea, to the Carpathian Mountains, Romania is a country rich in beauty, history, and economic opportunity. A patchwork quilt of empires have ruled over these lands of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia for thousands of years, leaving their legacies scattered across the country in the form of castles, churches, and genetics. Romania’s admission into NATO in 2004, the European Union in 2007, and its potential adoption of the Euro zone currency in 2015, position it to be an integral part of the international community.

Vlad the Impaler, A.K.A Dracula

As the home of Vlad the Impaler, or the figure Bram Stoker’s Dracula was modeled upon, Transylvania is a prime candidate for a comprehensive place promotion campaign. The Bran Castle, rumored to be the haunt of Dracula in the 1400s, is primed to become the epicenter of a regional tourism boom and the corollary economic benefits it would bring. Plush bed and breakfast establishments nearby and the authentic Romanian cuisine that they offer can be reserved for pennies on the dollar.

The Courtyard of Bran Castle

Bran Castle Foyer

An Eerie Room Inside Bran Castle

Other regional gems remain to be discovered, from the 900-year-old city of Sighişoara to Brașov and Sibiu, where homes are decorated with hints of the owner’s idiosyncrasies. Western European tourists, particularly Germans, already flock to the sun-baked beaches of the Black Sea, and are invariably ready to open up their pocketbooks to see some of Romania’s undiscovered treasures.

Romania’s challenge in attracting further tourists lies in the intangible realm of aesthetics and what appeals to the travelers’ senses. While my wife and I were insulated by our Romanian hosts from the challenges of logistics and communication, we were able to participate in the world around us as a pair of detached observers. The conclusion we continuously reached was that the legacies of over 40 years of communism and those of the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, have saddled urban Romania with a deficiency of aesthetics that must be overcome before a critical mass of tourism is reached.

One of the key disasters that Ceaușescu inflicted upon the people of Romania and helped to ultimately lead to his demise before a firing squad on Christmas Day in1989, was the construction of the world’s largest parliament building in Bucharest. Nearly bankrupting the country during its 5 years of construction, this mammoth structure required the razing of several hundred-year-old neighborhoods and the construction of massive, bland and utilitarian apartment blocks that would be used to house the displaced citizens.

Photo Courtesy of 1010global.org

One heart-wrenching tragedy of this construction was the forced abandonment of thousands of animals into the streets of Bucharest since the new apartment blocks would not permit animals. As a result, the stray dog population in Romania has swelled to an estimated high of 50,000-100,000. These dogs often coalesce into packs and roam the city at all hours in search of food and shelter. However, after a reported 10,000 dog bites per year and a Japanese tourist who was mauled to death in 2006, there has been a strong, concerted effort to euthanize these animals en-masse.

'Bran,' our temporarily adopted stray.

In recent years, several non-profit agencies and animal rights activists have descended upon Romania in an effort to save the dogs. While their efforts are noble, they have so far been unable to muster enough support to either find homes for the animals, or to ensure that the animals are spayed and neutered and can no longer multiply. Efforts to actually make the dogs a tourist attraction in their own right also seem to be waning.

Communism’s utilitarian approach to infrastructure also contributes to extreme urban blight in the form of factories, block housing, and visible bundles of electricity and telephone wires. Compounded by extreme traffic and an inadequate road system that leaves drivers white-knuckled, and it isn’t too long before a trip to Romania’s extraordinarily green and expansive countryside becomes a necessity. 

Hanging On!

Lastly, there has been a major backlash against the Roma people, or Gypsies, throughout Europe. France recently deported thousands of them back to Romania where over 1 million of them live. Believed to have descended from a tribe in Northeastern India in the 11^thcentury, the Roma are widely criticized as being beggars and thieves who refuse to assimilate into the countries in which they reside. They are accused of erecting shantytowns and living in squalor conditions while collecting government handouts or resorting to petty crime.

Photo Courtesy of BBC World News

Seeing these shantytowns, the hordes of beggars, and constantly guarding against pickpockets left me disconcerted and pondering solutions. At one point on our trip, we stopped by the side of the road to have a fantastic picnic and take in the beautiful Romanian countryside, only to be flummoxed by a car full of gypsies who pulled up along side of us, began sorting through their recently acquired clothes from someone’s outdoor clothesline, dumping their trash out in the open, and then attempting to sell us some of their wares.

Romania is an extraordinary country with boundless possibilities. The people are friendly and intelligent and eager to welcome outsiders to experience their customs and offerings. However, the tourism sector is encumbered by a lack of aesthetics, and will need to dedicate more resources towards improving what visitors see and feel before it becomes a must-see destination. I look forward to returning to this ancient and fascinating country someday to learn more and to witness its progress.

Renovations in Sector 4 of Bucharest

Commemorating Romania's Losses in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Freshly baked pretzels!

Delicious Romanian/Hungarian Cinnamon Treats

Photos Courtesy of TriciaAnneMitchell.com