Keeping tourists in resorts

I've met people who've been to the Maldives and researched going there when I was in the region, but decided not to because they control the movement of the tourists. Basically, they don't want you to interact with Maldivians outside of very westernized resorts. I believe you are even prohibited from visiting 'unapproved' islands.

Are there Pacific island countries that do something similar?

No.

None indeed.
In a few (like the Cook Islands) camping and/or staying with the locals is supposedly prohibited, but even in those you can still stay on inhabited islands and often in small, local-run guest houses.

But most tourists do stay in the resorts anyway, which makes it very easy to get away from them and get to know the locals if you prefer.

Laszlo,
Mengapa kamu tidak menerima pesan pribadi?

Pertama kali saya tahu orang 'magyar' yang bisah berbicarah Bahasa Indonesia? Kamu tahu lebih orang dari negara kamu yang juga bisah berbicarah sama sama?
Dan apa perkerjaan kamu yang bisah jalan jalan banyak? Saya very jealous.

Maaf untuk basah indonesia saya, tapi say hanya sudah tinggal disana tiga bulan.

Kamu berbicarah lebih bahasa saya (orang amerika) atau bahasa ini? Baba dan ibu dari baba saya sudah mata tapi dari Transalvania dan berbicharah bahasah kamu.

búcsú

Kendrick

The people in the Maldives are muslims and may feel offended if they see foreigners in bathing shirts - that's the main reason why the government separates the locals from the tourists there.

I am pretty sure the main reason the Maldives government keep tourists in the expensive resorts is that they can get more cash out of them that way than by letting them stay in villages.

Kendrick, looks like English is easier for you indeed (eg not baba but bapak and not mata but mati or better still meninggal), though for 3 months your Indonesian is not bad! ;-)
I only accept PMs from those on my contact list.
I used to get far too many boring Qs along thge lines of "We are going to Bali... What is to see there?"
Of course many Hungarians speak Indonesian, after all students go to study there every years.

Is there a historical connection between the two countries that has students studying there? I've maybe met 3 Americans who have been and for a country of immigrants, there aren't even 100,000 Indonesians living in my whole country.

No need for special historical connections.
Hundreds of students from a large number of "friendly countries", Americans included, get government scholarships to study in Indonesia every year. It is true though that Yanks seemed way underrespresented compared to the population of their country, there were maybe 6 of them 2-3 years ago when there were ca 20 people each from Hungary and Poland, and even Madagascar sent more than the US! Those of the 6 I talked to told me they thought the general paranoia about Muslim countries back home was a part of the reason.

Laszlo,

Would you please tell me how to imbed a travel map and pics in my profile like you did? I have a world66 map and tried to do it, but had no luck. Terimakasih

Try putting an exclamation mark ( ! ) right in front of and after the link to the images you want to appear in your profile.
As explained on the Edit Profile page (or it should be).

This has been sitting at the top of this for ages now and I finally can no longer resist- They obviously need to keep the tourists in the resorts so as not to bother the travelers. Who wants to run around an island being bothered by tourists.

I am really sorry- the devil himself made me do this. I shall now creep off and not bother anyone for while.

5Waldos... 10
You have a kindred spirit... the last thing I want to do on my holiday is to listen to some tourist try to casually slip into the conversation with me how important they are and how big their house is and what kind of car they drive and blah, blah, blah... I'd much rather listen to the locals tell me about how to pick a good nue or where Capt. Cook's crew came ashore or how their great-grandfather bonked their enemies over the head and ate them!

Lazlo... 2
In the Cook Islands, I think locals might be encouraged to bring lodging up to a reasonable standard and cooperate with the tourism association, same with fishing & tour boats. I don't see the authorities pushing regulations with a heavy hand and it would be hard to imagine a local being prohibited from inviting a visitor to stay with them. Everyone seems to go along with the "no camping" thing, but it's OK to spend the night out on the beach on a moonlit night netting crayfish. I think the "no camping" rule works because most (all?) land is private and belongs to someone. The locals all know who owns what but most visitors don't have a clue. Riding around on a scooter or walking is almost always OK. Intruding near a home or social gathering without an invitation isn't. I think one of the big attractions for the Cooks, especially the outer islands, is the freedom to wander around just about anywhere, as long as you respect people's privacy.

North Korea

uh........it was a joke. Based on some of the many discussions that run around TT on one branch or another. And one which I really don't want to open up here. Hence the blame on the devil.

"keep the tourists in the resorts so as not to bother the travelers", dude that sounds so young and stupid, what are the authentic 'travellers' the ones in baggy thai pants and dreadlocks living unbathed on $2 a day? Hose them off and send them packing is what I'm thinking. And no body criticise me, look in your heart. You know I'm right!

JOKE

It was a JOKE

I don;t know how to make it more clear. The title of this thread immediately harkened back to multiple threads about the difference between the two (the same arguments repeated about every 6 months).They never lead anyplace and get really silly. Hence my mention of the devil making me do this, and creeping back off so as not to bother anyone. It was intended to be a takeoff on the title of the thread

And by the way- that is dudette.

Edited by: 5Waldos

I guess I should have said you are wrong on all 3 counts- I am not young, I am not stupid, and I am not a guy.

What is it about the islands that makes everyone so serious. Humor does not melt in the tropical sun. It blossoms.

"that sounds so young and stupid"

It sure does. (Yeah, you were joking it didn't read that way.)

"locals tell me about how to pick a good nue or where Capt. Cook's crew came ashore or how their great-grandfather bonked their enemies over the head and ate them!"

How bizarre, when I had conversations with Cook Islanders it was about world affairs, life in the Cook Islands, their families, and their experiences living abroad among other contemporary subjects.

I am going to be forced to use emoticons here. No question.

ok, ok, all is forgiven olde, intelligent female of the species. 'go about your business folks, there's nothing to seen here' but kudos to you as you sure got me going~! jah manh, yar ha won crazhy kid!

:-)

Hehe,5W, I told you that long ago! :-)

Lol 5W ... you had them going for a bit :-))

Yes Laszlo- you did. Next time I shall put, in very large letters, WARNING-JOKE! :-0

And yes Watsoff, I did. Really didn't mean to. I just kept looking at the title of this thread and it was so obvious to me at least that finally I gave in to it. As I said, the devil himself made me do it. I shall be more careful next time. Or so I tell myself- I will probably forget again and have to explain myself all over again. Oh well....livens up this branch once in a while.

I have been dreaming nightly about being in Palau. Suppose my unconscious is trying to tell me something?

Obvious: Time to go!
I myself could never stay away from my fave islands for more than a year.
Come to think of it, stayed away from home longer! ;-)

Go! I'm in the horrible position of not being able to go back to Solomons for a few more years at least ... health issues ... but if I was able to I'd be off like a shot. So, you go girl, go!

With the airfares what they are at the moment- don't I wish! But I am thinking about it. Maybe I can get myself hired on for some kind of evaluation of the programs. I may have to look into that.

silvanocat....17...you said..."How bizarre, when I had conversations with Cook Islanders it was about world affairs, life in the Cook Islands, their families, and their experiences living abroad among other contemporary subjects."

Of course I have those conversations with the locals as well. And getting their perspective about world events is always interesting and informative. But I also find it interesting to learn something about their history and culture while I'm there.

In context, I had the conversations about cannibalism with Tere' on Mangaia while exploring the caves where he told me a story about a feud that lasted many years. Also on Aitu Marshall will take you to the burial caves that have holes in the skulls near a spot where there former owners were ambushed. Also on Aitu, Man Unuia can take you to the Marae where some of Capt. Cook's crew sweated out the prospects of being tossed into the umu during negotiations for provisions with the islands leaders. After reading about it in Cook's logs I found it fascinating to speak with someone with a first-hand oral history of the event. There were some interesting discrepancies in the two versions. And... being able to pick out a good nue (drinking nut) is a skill worth learning in the Cooks as well.

One of the great things about the Cooks is the rich heritage of oral history and the fascinating way they have blended western and Polynesian religions. I always try and learn as much as I can when I'm there. I live in Alaska and Capt. Cook spent a lot of time here as well. But sadly, there is no knowledge or oral history among native Alaskans about his contact with them.