Compromising Eden: part III

What are we searching for in our own lives that we see in those brochures? Is it the freedom to go bodysurfing in warm turquoise colored waves with your best friend? How about the chance to do some long overdue painting on the verandah of your villa? Perhaps you and your wife have not been as attentive to each other's needs as you used to be and this vacation is going to recharge the batteries. There are countless other reasons that motivate people to take a tropical holiday.

I can mention one thing that guests certainly are not expecting to see upon reaching those warm, soothing shores and that is plastic trash on the beach. Indonesia is in the process of becoming a "modern" nation, although it is a painfully slow process for a variety of complex reasons. Plastic is a reasonably new phenomenon here and is a symbol of contemporary life in urban areas and tourist locations. There is an island in the central region of Indonesia, which shall remain anonymous, that is very well known around the world as a beautiful destination. I have seen gorgeous postcards, coffee table books, travel narratives ect…. describing this exotic place, but I have yet to see an art gallery featuring photographs of tourists stepping over plastic water bottles in order to make their way down the beach. This is not the image that locals and tourists that are planning a holiday here want to see, but it has been a reality here for several years now. The subject of plastic garbage is certainly not the most appealing subject matter and will do little to promote a place when seen in a hip brochure in a San Francisco or London travel agency, but often it is this very substance that stands out in peoples' minds the most while they are flying home after their holiday here. "That island had so many beautiful temples and warm people, but why can't they control their garbage better?" I have overheard this sentiment more than once from people that have visited this island.

Mike Hillis is a writer and an ethnologist living in Indonesia. He is also the Marketing Director of Unexplored Adventures, a diving and Eco Travel Company based in the Spice Islands of eastern Indonesia.