Travel
is not all about indulgence, though it may
seem that way at times!
I
have been to Africa many times. I love it
so much I even encouraged family and friends
to travel to Africa a few years ago to witness
my husband and I get married on the shores
of Kenya. They fell in love as well - with
Africa.
Whilst
on honeymoon, Jon (my husband) and I were
lazing about on the wonderful island of Zanzibar.
There was a slight breeze, the sun was bright,
the water was turquoise and the beer was
cold. We sipped away as we sat there watching
the locals out in the ocean harvesting their
seaweed. Though they live in paradise, harvesting
seaweed is a hard backbreaking job bringing
in very little money. Luckily for the locals,
living in paradise does have its bonuses
- it brings in the tourists who have money
to spend. Being resourceful, they invent
ways to cater for the tourists needs in order
to supplement their meagre incomes.
Massage
is one of these income supplements and I
admit to succumbing to the fantastic sales
pitch of "massage, Madam?" on this
hot balmy day. Why not? I was on honeymoon
after all! Soon enough a larger-than-life
African Mama was sitting cross-legged next
to me, oiling her hands up and settling in
for a half hour massage. Jon had an equally
larger-than-life Mama next to him doing the
same. As they sat, they chatted away to each
other in Swahili, giggling and "ayeeee-ing" in
agreement with whilst they worked away on
our muscles.
The
scene was perfect apart from one thing -
the massage was terrible! As these women
largely work pulling up seaweed for a living,
their hands are calloused and hard and they
had obviously not been taught how to massage.
My husband said, "it was like having
your Mum rub sunscreen on you before a day
at the beach!" It doesn't sound like
such a good advertisement for the beachside
massage on Zanzibar, but to be honest, even
though the massage wasn't the same as you'd
get in a Thai Spa, it still made us feel
fantastic. We knew that by letting these
ladies lather oil into our backs we were
giving them an opportunity to earn a living
over and above the backbreaking seaweed cultivating.
They also had a chance to sit with a friend
and have a good old giggle (probably at the
stupid tourists who succumbed to their punishing
hands) whilst they worked and who knows,
with a bit of practice they may get better.
We enjoyed listening to the Swahili dialect
whilst staring at the turquoise sea and,
although we didn't feel like running a marathon
after the event, it gave us a good excuse
to have another beer - and supplement another
local's income! We talk about our funny massage
to this day so it also gave us a story to
tell.
Sometimes
it goes unnoticed when revelling in the delights
of travel, just how much of a positive impact
you are having on the people around you.
By taking a day trip, buying a souvenir,
getting a local to do your washing for you,
having a massage or kicking back with a local
beer you are actually helping the local economy
and its people.
Tourism
is one of the largest industries in the world
and without it, many people, especially in
developing nations, would not have the opportunities
to earn a living that they currently do.
So
what are you waiting for - indulge, pack
your bags and go! You're doing the world
a favour.
Want
to tailor your tour to Africa and help
the local economy? Contact us for more
information.
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Sri
Lanka Special festival departure
AUSTRALIAN
READERS. 
Adrian
shook his life up on the back of a big blue
truck!
Factors
inducing weight gain on tour
GOING
TO THE CHAPEL!
Hi
Meg
