Juxtapositions, and other cultural contrasts

From The Parachute Artist: Have Tony Wheeler's guidebooks traveled too far?, Tad Friend, The New Yorker, April 18, 2005

“Even Lonely Planet, however, hasn't figured out a way to market its epiphanies other than by using the impoverished language of travel writing.

And so 'palm-fringed beaches' and lush rain forests and other 'sleepy backwaters' are invariably counterpoised against 'teeming cities' with their 'bustling souks'. Every region has a 'colorful history' and a 'rich cultural tapestry'.

And every place on earth is a 'land of contrasts'. As the Arabian Peninsula guide observes, 'Bedouin tribesmen park 4WDs alongside goat hair tents; veiled women chat on mobile phones while awaiting laser hair removal,' and so on.”

And from the latest LP Bulgaria:

"Bulgaria has changed swiftly over the last decade, though in the villages you can still find folk who ride the donkey to work, eat homegrown potatoes and make their own cheese. The difference now is that they wash it all down in front of a satellite TV."

C - in Starbucks on the upper west and observing altogether too little contrast