About the Exotics

One of the main reasons why I started to photograph and share pictures of Finnish nature, is to remind myself and other Finns, that we have something amazing of our own and we should never forget that. I need to travel more inside Finland, because there is a lot I haven’t experienced inside the borders of my own country. I think you have to appreciate what you have, before you can fully appreciate the exotics.

By definition, exotic is just that, different from what we are used to. So for us, tropical hot climate is exotic, and for them, it’s the scenery fully covered in snow. And with exotics, I’m not talking just about the weather and nature, but countries as a whole, the culture and the way of life.

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It's a very common thing, especially with Finnish millennial, to talk shit about Finland all day and have this insane idea that life in some tropical country is superior to what we have here. Usually this happens after one trip to Thailand and living like kings in there. What many fail to realise is that the level of income is very different in there, and if you were to live and work there full time, you'd be paid the same as the locals and you would no longer be living in that ivory tower.

Gosh the times I have heard a little brat saying “Omg like Thailand is sooooo much better, everyone is always like sooo happy and nice in there and living is like free and food is better and everything is awesome and amazing and pretty.” It’s hard for me to contain myself and not slap the silly out of those little shits.

People are just the same in Thailand as they are in every other country in the world. They have their heart aches and worries, money trouble and sickness. Just because they happen to smile at you when they serve you food, which you handsomely pay for, doesn’t mean they love you. I myself worked in the customer service industry for 7 years and I can say that behind my warm service smile and good manners, I whole heartedly hated most customers. Tourism is a big business, and you are only visiting, always remember that.

Keep your eyes open, look beyond the area build just for tourists, see what is really out there. Look beyond the light, and into the shadows.

There is good and bad in every country, and I think with travelling, you can experience both. And maybe, just maybe, you can be a better and more understanding person because of that. _{(Yes @escapist, I did throw up in my mouth while writing that sentence)}

I like to travel and I intend to do a lot more of that, but I never want to forget where I come from, I hope you don’t either. This is my home base and I will always have it. Grass is not greener on the other side.

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_{If you liked the picture pairing of Finland vs Thailand, wait a little while and I'll upload a whole lot of similar pairs, one taken from Finland and a similar set up from a foreign country. Check it out here! I had a lot of fun going through my picture storage.}