Naked tourists anger spirits, cause Mount Kinabalu earthquake

In every place Walt has ever lived -- and there have been many -- tourists are welcomed with forced smiles and reviled behind their backs as "FTs" -- "fucking tourists". In Zimbabwe, a standard joke was: Q. What's the difference between a BA [British Airways] jet and the tourists who arrive on it? A. The plane stops whining when it gets to the terminal.

Around the world, tourists are widely -- and justly -- regarded as loud and boorish (Americans and Chinese), arrogant and pushy (Germans), dirty and rude (Chinese and Indians), cheap (Indians and Canadians), and the list goes on. A major complaint of many unwilling hosts is that their guests are ignorant of and insensitive to local culture, tradition and religion. "Whaddya mean I have to take off my shoes? I'm a Merkin!"

Such insensitivity is today being held to have played a part in causing a 6.0-magnitude earthquake centred just 33 miles from Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site in Malaysia's Sabah state.

Like Everest, Kilimanjaro, the Matterhorn and other lofty peaks, Mount Kinabalu is a major attraction for hordes of careless, trash-toting and generally stupid tourists who try to hike, climb and scramble their way to the top "because it's there". And how do you prove you've been there? By taking pictures of course. And if you photograph yourself naked and put it on Instagram, maybe it'll go viral!

There were somewhere between 100 and 200 trekkers on the mountain when the powerful earthquake struck on Friday. As of Sunday morning local time, 13 bodies have been recovered and 3 are missing. Rescuers escorted to safety 137 who had been stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours fearing continuing rockfalls after the quake damaged a key trail.

Reports said most people on the mountain when the quake hit were Malaysian but they also included hikers from Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, Britain, Thailand, Turkey, China, Japan and Canada. The Straits Times quotes Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister said the quake was a result of the action of Western tourists who had stripped naked near Mount Kinabalu’s summit last month.

Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazan Dusun tribal group, who consider it a resting place for departed spirits. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the DCM said the tragedy was a "confirmation" of the consequences of the actions of ten "Europeans" [the term used in Africa and Asia for all whities. Ed.] who he said had been disrespectful to local customs.

The Deputy Chief Minister called on the culprits to be brought to a native court to be charged. He did not actually use the term "FTs". What he said was, "Whether other people believe this or not, it's what we Sabahans believe. When the earthquake happened, it's like a confirmation of our beliefs. It is a sacred mountain and you cannot take it lightly."

Note from Ed.: No! There are no more pictures! And there won't be, tomorrow or ever!