The problem I have with this (and Gibson's article linked below) is that there is an incredibly patronizing undercurrent to the complaints that everything is clean and works right. Grinding poverty and picturesque slums might be a creative ferment for Western expatriates (who can almost always pick and choose what they experience), but the Asians, Africans, South Americans, etc who are forced to suffer those conditions their entire lives don't see it that way at all.