Replies: 26 - Last Post: 07-Feb-2005 08:10 Last Post By: UsvaAuer
1
Very sensible and I wish I could have followed this more over the years..Edwardseco
2
I have given things directly to children (generally pencils/pens and notebooks) in Nepal and Tibet. I don't see anything wrong there, but in general I agree with the sense of the post. The last one sums it up nicely."The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot." - William Strunk
3
Good points. While I was teaching in Ladakh a year ago, I posted in these forums a plea for travelers going there to be sensitive to the culture. Things like appropriate dress, and other specifics. Unfortunately, many visitors are insensitive, and most of the replies to my thread were vicious attacks on me, saying I didn't know what I was talking about (I had been there a year by that time).
4
#2 Children are impressionable and come to see all tourists as bearers of free pens /candy etc. It is just another form of begging really.
5
How true!!It's rare but if you see child abuse in Sri Lanka it is worth reporting to the Police.
6
#3, you are so right. Unfortunately many travellers see it as their right to dress as they want. I have seen that often in Tibet, men and women wearing shorts/miniskirts and a tanktop. The tibetan will seldom mention anything, they are very friendly but its very offensive to them. They will accasionally say something if you try to enter a shrine dressed like that. The answers given back is not always very nice.
7
Not just dressing with too much skin showing...I think we need to include dressing in grungy rags like so many trustafarians do. People try and tell them that they look ridiculous in the eyes of locals and border on being offensive with their uncleanliness or general state of horror of their clothes, and they lash right back with "I came to India so I could be myself and dress like I want! The locals don't mind!"Everybody should be somebody's Poke Thing. Lao Ren Cha
8
In response to #2, giving pens/pencils/notebooks and small things like that to children is not always a good thing. I understand it's well-intentioned (I've been guilty of it myself), but it can have some bad effects. I visited Tibet in November 2004 (just a few months ago). I went to the major places and tourist spots, but also went to some very remote, off-the-beaten-trail sites. These places were very poor, and everywhere I went there were beggars. Children, some as young as 2, would ask me and my companions for pens and money. It was hard not to give these people something, but giving pens and just a kuai (Chinese renminbi) or two can end up creating a habit in the long run. For example, at one guesthouse I stayed in, the owner's children begged my companions and I for candy and money. These children were living comfortably (for Tibetan standards) and had no economic reasons to beg -- they did it because people who stayed there before us gave them goodies, so they learned to ask us because they figured we would do the same.
9
OP: I certainly understand what you’re trying to say in your first point about patronizing locally owned business, but sometimes this is NOT the route to take. Locally owned enterprises are (in some cases) the absolute worst human rights abusers, much worse than foreign owned enterprises who are legally forced to follow more liberal and generous westernized labour practises.
10
OP and Terry:The natural way is the way of the sage, serving as his dwelling, providing his centre deep within, whether in his home or journeying.--Tao Te Ching
11
I hear ya no 7, those pieces of shit are revolting, and they walk about with no fucking shoes on in what amounts to be an open air sewer. Some of them put bells in there hair. And they ask there fellow travellers for smokes. A pack of smokes costs 15r for fuck sake. Was trying to watch the sunset in Pushkar and a bunch of these new age dirt bags came along and started doing some kind of yoga. The locals found it funny. And these same scumbags can be found in SE Asia aswell, the Thais call em bird shit cuz they look like shit, and smell like shit and they come in a plane. If it were up to me I would have there raggedy asses shot, or better yet, set em loose in the mine fields of Cambodia, its so sad to see all those Kimmer people missing limbs, as for those unclean Hindu/Buddist whannabees, they wont be missed.
12
hear, hear!
---o0Kris0o---
assalam alaikum
13
Excellent source. I have posted it with ref to OP's handle on the Africa FAQ as it is easily transferable."If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it." – Lyndon Baines Johnson
14
I agree with most points… but I'm not sure about the 'anger-point'. Sure it's always better to stay calm but some people can be so annoying and obtrusive that it's simply the best just to shout 'piss off'.
Posted By: VenessaP -- 28-Jan-2010 15:01
Posted By: VenessaP -- 09-Dec-2009 17:01
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