Dave's Travel Tips

One of the Weirdest Things

…About all these places Heather and I have been: everyone still uses ringtones. Sometimes even text ring tones! In public, on the bus! Everywhere! And everyone uses the same one.

People talk about how squat toilets are sooo different in India. But there is no accounting for how foreign a person has to be to enable the ring tone on their phone.

Dave's Travel Tips

Kind of a Hilarious Difference

Between Indian and US culture is the public response to any kind of fight or disagreement. In the US the response is to watch what’s happening out of the corner of your eye and maybe discuss it under your breath with your friends. The only reason you would get involved in any conflict would be to choose and join one side of the fight, right? In India, if a guy is arguing loudly with a cop in the street men will walk all the way up -way past US standards for personal space- just to watch what’s going on. No corner of the eye pretending to respect people’s privacy, they pull up a front row seat because they want the gossip. I can only imagine how disconcerting it must be to be an American who finds themselves in a confrontation in public only to find that several Indian men have crowded up close to watch.

Dave's Travel Tips

You should not give money to child beggars

…in the country you’re visiting. You don’t know the situation, it could well be that they are being run by a pimp and if business is good he will hire more children to beg; children who then can’t be doing things like being in school. You should instead give later to appropriate charities. HOWEVER. If a kid brings to you in his arms an adorable puppy for a picture, and you take that picture, then you have to give that kid some money, lady. Fee for services rendered. You should not have taken that picture but since you did, your principled stance of “oh no..no money” and feined patting of your pockets only serves to add just a little bit more injustice to an already terribly unfair life. You are a jerk.