A Hard Rain´s Gonna Fall ...

Agree, and as you will know, you have to go away from the tourist hot spots to really understand the difference in their culture.

I rarely tip when I am abroad, I am always dubious if tips will be shared equally amongst the staff, or does the proprietor take the lions share. I tend to either buy them a drink or something to eat, with a daily wage of £10 it does tend to be more appreciated. I find in the far east, when it comes to food they like to share. I have been in many a bar where the staff are eating, only to be asked, would I like to join them.

What gets to me on my trips to the far east, is the tendency of western tourists to criticize there way of life and that they do things wrong. For example, in the UK if someone flash's their car lights at you, it tends to be a sign they are giving you the right of way. In Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc etc they are warning you of their presence and to be cautious, hence why there is always a lot of honking horns as well. I know a number of people who have fell foul of the law or been badly injured for not abiding by their law. If some tourists are not going to wear a crash helmet while riding a motor bike abroad, then don't cry wolf when your insurance will not cover the medical bills. Many of Thailand's beaches were closed to sun lounging tourists a couple of years ago, this was mainly to combat the litter problem, but also due to criticism from the West that the East was the cause of polluting oceans, Covid = no tourists and clean beaches. When I first went to Thailand in 1999 it's nickname was, LOS, "Land Of Smiles" that name is rarely used now due to how commercialised it is now, especially in the tourist hot spots.

On all my trips I have had the pleasure of meeting some lovely people, abroad and at home. For me, there only 2 types of people in this world, those that give and those that take, I have no time for the latter.

 

My contribution to this interesting thread is the wise words of Bob Dylan who was and still is one of my favourite singer songwriters.
I am sure he would be honoured to be linked indirectly to this interesting thread.

 

His concerns here were war, people suffering, and the pollution of the Earth, in 1962 , when I was twelve. Very apposite roders, he woke up a lot of people, including me.
I think the protest song had all too brief a heyday, it was a wonderful way of coalescing radical thought, and rising above the media´s hype, (and we don´t want any of that sort of thing, thank you very much).
Such "Interesting Times" we live in.