3 ms·

Yeah, a few of these items sound a lot like "white tourist in poor country". Like the one about asking the taxi driver to drive you to his mom, like holy cow t

Yeah, a few of these items sound a lot like "white tourist in poor country". Like the one about asking the taxi driver to drive you to his mom, like holy cow that's creepy. Imagine asking an American Uber driver "hey drive me to your mom's" and see how they'd respond.

trinix912 2y ago
It doesn't even have to be the US, that already wouldn't go well in Eastern Europe. Such things can be seen as extremely disrespectful and are a sure way to get a punch in your face in some places. Lots of these tips seem like what you'd hear from someone regularly traveling someplace like Egypt, where the taxi drivers will openly tell you about their life/family/etc.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- fortran77 2y ago
  Say anything related to a person's mother in Russia and it will be seen as an insult.
magneticnorth 2y ago
Extremely white, somewhat gendered as well. I travel alone as a woman a lot, and while it's not as dangerous as many people fear, I'd never ask a taxi driver to take me to (potentially) his private residence in a random neighborhood in an unfamiliar city.
- astura 2y ago
  Just imagine this interaction from the mom's perspective. (Because the author sure hasn't!) You're minding your own business just doing laundry or whatever and your adult son just shows up to you house totally unannounced with a foreign stranger in tow looking for you to cook them a meal. Come on, that is really rude! Like, it's clear this guy thinks the mom is a total NPC in this situation. It takes some serious delusions of grandeur to think the mom is "happy" about this interaction.
  - pocketarc 2y ago
    > a total NPC Honestly, I think that is a great way to describe what bugs me most about this list. It's the idea that other people are there for your entertainment. Like: 'Go to a cemetery. Look for sacred places. People live authentically there.' Like really. Why are you going to a place to watch people grieving for your entertainment? What -is- this list? After 50 years of traveling? This mentality is what he has to show for it?
  - kmoser 2y ago
    Presumably the driver knows their mom well enough to determine how she would react, or call ahead to be sure. If it still blows up, blame the driver, not the passenger who initiated the request.
    - mvdtnz 2y ago
      A taxi driver in a poor country is doing what he needs to do to get paid, probably with a bit of a tip. That doesn't make this interaction ok. It's exploitative and RUDE!
- throwaway290 2y ago
  also this > People in other places are not saints. You might get cheated, swindled, or taken advantage of. Paradoxically, the best way to avoid that is to give strangers your trust and treat them well. Being good to them brings out their good. If you are on your best behavior, they will be on their best behavior. And vice versa. To stay safe, smile. Idk I would recommend it to a single female traveler
eldaisfish 2y ago
some are entirely incorrect. Lack of hygiene is a real problem in tropical countries. Pretending that all food everywhere is equal is some crazy level of white, sheltered nonsense. I would never recommend that anyone eat anything uncooked in a country like India. You are asking for digestive woes. Much of this "list" is BS.
- decimalenough 2y ago
  No, that one is accurate. Street food is usually made to order and has high turnover if you pick a popular stall, which means it often is safer than touristy restaurants that rely on snaring a couple of visitors a day and thus has food sitting around for much longer. I spent 1.5 years in Thailand and the only time I got sick was from a fancy, touristy seafood place in Koh Samui. You still have to use common sense though. The water/ice used in street food is often sus, so anything uncooked is best avoided, and you probably don't want to get your larb from the lady who keeps her raw minced meat in an open bucket marinating in the sun.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    I think you're agreeing. Typical cooked "street food" is probably fine (and I've done many times); uncooked may not be.
  - throwaway290 2y ago
    This depends. There are local places with cheap chicken rice in Thailand and locals go there but a savvy local will tell you: don't go there in the afternoon. Because they cook rice once in the morning and it hangs there all day! Usual customers maybe all have their gut adjusted but you don't But yes I had a fair share of mild poisonings from touristy places. I blame fresh veg which in Asian cultures may not be so clean

trinix912 2y ago

It doesn't even have to be the US, that already wouldn't go well in Eastern Europe. Such things can be seen as extremely disrespectful and are a sure way to get a punch in your face in some places. Lots of these tips seem like what you'd hear from someone regularly traveling someplace like Egypt, where the taxi drivers will openly tell you about their life/family/etc.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
fortran77 2y ago
Say anything related to a person's mother in Russia and it will be seen as an insult.

magneticnorth 2y ago

Extremely white, somewhat gendered as well. I travel alone as a woman a lot, and while it's not as dangerous as many people fear, I'd never ask a taxi driver to take me to (potentially) his private residence in a random neighborhood in an unfamiliar city.

astura 2y ago
Just imagine this interaction from the mom's perspective. (Because the author sure hasn't!) You're minding your own business just doing laundry or whatever and your adult son just shows up to you house totally unannounced with a foreign stranger in tow looking for you to cook them a meal. Come on, that is really rude! Like, it's clear this guy thinks the mom is a total NPC in this situation. It takes some serious delusions of grandeur to think the mom is "happy" about this interaction.
- pocketarc 2y ago
  > a total NPC Honestly, I think that is a great way to describe what bugs me most about this list. It's the idea that other people are there for your entertainment. Like: 'Go to a cemetery. Look for sacred places. People live authentically there.' Like really. Why are you going to a place to watch people grieving for your entertainment? What -is- this list? After 50 years of traveling? This mentality is what he has to show for it?
- kmoser 2y ago
  Presumably the driver knows their mom well enough to determine how she would react, or call ahead to be sure. If it still blows up, blame the driver, not the passenger who initiated the request.
  - mvdtnz 2y ago
    A taxi driver in a poor country is doing what he needs to do to get paid, probably with a bit of a tip. That doesn't make this interaction ok. It's exploitative and RUDE!
throwaway290 2y ago
also this > People in other places are not saints. You might get cheated, swindled, or taken advantage of. Paradoxically, the best way to avoid that is to give strangers your trust and treat them well. Being good to them brings out their good. If you are on your best behavior, they will be on their best behavior. And vice versa. To stay safe, smile. Idk I would recommend it to a single female traveler

eldaisfish 2y ago

some are entirely incorrect. Lack of hygiene is a real problem in tropical countries. Pretending that all food everywhere is equal is some crazy level of white, sheltered nonsense. I would never recommend that anyone eat anything uncooked in a country like India. You are asking for digestive woes. Much of this "list" is BS.

decimalenough 2y ago
No, that one is accurate. Street food is usually made to order and has high turnover if you pick a popular stall, which means it often is safer than touristy restaurants that rely on snaring a couple of visitors a day and thus has food sitting around for much longer. I spent 1.5 years in Thailand and the only time I got sick was from a fancy, touristy seafood place in Koh Samui. You still have to use common sense though. The water/ice used in street food is often sus, so anything uncooked is best avoided, and you probably don't want to get your larb from the lady who keeps her raw minced meat in an open bucket marinating in the sun.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I think you're agreeing. Typical cooked "street food" is probably fine (and I've done many times); uncooked may not be.
- throwaway290 2y ago
  This depends. There are local places with cheap chicken rice in Thailand and locals go there but a savvy local will tell you: don't go there in the afternoon. Because they cook rice once in the morning and it hangs there all day! Usual customers maybe all have their gut adjusted but you don't But yes I had a fair share of mild poisonings from touristy places. I blame fresh veg which in Asian cultures may not be so clean