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Some wonderful things we have seen in places poorer than where we live:
Game parks in South Africa and Zimbabwe
The pyramids in Egypt
Cappadocia and Istanbul in Turkey
Machu Picchu
The Galápagos Islands
All of Sicily
The Great Wall of China
Wildlife in Sabah
Etc
I would not have missed any of these for anything.
The worst hassling we have experienced happened in Egypt, Mexico, Bangkok and on the Great Wall of China.
The most frightened I have ever been when travelling was in Washington DC, when we inadvertently booked in an unsuitable part of the city.
North DC?
Every major U.S city has bad neighborhoods comparable with warzones. In contrast, minor harassment/solicitation in most third world countries are not even worth mentioning.
In Mexico the guys I hated the most are door openers.
They hang around out front of the convenience store and open the door for you to enter or exit, expecting a couple pesos in return. They've got it figured out because they know you likely have small change in your hand on the way out. Granted they do politely greet you and aren't aggressive or rude if you ignore them, but I always wondered how these convenience stores tolerate it. In Asia someone doing that would get chased away with a broom by the shop owners.
Have seen panhandling “doormen” several times in the US, almost always at an entrance to train stations and similar public places. They’ve never been aggressive, at least, but they usually greet you.
Never seen it at a business or shop entrance in my travels. Like you, my guess is places like this wouldn’t tolerate it, but maybe things are different in Mexico.
In the early 80s backpacking and surfing across the south pacific and Indonesia I was often surrounded by curious village children in the less-visited islands. I'll never forget the one little boy who got the nerve to test his limited English on me and after sitting silently suddenly blurted out, "Neil Armstrong. Moon." I've got hundreds more incredible memories from the third world. I've always found the people with the least are the most welcoming to strangers.
I'll never forget the one little boy who got the nerve to test his limited English on me and after sitting silently suddenly blurted out, "Neil Armstrong. Moon." I've got hundreds more incredible memories from the third world. I've always found the people with the least are the most welcoming to strangers.
What a wonderful memory! I agree with your last sentence. My tour group (about 12 people) was welcomed into a tiny house in Nepal where we were fed a spicy chicken dish and "beaten rice" (looked like it had been pounded flat and then toasted). The guide knew them and I'm sure he arranged it beforehand and he did hand them a monetary gift in honor of an upcoming birthday but it was a rare encounter. The daughter spoke English so we were able to ask them questions. We also visited a school in India that's supported by a foundation established by the tour group (The Great Circle Foundation) and spent time talking with the kids. They were most interested in getting selfies on my phone and looking at them, and seeing some of my pictures from back home. One said, "autograph?" and I ran out of pieces of paper because everyone wanted one.
Any time I visit a place, it makes me care when I see it in the headlines. It really makes me look beyond my own back yard.
As a first step in planning any trip abroad, check the Travel Advisories and don't go there. I wouldn't advise you to travel anywhere while America is under it's current president.
Must be a nightmare to live in fear, both inside and outside your/ our country? I personally don't go to ****hole countries; as with most other things, our President was right about that, too. We don't want them, they don't want us. So wall them off, ASAP. God willing.
I read something recently that said the Canadians have a pretty low opinion of Americans these days . Considering that little nance they elected PM , I'm not surprised. So what, am I supposed to be afraid to go to Canada ? Who cares what they think about that or anything else ?
I've tramped around South Africa and Namibia , both Third World countries for sure . Never had the slightest problem . And I do mean over the course of months , including some teaching I did in one of the local townships outside of Cape Town . In fact most of the people there were hungry for knowledge . Like just about anywhere else, the bums and criminals stayed in the shadows where they belong during the daylight.
They were most interested in getting selfies on my phone and looking at them, and seeing some of my pictures from back home. One said, "autograph?" and I ran out of pieces of paper because everyone wanted one.
They want selfies with you and your autograph so they can show these things off later to their friends . In Indian rural life , it raises their esteem somewhat in the village to know that they were paid attention to by a foreigner . I spent a fair amount of time in rural villages outside of Bangalore , on business , about 10 years ago and always brought tons of business cards to hand out for the same reason .
The only thing annoying about India was when some of the vendors see White people, they automatically think "sucker" and hassle you to buy their cheap crap . If they are mobile they will follow you for a while . I pretended they didn't exist .
In Zimbabwe the other year , a so-called police checkpoint in the middle of the road was really a shakedown station . They shook each of us down for... get ready for it, $5 American . Wow, what a hazard that was ...not. Pikers. The purpose of being in the police or other government service in countries like that is to shake down the populace, not to do any real public good . Many of them are indeed massively corrupt from top to bottom , pretty obviously . The Indian bureaucracy is incredible , you really can't do much business there without paying off about seven layers of people .
The only thing annoying about India was when some of the vendors see White people, they automatically think "sucker" and hassle you to buy their cheap crap . If they are mobile they will follow you for a while . I pretended they didn't exist .
<snip>The Indian bureaucracy is incredible , you really can't do much business there without paying off about seven layers of people.
Our guide had a system he called "Bus Bazaar". We'd get back on the bus after visiting a site and he'd select vendors of some of the most common items and bring a selection on the bus and tell us what they cost. Anyone who wanted the item would pass money forward. These were items under $5 (many as low as $1) so if we were overpaying or if the cost included some kickback to the guide it wasn't much.
The only guy who got pestered a LOT was a real boor- there's one in every tour group. He'd haggle down to the last rupee with vendors who probably made less in a year than he did in a week, and would get nearly hostile as vendors kept following him. I swear they stuck with him longer than with the rest of us, who just kept going, avoided eye contact and politely repeated, "No".
My company built an office in Bangalore, which I visited a few times during my career, and I always wondered how much it took in bribes to get it built and keep it running.
Good grief, where do these ideas come from? We've never had any issues, respect is universally understood.
I think he means being asked for money, etc. I had kids come up asking me for money in Cancun. In Jamaica in certain areas I won’t Bring a purse or clothes with pockets because you get bugged so much to buy trinkets you can’t walk in peace. I think those are things OP meant, and no, respect isn’t universally given anywhere, including the U.S.
I think he means being asked for money, etc. I had kids come up asking me for money in Cancun. In Jamaica in certain areas I won’t Bring a purse or clothes with pockets because you get bugged so much to buy trinkets you can’t walk in peace. I think those are things OP meant, and no, respect isn’t universally given anywhere, including the U.S.
Even the definition of "respect" can change drastically from one country to another. In India, if you are introduced to an elderly person, you have to pay respects to them by touching both of their feet. If you don't do this, then it is considered disrespectful and uncultured. It is a tradition that dates back millenia.
You really can't assume anything about a foreign culture you're unfamiliar with.
No, it being a 3rd world country does not mean you will be hassled/bothered/attacked. Many 3rd world countries are as safe or safer than major US cities.
Have fun.
That’s true. Many major U.S. cities have big third world populations and the crime, violence and poverty that comes with them which is magnified by the welfare system that subsidizes and breeds it.
In third world countries you will generally be safe if you stick to tourist areas with a lot of people who are like you. Tourist areas tend to have better security and policing and are business areas. If you go to where the locals live and are concentrated your risk goes up. Same as in the U.S. in cities with sticking to business and tourist districts and staying out of the hood or whatever it is called.
It does depend on the third world country (the population). Vietnam may be considered “poor” but generally you are not going to have the same problems and risks as you would in Guatemala, Mexico or the Sudan.
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