Travel Etiquette - Part 1 (of probably a million)

For the most part, I believe that about 90% of travellers are assholes.  It may be more than that, but when I meet a traveller that is kind, it has a tendency to over compensate my feelings towards other travellers as I’m pretty stoked to meet someone who is actually kind and respectful.  If that makes any sense at all…

I have a lot to say about travel etiquette.  This travel etiquette blog is dedicated to the douche bag travellers out there.  My advice: Before you act, ask yourself “Is this something a douchy person would do?”  If the answer is “yes”, don’t do it.  Here are a few tips on how not to be a douche bag while travelling.

Tip #1 – You are not the only tourist here, so be aware of the people around you. 
Avoid walking in front of someone taking a picture.  Wait your turn and don’t push others out of the way – your group is NOT going to leave without you so chill the hell out.  I can’ tell you how many times I’ve been the next person in line and someone pushes me out of the way as not to get parted from their group.  It’s rude and tends to induce verbal diarrhoea.

Tip #2 – Respect the place you’re visiting. 
In my mind as I’m writing this, I’m thinking of my visit to Angkor Wat last week – the biggest expanse of a religious locale in the world – someone left an empty Coke can sitting on the wall.  A Coke can.  On Angkor Wat.  Seriously?!  I’m pretty sure if I would have seen the person committing this appalling act, I would have beat him/her with my crutch.  Littering at an ancient temple (littering anywhere, really), is rude and disrespectful and anyone who does it should be slapped.  Hold on to whatever rubbish you have until you find the nearest trash receptacle.  Chances are it won’t take long to find one.  Millions of people flock to ancient landmarks, museums, monuments every day, I’m sure the last thing they want is to find your trash ruining it.

Tip #3 – Respect the people around you. 



D'Bag 1 and D'Bag 2. 
Oh, and their crippled, elderly, pregnant, Monk,
needing a wheelchair bags.  And their rubbish.



Because of my ankle injury, I’m still walking around on a crutch, it’s annoying, frustrating, and a hindrance so I was accepting all the help I could get.  This included using the Priority Boarding when flying (which was awesome!).  Before my last flight from Phuket back to Chiang Mai, I went to sit down in the priority seating at my gate.  The airport was very crowded so there wasn’t much room to sit.  When I got to the priority seating, there was a young girl sitting there with her parents sitting across from her (in regular seats) and their bags taking up the other 3 priority seats.  It was quite obvious that there was nothing about the girl that suggested she need the priority seating.  When I walked by on my crutch, I stopped and looked at the seats, the parents looked me up and down and didn’t tell their daughter to offer me her seat or bother to move their bags taking up the other chairs.  I find it sad that people can be so selfish.  Even if I didn’t need a crutch and these people did the same thing to someone else that needed a priority seat I would still classify them as douche bags.  Be kind to people.  It really doesn’t take much. 

Tip #4 – Remember, you are not only representing yourself, but also your country when you travel. 
People around the world, I have found, generally don’t like Americans too much.  This has been changing in recent years, but I can’t tell you how many times I have met people that tell me "they don’t like Americans, but I’m cool because I don’t act like a 'typical' American".  There are countries I have no desire to go to strictly based on travellers from those countries I have seen across the world.  These include China, Japan, and Australia (I have been to Oz, only to see a dear British friend that lives there, I have no other desire to go back).  Trying not to stereotype, I have found travellers from these nations as pushy, rude, disrespectful and obnoxious.  I urge you not to be like this when you are travelling.  Give America – or wherever you come from – a good name when your exploring the great corners of the world!

I realize this blog is a bit “rant-ish”, but the actions of fellow travellers have a tendency to piss me the hell off, and even more so - they make me sad.  The fact that the majority of the human race doesn’t have enough sense to be respectful of people and places is heart breaking.  

If you, like me, want to avoid most of the douche bag travellers out there, here’s my tip: Travel during the low seasons.  It’s cheaper to get to and from, accommodation is cheaper, places will be less crowded, and you’re sure to get some good shopping deals (if that’s what your into) as merchants don’t sell much in the low season, so will give you the best prices possible.

Don't be a douche!
Happy Trails :)
LG