Quote:
Originally Posted by decktapper
Hello:
What things have you taken with you as you cruised to give to local people? What things other than money did you wish that you had more of so that you could give it away? I have heard of people taking T shirts and cigaretts but are these the best things to give away?
Thank you.
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Pacific Ocean and South
China sea? Mmmmm. Not been there by boat (yet?)....but spent a fair bit of time over the years in mainland South East Asia with people of various economic backgrounds. Not to say my experiances are right, just how they have been for me.........
Not a big one for giving anything
But as already said being nice goes a long way
Fair enuf if someone earns it then I won't screw them into the ground on
price just because I can - well, at least not over sums of
money that does not mean much to me.
Responding to hospitality on the other hand is both a trickier and easier one - easier cos' you do know the person and circumstances at least a bit better, trickier because any gift should be appropriate in type and value. The odds are that the folk you are talking about are poorer than you. You know it. and they know it. IMO just plain rude to state the bleedin' obvious by throwing a gift at someone that they could not / did not respond to value wise or says in dayglo orange letters "I am giving this to you because I think you are too poor to get your own". Poor people do have pride.....indeed IMO would undo the purpose of the gift, it's the act of the giving the gift that is important. FWIW putting some thought into the gift goes a long way and / or something from "Home" (the West) especially if branded as such (no matter that maybe made in a Factory just down the road
- but ideally not easily available - just down the road
).
Of course I am not talking about remote hill tribes whose last encounter with the outside world was a Missionary in 1873
For that I figure yer get to make your own rules.....but most places in the world have at least some access to "civilisation" - even if they have prioritised their money from Pencils into
food or
Beer, don't mean they can't get pencils if wanted.
Tipping on the other hand is a whole different ball
game - to me really payment for a
service rendered. Not a gift.
As a broad
rule of thumb, I would only even consider getting a gift for someone if the relationship was such that I would sit down and eat with them - which incidentally is a good way of thanking someone. invite them for a meal at somewhere socially appropriate / comfortable for them. Or Mc D's
.......or onboard? If I wouldn't have them onboard to eat, I would ask why I was buying them a gift........sometimes things abroad are much the same as at home.
Yeah, Xmas at mine is a barrel of fun