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The Traveling Fool
Don't Be That Tourist
In this episode, we tackle the crucial topic of respectful travel and how to avoid the all-too-common pitfalls that turn people into "bad tourists." From respecting local customs to understanding food etiquette, we discuss ten essential tips to ensure your travels are both enjoyable and considerate to the cultures you are visiting.
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Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool. I'm your host, Bob Bales, and if you're new here, well, this is the spot where we explore the most intriguing aspects of travel, culture and history. Today's episode is all about how not to be a bad tourist. Because, let's be real, we've all seen that person. You know the one that's yelling or talking real loud in a religious place like a temple or a church in Europe, or treating a local market like it's their personal photo studio. Well, yeah, we're not going to be them, so stay tuned and we'll be welcome back.
Bob Bales:I've got a list of 10 things to avoid when you travel. Hi and welcome back. I've got a list of 10 things to avoid when you travel. Practical, some are funny, always useful stuff that I picked up from my own adventures and, okay, a few cringeworthy mistakes. So grab your coffee or your passport if you're feeling inspired and let's get into it.
Bob Bales:First up, don't ignore local customs. This one's huge. You wouldn't walk into grandma's house and start rearranging your furniture, right? Well, the same thing applies when you're a guest in someone else's country. Five minutes of research on dress codes or basic greetings can save you from being that tourist, whether it's taking off your shoes in Japan, or avoiding pointing with your feet in parts of Southeast Asia. Yes, people do that. I don't know why, but they do. Knowing the norms shows respect and honestly. It makes your trip a lot smoother.
Bob Bales:While in the US, tipping at restaurants is ingrained in our culture. Some hate it, some are all for it, but in other countries it's considered rude to tip. When I was in Nepal, we visited a lot of temples and it's customary to take your shoes off before entering a Buddhist temple. At one temple, I saw someone entering without doing that and only got a step or two inside before everyone gasped. Some were starting to point at his feet, a few were just getting downright angry, and some things are outright illegal. Like disrespecting the royal family in Thailand. In 2007, a Swiss tourist was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defacing portraits of the royal family. In fact, the penalty for insulting the king, queen, heir apparent or regent is a jail term of 3 to 15 years for each offense, and there have been people sentenced to 30, 40, 50 years in prison for this. And in Singapore, you can be fined up to $1,000 for spitting on the street. So before you go to another country, spend a little time researching the customs and etiquette of the country you're traveling to Might save you a headache, all right.
Bob Bales:Number two don't be loud and obnoxious. This one's a stereotype for a reason. Looking at you, fellow Americans although we're not alone. I was enjoying a beer at a restaurant in the Philippines one time and sitting outside at the patio right next to the roadway, and this Australian guy a couple of tables over is talking real loud, complaining about everything how the food in the Philippines is no good, the service is slow and how everything is better at home. Everyone's staring at him. Although I don't usually engage people like this, I finally told him to shut up, and if he hated the country that much, why visit? Just go back home.
Bob Bales:Here's the thing, and it goes back to learning the customs compared to the United States or some other countries. The fact is, in the Philippines, the service at restaurants is slow, and the reason is they want to leave you alone to enjoy your meal. In the US, the waiter or waitress will bring you a bill, sometimes before you even finish eating. They want you out to free up room for another customer. However, in the Philippines, there's no big rush. You have to motion to someone and tell them that you are ready to pay. It's very laid back and they actually have great customer service.
Bob Bales:And another thing you want to watch how loud you're talking. To a lot of us we talk at a normal level, but in other countries they consider this extremely loud and rude. It's not about silencing your excitement. It's about reading the room. Just observe how the locals act. In some places you don't talk on your phone on public transport or at restaurants and cafes or in public in general. Just match what the locals are doing and you'll blend in better and, honestly, it's more fun to soak in the atmosphere than to overpower it.
Bob Bales:All right, we're rolling through this list. I hope you're taking notes and if you've got a travel pet peeve of your own, hit me up on Facebook, the Traveling Fool, or email me at editor@t hetravelingfool. com. I'd love to hear it. Now
Bob Bales:Now, number three, don't litter or damage sites. This one's a no-brainer, but it happens all the time. I've seen people throwing things in the water while traveling by boat in Asia and leaving trash laying around on the beaches. These places aren't just pretty backdrops for your Instagram. They're history, culture and someone else's home. The same thing goes for scratching your name into stuff Looking at you. Coliseum fanboys. That's right.
Bob Bales:In 2023, a tourist carved Ivan and Hayley 23. I guess Hayley's his girlfriend. They carved it into a 2,000-year-old wall at the Coliseum in Rome. His excuse Well, I didn't know, it was that old. Then, in 2024, a Ukrainian tourist carved his name onto the walls of the Colosseum. I mean, you have to be a special kind of moron to deface a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bob Bales:Almost every month you read about a tourist somewhere posing nude at a religious site or chipping a piece of brick from an old historic building or breaking a piece off of a priceless sculpture. It's like a left home turned into a three-year-old toddler on a sugar rush and run rampant when they get to a foreign country. So pack out your trash, leave no trace and don't do stupid stuff for Instagram or TikTok, and let's keep these spots gorgeous for the next traveler. I mean, it's the least we can do, alright?
Bob Bales:Number four Don't haggle aggressively. Now
Bob Bales:Now I love visiting markets in foreign countries. It's not just the ones catering to the tourists. Markets are where you find the locals and you can really get a good glimpse of everyday life and meet some really interesting and friendly people. In a lot of overseas locations, haggling or bargaining is part of everyday life. But before you go, see if that's the case where you're headed. And let's face it, in a lot of places they'll inflate the price of something just because you are a tourist and don't know what the usual price is. But there's a line. In Thailand. I watched this tourist argue over a scarf for like 20 minutes to say what amounted to be about 50 cents. The vendor well, he just looked plain defeated.
Bob Bales:A lot of places have those iconic souvenirs that everyone buys. In Nepal it was singing bowls. If you don't know what a singing bowl is, google it. Or Himalayan salt or handmade papers. Here's a tip A lot of these stores will sell the same iconic souvenir. So when you go in, just tell them hey, I just stopped in to look real quick, but I want to wait until I'm ready to leave the country before buying my souvenirs and just check out the prices. Go to a couple of shops and compare prices. Then you have a base to start bargaining. But remember, bargaining is part of the fun in some cultures and almost expected. But it's not a battle to the death. If it's a fair price and they're not budging. Well, just buy it or don't buy it, but don't sit there and argue for 30 to 40 minutes over it. These folks are supporting families. They're not running a corporate empire, and I found that a smile and a little flexibility will get you a whole lot further and sometimes a better deal than just digging in your heels.
Bob Bales:Next up, number five. Don't take photos without permission. In the United States, you can take photos anywhere in public. If you are standing on the sidewalk or in a public place, you can take photos of anything you can see. That includes people, buildings, military installations. It does not matter. As long as you are in a public place and can see it, then you can take a photo. Some people might get upset, but it's perfectly legal. That is not the case in a lot of other countries.
Bob Bales:When I was in Nepal, I saw this holy man. Now holy men dress very vibrantly in vibrant colors and they have vibrant colors painted on their face and just all kinds of. I mean it's very, well, they stand out, trust me, and I was just totally mesmerized by all these colors and the striking appearance and I took a couple of photos. Well, afterward he held out his hand and I thought to myself, you want me to pay you? Well, thank goodness, at that moment one of the Nepalese I was traveling with kind of nudged me and said you know, it's customary to pay these guys when you take their photo. They don't work, that's how they make their living. Now the customary fee was less than a dollar. I didn't know that before I took the photo, but I mean it's not any big deal. I just didn't know that that was the custom.
Bob Bales:But in some places taking photos of government buildings, military or police personnel can get you arrested. Now I always ask, even if it's just kind of nod and point to my camera. And kids especially, parents do not love strangers zooming in on their little ones, but I've taken a lot of photos of kids. I found that if you ask, hey, can I take a picture, you know they're like sure, go ahead. I've taken pictures of kids and grownups and everything. I just ask permission first. Some people say no. But 90% of the time, they're more than happy to get a photo taken of them. It's a small gesture that keeps things respectful and can even lead to a really cool chat, in fact. I'll give you an example.
Bob Bales:I was traveling with a couple of friends in Greece. We went there for two or three days and, frankly, we got lost. We found ourselves in this little small town, but it was such a cool little town they had next to the houses there was little shrines that they had little. We saw them in almost every street. And next to this one house was a vineyard and there was a lady working in the vineyard and she was just the typical Greek grandmother I mean, she could have stepped out of a movie somewhere and she come walking out and she looked at us as we were taking a picture of this little shrine and she asked us if we were tourists, in broken English. We said yes and she was just so happy to see us because tourists didn't come to her little village. Like I said, we were lost. We were driving around in a rental car and got lost, but because the way she looked and everything and she was friendly, I asked her. I said can I take your photo? And she was like, absolutely. So then we took her photo. She wound up bringing fresh grapes out of her vineyard for us, brought wine out of the house, called her son to come out and meet us and we sat there and talked to her for like 30 minutes, had a great chat and, to tell you the truth, candid shots are just overrated. The connection is where the real story is. Who knows, you might meet someone really nice.
Bob Bales:Okay, number six, and this one's another photo don't do. Don't block pathways or views, whether you're taking a photo or just standing in there. And this one's a pet peeve of mine, because I take a lot of photos and I don't want photos full of people taking selfies. I sometimes have to wait for 30 minutes just for people to get out of the way so I can take a photo. Now I know how much you love that selfie overlooking a waterfall or on the beach, but take it and move along.
Bob Bales:I've seen people walk in front of others to take photos, blocking other people's views, doing live videos lasting 10 minutes or more, standing directly in front of something and just oblivious to the behavior and oblivious to the crowd that's standing behind them. Plus, how would you like it if, all day long, someone was standing on your street blocking traffic or getting in the way while they took photos or videos? Chances are you'd go after them with a broom or something else. I mean, look, I get it. Get the shot, but don't plant yourself like a statue on a busy street or hog the alley or the street for half an hour. Step aside, let others enjoy it too. It's like holding the door for someone. It's just basic travel courtesy. Keep the flow going and you'll avoid those passive-aggressive glares from locals and tourists alike. Well, we're just a little over halfway through. I want to ask you a question have you ever botched an overseas trip or done something that you just cringed about? If so, drop me a message on the Traveling Fool or tag me on Facebook. I'd love to hear your stories.
Bob Bales:All right, number seven don't ignore local food etiquette. Food is one of my favorite parts of travel. I mean seriously. I love new foods, local cuisine, even in the States. I like to go to locally owned places, but every place has its rules.
Bob Bales:In Japan, slurping noodles is a compliment. A quick Google search on dining norms or etiquette should save you from making a really bad mistake. Things like sticking your chopsticks into a bowl of rice in Japan is considered disrespectful, since that is a practice reserved for funerals, where the tradition of living rice for the deceased with chopsticks sticking up in the rice is practiced. In other countries you don't eat food with your left hand. It's considered unsanitary. You don't cut your pasta in Italy and in many places in Asia, when an elder offers you food or drink, you accept it with both hands to show respect. The little things go a long way and show that you respect the culture and you'll be accepted a whole lot better.
Bob Bales:I've seen this so many times Someone yelling do you have water? Like? Volume is the magic key, now newsflash is not. I've seen a lot of people get mad because someone doesn't speak English. I've heard comments like well, these people should learn to speak English if they want us to visit. Well, hey, here's a novel thought. Why don't you learn a few words in the host country language, things like hello, thank you, please? It's not about fluency, it's about the effort. There's apps you can download that will help you. In fact, a lot of newer phones even offer live translation. Just speak into the phone and it will repeat what you said in their language. You'll get better service. You'll get warm smiles and a story. That's not well. I had to shout at the waiter for 10 minutes and he still didn't understand me.
Bob Bales:Number nine don't treat locals like props. This one's big. I saw a tourist ask a farmer to pose for him while he was working, just because it would look cool online. The guy was clearly uncomfortable but he did it and probably walked away saying stupid tourist, you know, that's not a memory, that's a power trip. People aren't there to make your Instagram feed or your TikTok exotic. They're just living their life. Some countries have a lot of poor people or small villages that have nowhere near the technology and comfort that small towns in the US have, and I've seen people that want to get photos of them and just invade their privacy and everything. Well, chat with them for sure, but don't turn them into your personal cast and something for you to get on social media and talk about. I've had some of my best travel moments, like having drinks with locals or just talking to people, because I saw them as people and not photo ops.
Bob Bales:And now we come to number 10. And we could go on and on, I'm sure, but this is a list of 10.
Bob Bales:Disrespecting wildlife you don't have to travel to a foreign country to see examples of this one. Places like Yellowstone are overrun by stupid tourists that do not respect the wildlife. Every week, some idiot at Yellowstone walks up to a bison or an elk to get a selfie, sometimes with funny results having them running, stumbling and falling as the animal charges towards him and sometimes with disastrous endings. Recently, a tourist in the Caribbean wanted to get a photo of a shark, so she swam near the shark in order to get a selfie, only to have the shark attack and bite off both of her hands. Yes, that happened.
Bob Bales:People seem to lose their minds when they travel and get themselves into dangerous situations with wildlife. These are not house pets, they're wild animals. Even if you're on a safari or a wildlife tour, they're wild animals. Trying to get likes on social media with a selfie of you and a wild animal isn't worth it and it's just plain stupid. And sometimes tourists don't get in dangerous situations, they just disturb the local wildlife. There have been places that closed to the public because tourists did not respect the wildlife and it ruined it for everybody. Just use a little common sense. They're wild animals. Take your photos, but don't try to get a selfie with a tiger. That's just stupid.
Bob Bales:And there you have it 10 ways to not be that tourist. I hope this list sparked a few ideas for your next trip. What do you think? Anything you would add? Send me an email at editor, at thetravelingfoolcom, or drop a review wherever you're listening. I hope you get a chance to travel somewhere new very soon and have a great adventure. So until next time, safe travels.
