Aranya Doloi
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If you travel every now and again, you would have definitely ended up listening to a fellow backpack-toting wanderer berate his peers for not being ‘good’ travellers. But, is there such an unbelievable marvel as a decent voyager? It’s hardly rocket science, is it? Bouncing on and off trains, packing and unpacking your bag or finding a place to sleep for the night are endeavours that don’t require any unique skills.
While the nuts and bolts of travel are anything but difficult to ace, there are always a couple of ways you can mess up and offend your hosts or make fellow travellers cringe in disgust. Whether you’re a novice nomad or a seasoned pioneer, you are still at risk of committing one of the seven cardinal sins. Presently, these transgressions are not from secondary school religious instructive classes. Sloth is practically a lifestyle for the long-term backpacker and what’s a food market without a little greed and gluttony? Scratch pride, wrath, lust and envy from your guilt list if you’re planning to globe-trot.
The list you need to worry about covers the seven cardinal sins of travel.
Sin 1: Failing to respect the local culture
We all have met those frequent travellers who feel they know everything and can’t be blamed for anything. They don’t reconsider before exchanging a passionate kiss on the street or using a radiant evening for a few drinks in the park. Behaving in a way that doesn’t raise any eyebrows at home probably won’t be illicit, yet meagre dress, chugging beer and grabbing your sweetheart’s ass could well annoy a few locals. Further, the consequences don’t just end with your trip; it’ll be the next group who will face the brunt of it.
Sin 2: Getting carried away with the culture
Experiencing local customs is a vital part of the reason we travel. We want to taste unique flavours, see unusual architecture, learn foreign tongues and try the new traditions that accompany a different religion. Yet, have you ever stumbled upon a traveller who went off the deep end into the local culture. You know the sort where they don kimonos, saris or robes to carry on their daily affairs. Without proper knowledge, you don’t know if your chosen hairstyle is actually reserved for the highest holy men or that your opted necklace is in fact to be adorned by married women only. Respecting a culture is something else, however, taking it as your very own can cause offence. Plus, your kindred explorers will concur that you look ludicrous.
Sin 3: Expecting everything to go to plan
Regardless of how long you’ve been wandering, things will always go wrong. Trains will break down, attractions will close on the only day you could visit and food poisoning will put you out of activity just as you had some invigorating adventure planned. The key is to acknowledge is that mishaps are a natural part of your trip. By all means have an idea of where you’d like your day to wind up; however anticipating that everything should run smoothly is a sure-fire way to ruin your trip.
Sin 4: Giving to beggars
We’ve all been there. You’re walking through a bustling market or taking a seat for a roadside lunch when a familiar tug at your sleeve makes you look down. Gazing back at you is a couple of adorable, entreating eyes joined to an outstretched hand. But, however cute the kid is or however tragic the tale is, giving money to beggars is always a travel faux pas. Rather than giving void gifts to any individual who holds out a hand, search for a nearby charity to give to. That way you know your cash is best utilised, instead of coating the pockets of deceitful Fagins.
Sin 5: Loo etiquette
This is one of the greatest sins that you can ever commit, voyaging or not. All of us have been to open loos that looked nothing less than a breeding ground of bacteria and death; by that, I am alluding to clogged toilets, wet floors, and so forth. All it needs is one flush. Also remember that what goes around, comes around. And believe me, a spotless toilet is sheer magnificence!
Sin 6: Eat but do not chomp
Yes, I have had the disappointment of sitting opposite co-travellers, who hit savage mode while chomping down on fish, chicken breasts and so forth. While there is no preventing other individuals from eating, social graces and table manners can truly help in easing others around you. Toddlers are the only ones who we’ll give a pass to.
Sin 7: Drinking too much
It’s easily done; particularly when you’re enjoying the view, the companions, the new tastes, yet drinking excessively while travelling implies you’ve placed yourself in a precarious position. Not only does exceeding the local legal limit of alcohol in your blood nullify your travel medical insurance in the event that you do need to visit the emergency room, drinking excessively additionally sets an explorer in a position of risk for being effectively robbed, ransacked, or kidnapped basically in light of the fact that he or she isn’t in a situation to best protect themselves.
