Begpackers & Penniless Ambassadors

[MikeB]

So roles are reversed, tail wags dog? Begging pooreigners will find slim pickings in the phils. Maybe a marriage proposal though.

[BrettGC]

I'm sure it happened in many other countries as well as Australia but does anyone remember the guys at busy intersections that washed your car windows?  I was broken down one day (old Ducatis weren't the most reliable - still loved that bike though) and I got to chatting to one of them.  When I asked how much he made a day he told me anywhere from $250 to $400.  This was about 20 years ago in Canberra.  He said he put it down to the fact that Australia no longer had $1 and $2 notes but coins instead, so people just tossed him one of those.  He was Scandinavian and you guessed it, backpacking around Australia.  Most states banned the practice soon after due to a couple of deaths.  So the concept isn't new but at least the window washing guys were actually working for their money and not expecting handouts.  

This entire concept of planned poverty astounds me; do they realise they could actually get killed in some countries?  Jarkarta in Inonesia in particular is famous for its "beggar gangs" that are highly organised and have clearly defined territories. 

Did anyone see the news last week where a female German backpacker was arrested in Bali for walking into a Hindu ritual naked?  As terrible and disrespectful an act as it was, she's lucky she wasn't in one of the more devoutly Islamic areas of the country like Borneo, Sulawesi or Northern Sumatra.  Bali is nearly 90% Hindu with their version  intermixed with Buddism, so a little more forgiving.  What was her excuse?  She didn't have enough money to attend the ceremony.  Yes it was a paid performance, but the ritual was genuine. 

This blatant disrespect that some have for other cultures really grinds my gears.  

[hk blues]

3 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

Did anyone see the news last week where a female German backpacker was arrested in Bali for walking into a Hindu ritual naked?  As terrible and disrespectful an act as it was, she's lucky she wasn't in one of the more devoutly Islamic areas of the country like Borneo, Sulawesi or Northern Sumatra.  Bali is nearly 90% Hindu with their version  intermixed with Buddism, so a little more forgiving.  What was her excuse?  She didn't have enough money to attend the ceremony.  Yes it was a paid performance, but the ritual was genuine. 

This blatant disrespect that some have for other cultures really grinds my gears.  

I read that one - there was another just a few days ago about a Danish lady who was arrested for flashing her ladybits whilst riding on her boyfriends motorbike.  

 

[MotorSarge]

14 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Tourism officials in Asia are starting to sound the alarm about young Western tourists begging on the streets.  Some carry signs in public areas that read, "Help Us with Our Dream!" They have no sense of shame asking for help including free accommodations in homes, meals and pocket money.  They have a guide, "How to Pay for Your Travels by Begging and Busking." published in 2018.  These penniless tourists even visit soup kitchens setup in neighborhoods for the country's elderly and poor.  On the positive side, they seldom seek employment.  The work is too hard and too little money.

Has anyone seen any in the Philippines?  

I have not seen any with signs on the streets yet but sure have seen many  youtube "E-Beggars".

[Guy F.]

3 hours ago, Freebie said:

You forgot to add, with the obligatory "man bun ".

Man buns (and skinny jeans) are old and busted. In other word, unfashionable.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Guy F.

[MotorSarge]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

I read that one - there was another just a few days ago about a Danish lady who was arrested for flashing her ladybits whilst riding on her boyfriends motorbike.  

 

Meanwhile Its okay for our White House to have an event that went topless without being condoned... The world is watching...

[GeoffH]

5 hours ago, MotorSarge said:

Meanwhile Its okay for our White House to have an event that went topless without being condoned... The world is watching...

Umm no we're not... we could be though... do you have pictures?  

[Snowy79]

Whilst recently in El Nido there were a group of girls at the table behind me and my partner discussing another girl they bumped into a few times bascially having sex with other backpackers to get them to pay her travel. She openly told them she would target a naive guy who was moving onto a new area and sleep with him then say she wanted to travel with him but never had the money, he'd get her ticket to the next destination thinking he's onto a good thing and as she stepped off the coach she would just walk off. I also saw what I think was a British guy in his 20s busking with a collection tin at his feet.

[mountainside]

12 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

She openly told them she would target a naive guy who was moving onto a new area and sleep with him then say she wanted to travel with him but never had the money, he'd get her ticket to the next destination thinking he's onto a good thing and as she stepped off the coach she would just walk off.

Years ago I chatted with some Filipinas in the bar of a well-known business hotel in Singapore.  They were among the gals of various nationalities who entertained business travelers there.  They paid for for their flights back and forth, absorbing it as a business expense, never working in the Phils.  Who knew that they might have been able to fly for free?  And expand their destinations?  I've suspected it all along:  girls are just smarter than boys.

[hk blues]

On 6/14/2023 at 12:43 AM, MotorSarge said:

Meanwhile Its okay for our White House to have an event that went topless without being condoned... The world is watching...

She wasn't topless - it was much worse! (or better depending on how you look at it)