Should i help them next time ?

lonelyaztec

Hi People,

This morning as i was getting to work, i saw two foreign tourists, with back pack, jhola bag et all...trying to cross the road.

I am sure, all of you know about the traffic situation in bangalore. They seemed completely lost and amused at the same time.

I was in a hurry to get to work, but, later, i felt that i should have stopped and asked them if they need help.

May be they were members of Indiamike, i don't know.

Do you think, that as a responsible Indiamiker, i should have helped them / asked them if they needed any help. Or, are they better off, left alone.

__________________
Aztec

My photoblog

machadinha

Hey LA, don't worry about it, sometimes you help, sometimes you don't. Last time I kindly enquired with some tourists here fumbling around with an upside-down map if they needed any help they suffered a mild seizure thinking they were being robbed by a typical mobster so I just went off on my sordid old ways. Just a day in the life.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

seventies'hippy

Surely not Indiamikers, Amused Yes,,,,,,,,,, But getting lost,,,,,,,, Never

__________________
.
.
.

My Photo Gallery

beach

You may be mistaken for a tout for a moment

Good point lonelyaztec. There are numerous backpackers roaming in the area live. For some unknown reason I’ve never interacted with any…..may be I might have missed some opportunity to meet some of the IM members among them.

I don't 'initiate' a contact unless someone has asket for help or my instinct say so.

machadinha

Which is interesting really since on this forum we all behave like we're one big happy family. Whereas in reality we might never meet because there are just too many cultural barriers to overcome and so on, beyond first and short interactions. I don't have an answer to it but it's just funny. Any ideas on this?

Tomi

Are they Indiamikers or not?
Reminds me of the girl who won't swat a fly in case it is the reincarnation of her grandfather.
LA, I hope you don't live the rest of your life regretting not having helped

I am truly sorry to hear that all of you good souls out there are taken for touts by tourists. Makes me wonder whether I have always been able to tell or not. Please accept my apologies on behalf of some of us callous Westerners.

What to do? It is true that many visitors, me included, can get so tired of touts that we are immediately turned off by anyone who comes to us, so any advice like "listen to what they have to say before shutting them out" is likely to fall on deaf ears.

I have been in Paris for several weeks now, and I get a lot of pleasure out of helping people who are holding maps upside down; I'd love to think that our lovely fellow Indiamikers who live in India have the same opportunity.

vinayverma

I agree with Beach.
I haven't been able to break that mental 'barrier' which stops me from helping any unknown tourist. I'd hate to be taken as and shoooed away as a tout or a travel agent.
sad but true

__________________
If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

beach

This is a problem. It’s not that many of us ‘behave’ in a different way in real life.

After all we are Indians with the impetuous urge to ask ‘which country?’

But somehow after going through so many narrations of the annoyances here, it’s logical that people would have some inhibition to barge into a lone tourist for whatever reason.

beach

yes VV. me too. the worst thing i can stand is to be mistaken for some tout or something like that.....

lonelyaztec

Beach and Vinay Verma,

That is precisely the reason i did not feel like going and helping them. What if they told me 'You brown dirty Indian.'

I would be hurt, plus, i must admit, i was in a hurry.

And, then, they might think i am after their money / passport, and would think i am a tout, so i went my way.

steven_ber

The easiest and quickest way to help them cross the road would have been to ask them "do you want to visit my brother's shop"?

They would have crossed the road in less than 10 seconds.

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

beach

yep.point them towards to direction of crossing and keep asking the question from behind


..on a serious side
Also it depends on the situation. For example if you are in a bus or train or something like that, the ‘chemistry’ may work favorably. Because it’s easy to establish the intention fast.

Dr Funkenstein

That's interesting. I got told off on another thread recently because I said that I had few interactions with Indian people that weren't looking to sell me something in some way. While I can see why a comment like this might seem crass, the sad fact is that it's true.

Beach and vinayverma's comments help explain this a bit. Lonelyaztec - if anyone calls you a 'brown dirty Indian' you're perfectly within your rights to punch their lights out, imo.

__________________
Out There Somewhere : My Travel Blog.

SHIMLA

This is not directed at you lonelyaztec; but a general question :let's ask ourselves whether we would have voluntarily helped a blind man/woman cross the road ?

We seem to be worried whether we should have voluntereed to help foreign tourists cross the road ! Why? Only because we are "responsible Imers" ? Are we responsible citizens first?

Again LA, please DO NOT take this personally, I'm asking myself this question too.

This thread is thought provoking.

__________________
Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

lonelyaztec

Shimla,

I have personally help old people cross the road.
I have fixed autos for blind people, and have helped them.

When i go to temples or go out, i carry loads of change, just to give all the beggars, and the boys who want to wipe my car.