This is my first official "Tuesday Travel Tips" post! I thought it'd be nice to share some things I've learned first hand over my travels in Europe and Asia. I do have my Backpacking Tips page as well, so be sure to check that out, too!
My first tip, DO NOT BUY SOUVENIRS FROM CHILDREN!
I saw this child when I was visiting Sapa, Vietnam. It is very common in high tourist areas in South East Asia to use children as sympathy tokens to get money from tourists. This was a cool rainy night and as you see this child is tired, he is halfway asleep, hunched over sitting in a styrofoam box holding an umbrella sitting in front of his souvenirs. The moms are actually close by just watching, waiting to swoop in when tourists approach the child. This child should be sleeping comfortably, at home preparing himself for school the next day. The sad part is, he probably won't even go to school the next day, he'll be back in the street doing the same thing tomorrow. The only way to stop this is to stop buying souvenirs from children.
My first tip, DO NOT BUY SOUVENIRS FROM CHILDREN!
I saw this child when I was visiting Sapa, Vietnam. It is very common in high tourist areas in South East Asia to use children as sympathy tokens to get money from tourists. This was a cool rainy night and as you see this child is tired, he is halfway asleep, hunched over sitting in a styrofoam box holding an umbrella sitting in front of his souvenirs. The moms are actually close by just watching, waiting to swoop in when tourists approach the child. This child should be sleeping comfortably, at home preparing himself for school the next day. The sad part is, he probably won't even go to school the next day, he'll be back in the street doing the same thing tomorrow. The only way to stop this is to stop buying souvenirs from children.
No comments:
Post a Comment