Travel tip: be a person, not a wallet

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Josh Keefe.

Always befriend locals when traveling.

This is obvious advice, but it usually involves a little more than just smiling and saying “please” and “thank you” in the native language. It requires being a bit proactive and chatting up strangers. This is not just a good idea because you can find the best bar or restaurant from a local.

Sometimes being friendly to locals can actually keep you out of danger.

Doing your best to make sure people see you as a human being instead of a walking wallet can really increase your safety.

This starts with chatting up cab drivers. Cabdrivers usually know where they’re bringing you, and they have a much better idea than you of exactly what the situation is going to be when you get there.

One Tuesday night in Puerto Escondido, a cab driver was taking us to a shady after hours bar we had heard about that apparently was attached to a whore house. As we chatted him up and talked about the area he became less surly and more talkative. Eventually we were laughing with him. Finally he slammed on the brakes, turned to us, and told us that there was simply no way he could bring us there in good conscience. It was way, way, too dangerous for gringos, he said. We thanked him and ended the night somewhere a little more tame. Of course, we tipped him well.

Don’t be afraid of handing out money. A bum could save your life.

To wit:

I was in Montreal years ago, before I even considered myself a Flashpacker, and my cousin and I ended up drunkenly separated from the group we had come with. We also had no idea where our hotel was.  A bum approached us and asked us for money. All we had left on us was five dollars, not enough for a cab. We gave it to him, and asked if he could tell us how to get to our hotel. He said he would walk us there. We thought this was very nice of him; we also figured he had nothing else to do.

We walked and we asked him about Montreal. He told us about his city, and the conversation soon become more personal, and he detailed some of the bad breaks that led him to a life on the street. By the end of our twenty minute walk, I really liked the guy, although I like everybody when I’m drunk. But still.

We reached the end of the street where our hotel was. We saw the sign, and thanked him profusely.

“No,” he told us. “I’ll walk you there.”

“Um, okay,” we said. The hotel was a block away. We could clearly see it. Now his willingness to walk us back seemed a bit shady. Was he going to try and come in with us?

We were just about at the door when we passed the alley next to the hotel. I turned and looked down the alley and a man who looked both homeless and incredibly aggressive was sprinting at us from the darkness.

Our man put out his hand in a “stop” motion towards what I assume was a would-be attacker, and said very sternly:

“No! Not these two.”

The attacker stopped immediately and turned and went back into the alley. Our man looked at us and wished us good night as we stood there shocked and confused. Then he turned and walked away.

So be nice to bums. Especially when they have Obi-Wan Kenobi powers.

 About the Author: Josh Keefe is a 27-year-old writer/blogger for Flashpackerguy.com and Locationlessliving.com who, up until recentl,y coordinated food delivery systems for a living (he was a waiter). He has also worked in the fashion industry (in a Laundromat). Find him on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.