Cultural Etiquette
Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by Mikey Leung in 2. Practical Information
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Western visitors will quickly find that while in Bangladesh, they are in fact the tourist attraction – for the local people, that is. For a country that still has so few foreign visitors and so many people, any traveller will quickly become that camera-toting, oddly dressed Westerner who does stand out in a crowd of millions. This wouldn’t be such an issue were it not for the fact that the concept of privacy is very different in Bangladesh (ie: there is none), and so the presence of visitors also turns heads, including those that should be looking at the road! Don’t be surprised if you cause an accident, and do realise that it’s not your fault. If you stay still for too long you will no doubt have a crowd on your hands, as it only takes two curious onlookers to generate a dozen more. Many visitors, especially female travellers, do complain that all the staring and attention can be very intimidating and unrelenting. But do realise that it’s a form of flattery and the fact that in some of Bangladesh’s backwater villages you may be the most interesting thing that’s happened in the last several weeks. Welcome your new status as a foreign celebrity.
As to how to handle the crowd, it won’t be long before one of the better English speakers steps forward and begins blurting out a volley of questions, and so you can try engaging with just one person instead of dozens. You can ask this person to take you somewhere where the crowds won’t follow or even to shoo them away if you’re trying to do something else like take photographs. Crowd control can also be handled by fellow travelling companions, which has the added benefit of allowing one person to distract the throngs and take the attention while the other person can snap photos surreptitiously. When it’s particularly hot or especially crowded these onlookers can be especially infuriating, but it’s best to take it all in your stride.
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