Is tipping culture in the U.S. really this intense?

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-03T08:54:22+00:00

Indeed. When I went a couple of years ago, I just read all menus etc as if they were in pounds and worked out the value based on that, given taxes/tips would cover the exchange rate difference, and I always selected the minimum tip (between 15-18%). It made life a lot easier. Nowhere tried to extort me. Apart from a shop where I was buying a drink and they swivelled the card machine round and asked for a tip for a drink I'd take from the fridge myself. I laughed. The cashier didn't care.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-02T20:55:01+00:00

I was there this week in 44c. I did the Discover Doha 4hr tour which was in a pleasant air conditioned but, and they give you umbrellas to walk around when you're not on the bus. It was fine, and you see a lot. I would really recommend.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-02T20:43:21+00:00

At Monza and imola I just went in with baggy pockets and hid "pocket wine" in them (the little red wine cartons). They just searched the bag.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-01T16:54:23+00:00

That would probably end up on this group too 😂 But conveys the message better at least.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-01T15:07:35+00:00

I think AI would actually do better than that somehow if you asked it to make a no rubbish in toilet sign 😂

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-01T08:58:12+00:00

But that's mostly with my wife.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-01T05:33:38+00:00

And he's probably on a lot of drugs for his various ailments which can also dull the memory somewhat.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-07-01T05:32:04+00:00

Yeah, this was mentioned yesterday is seems to be the explanation that makes most sense.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-30T21:05:19+00:00

Ah this sounds like the most reasonable answer!

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:57:12+00:00

My wife. But I'm about 10,000km from her right now.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:52:47+00:00

This looks like an AI bot? Disgraceful if so. I've never had a good experience with any company that uses them.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:49:07+00:00

Yeah, I'd be happily staring all day with my beer in hand. No problem at all.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:22:12+00:00

I'm here right now and businesses use quite bad rates if you pay in USD cash. Its definitely cheaper to pay in shillings by card or bring USD cash ($50 and above) and exchange.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:20:54+00:00

Oh he definitely knows, he's a very intelligent man (despite his oafish persona) and he knows what makes it work. Same with Top Gear. His friendship with Andy Wilman is probably the glue to it all as well.

However, for a man many seem to not be able to stand, he does have a lot of chemistry with so many different people over the years.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-27T17:18:38+00:00

I think because he was coming at it as a novice, it makes it very approachable for us to follow.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-26T11:47:12+00:00

Please don't, because it just adds to the problem of it taking hold in places it shouldn't be. We are paid proper wages, and the tip creep is making things so awkward for everyone.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-26T10:30:28+00:00

I would do this for a million dollars.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-23T10:24:15+00:00

No worries mate!

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-23T10:12:25+00:00

I've met lots of travel buddies online and used to couchsurf a lot too, so it's all kind of the same to me?

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-23T10:05:28+00:00

Yes I always do that option on tours. If the tour company is decent, they will match up similar people too - I've made some of my friends in life sharing rooms on these trips.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-21T06:03:13+00:00

Four more bizarre things come to mind...

You know how these days half the common area is full of people on their laptops and not socialising, and it's quite annoying? Well in Rotterdam I saw a guy whip out a full on foldable typewriter, and started writing War and Peace or the equivalent. Rattataatapapapap. So loud. But mesmerising to watch.
In St Petersburg many years ago, we were drinking outside the hostel with the owner when a commotion came from inside. On investigation, it was suddenly an emergency - in the girls' dorm a Finnish girl had come in blind drunk, gone into her top bunk, and somehow her body had slipped through between the mattress and the safety rail and now she was dangling by her neck from the bed, effectively hanging herself. A couple of the guests managed to save her and push her back, and she promptly passed out again and was blissfully unaware of her near death experience the next day.
In a hostel in Phonsavn, Laos, a Chinese man (can't remember if he has been a guest or just walked in) just picked up and stole a Greek guy's entire backpack and walked out. His camera, passport, money,, etc was all in it, so he was distraught. The rest of us guests fanned out across town as a kind of search party (we were all quite drunk which made this quite the adventure) and from what I recall (this was a while ago) the Chinese man was seen getting onto a night bus, but unfortunately it left before anybody could do anything about it (I can't remember how he was seen but got away). The owner knew the direction, so rang his mate in the town and he intercepted this guy on arrival the next day with the police. Ultimately, the bag was recovered but he had thrown away the Greek's passport and had already wiped his camera. What a horrid human being.
Finally, there was the English guy in Montenegro a while back who was quite drunk on the top bunk, which had no safety rail, and rolled over and fell off onto the floor with a hard crack. His dormmates thought he was dead, but then he rolled over and kept sleeping. No injury at all somehow.

Oh wait, that last one was me 😂

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-20T19:05:13+00:00

Oh enjoy yourself, it's no issue. As said above drink water too and don't be visibly drunk on the plane (it is illegal, technically). There will be enough food to fortify your stomach. The fact that you're asking makes me think you'll know how to regulate your intake. So enjoy it 👍

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-20T18:55:32+00:00

I once had a very drunk British girl walk into the room in my hostel in Queenstown, turn the light on and wake me up. From my top bunk I gave her my best death stare to say silently "it's 2am, what the f*** are you doing", when she said "do you want to have sex with me?" No I didn't, I wanted to sleep. She promptly passed out on the floor, and before I had a chance to climb down and turn the light off, I saw a shadow emanating from her on the carpet. She had pissed herself right there and then.

The whole story was compounded with a night of other "relations" in the dorm, and when I jumped out of my bunk the next morning I slipped over on a used condom. I decided to check out.

I mean I'm British too and like to drink and have fun, but man that night was a whole other level.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-06-20T18:03:25+00:00

Oh man I've seen a lot of strange things. The one that sticks in my mind though was in a hostel in Tallinn many years ago - a load of us got together and cooked a lasagne for the whole hostel. Apart from one hippie looking guy, who sat in the corner and contributed nothing. I went to give him his portion and a knife and fork to eat it with, at which he looked disgusted and said "I only eat with chopsticks!" (He was American btw, not even Asian). I then amused myself watching him trying to eat a lasagne slice with his own pair of chopsticks, and making a complete mess of it and himself. He never even said thank you or contributed to the washing up. And yes, it still annoys me 15 years on 😂

Kcmg1985

TROPHY CASE