Small gifts to bring a motorcycle trip?

[Esben_DK]

So we just left on our South American journey and are soon entering mexico..
and I was thinking. Would it be cool to bring something small we can give to people or kids we meet.
Does anyone else bring anything on their travels? We can really carry much more stuff but what would make a kid happy?

[Nuff Said]

Small bags of sweets works well in South East Asia.

[Bucket1960]

We travel with small spinning tops with led lights, little robot 'type' figures & mostly novelty stuff from a $2 shop. Small bouncy balls, frisbees go down well too. YES, you can fit them in LOL
Kids go crazy for them & the parents light up with smiles from ear to ear
In Asia & Pacific Islands, these are toys that kids have not seen before & gives
weeks on end of joy

[Xander]

I try not to be negative anywhere on the HUBB. Rant comming..

BUT PLEASE THINK what this can do!

giving gifts sweets anything to kids as you travel only creates a culture of harassment to other tourist and ethic of "get something for nothing". What happens to the kid that gets nothing cus they were doing chores or school work, If you insist on giving gifts give them to the orphanages or schools.. not to the kids on the streets..

Small to you may not be small to them...

yes it makes them smile.. Sugary treats might make them lose their teeth..
I have been chased by kids all over the world shouting Pen Pen, Cadeau Caedeau, or even just gimmi gimmi gimmi..

Once the culture depends on this it can become a business. Lonely planet did a test they gave marked pens to kids in cambodia, it took 7 minutes before it was found in the local market NOT sold by their parents..

Your actions have impacts always try and consider this before you doing things that can effect a culture...

[Keith1954]

Blimey! now you've got me thinking that maybe I've done wrong in the past.

Gifting money? No, never .. ever!

But, we made a habit of giving out blow-up plastic globes to the local kids from time-to-time. Just to show them where they live on the planet .. and where I/we came from. Not expensive, you can pack loads of 'em, and they weigh next to nothing.



I know, for a fact, that some of these globes ended-up in various classrooms; whereas, I'm reliably informed, others spent the remainder of their useful lives as beach balls!



Smiley (emoticon-type) sticky-labels always went down well too - and a dollar buys 100s .. therefore no 're-sale' market value whatsoever with these quick and easy hand-outs. Again, oh-so lightweight and simple to pack a few sheets of them alongside your other travel documents.

In addition, little packs of pencils and crayons were also gratefully received by children everywhere we went.

Did I/we do wrong? Possibly .. but I think not.

[Tim Cullis]

When you've been shouted at for the 250th time to give a sweet, money or pen, you really get peed off with those who went before and set unrealistic expectations.



So this is what the Moroccan authorities have posted—don't make too much noise, keep a distance from wild animals, respect places of worship, avoid behaviour likely to shock locals, don't give to people--especially children--sweets, pens, drugs, so as not to encourage begging.