Alicia Chong
Image credit: Sandrachile (via Unsplash)
Have you ever been in a hard situation when unexpectedly, a kind stranger helped you out? Travelers often encounter unknown situations in which they need help.
I for one, have been touched by such encounters. Unable to speak the language of the city I was visiting once, I mistakenly bought yogurt (instead of milk) three times. On my fourth attempt, a local who could not speak a word of English, finally picked out a carton of milk for me. And that is just one incident of many.
With World Kindness Day falling on 13th November, we have decided to give a shout out to all the kind people we remember from our travels.
Tales of Kind Acts from Travelers…
“By accident, my foot grazed the side of an exhaust pipe of a motorcycle parked by the side of the road. Another tourist gave me her bottle of iced water to help reduce the swelling.” – Nikki W.
“While we were discussing what to eat at a restaurant with tight budget constraints, a family sitting nearby overheard us and decided to cover our bill.”– Nicole C.
“One rainy night, I ended up lost in a deserted street of Hanoi. A staff member of a clothing shop (who could not speak English) helped me to call my contact and sheltered me to the correct place with her umbrella, although I had insisted to find the place by myself.”- Wendy N.
… And from the TripZilla Team
Image credit: Roscoe Myrick (via Flickr)
“I was visiting a palace in a fairly remote part of Lebanon, and was struggling to book an Uber or ride back to the city. One of the palace tour guides kindly offered my friends and I a lift out. After alighting at our destination, I realised I had left my phone in the car. I was almost resigned to the fact that I had lost my phone (and all the pictures in it). But alas, a few hours later, the same tour guide drove all the way back to the return me my phone – all without accepting the tips I was offering for both the lift and the lovely gesture. – Sarah Khan, Associate Editor
“Due to a miscommunication, I missed my last bus back to my hotel. The bus driver who was going in the opposite direction offered me a ride back to my hotel even though he didn’t have to.” – Lucas Neo, Editorial Intern
“My friends and I were lost on our way to Shifen. Some locals spontaneously approached us to give us directions.”– Samuel Lim, IT Manager
On this World Kindness Day, let’s take a moment to appreciate all the kind things that people have done for us (both daily and on our travels). Kind acts don’t have to be just big gestures either. They also come in small little ways that make our days too. No matter the magnitude, a little kindness always travels a long way.
