Monday 1 September 2014

Foreign Land

As a new month dawns in a foreign land, I am unable to stop myself from sharing some really interesting things I noted in the United States of America.

v  People follow traffic rules like a religion. Therefore, there is almost zero blaring horns and dented cars.
v  Seat belts in the car is mandatory!
v  CAVEAT EMPTOR is an important concept in the Sale of Goods Act, 1930. It means “Let the Buyer Beware”. Here, all the shops follow that rule. Therefore, no sales person behind you trying to sell anything. So, as a buyer, you do as much research as possible and make informed purchase. Sad part is, nobody to assist.
v  When you eat from restaurants, a gratuity of 18% is added to your bill money. This gratuity is the tips (as we call in India) to the waiter. Such a practice ensures that the self-respect of the waiter is not deteriorated and also that he is paid a decent tip; not some a few cents!
v  You should fill your own petrol. So, no need to reconfirm if the amount is set at zero or not.
v  The city is so well maintained that it is like a vast garden. I mean, the city itself is like a garden and therefore, no gardens needed J

I am a big patriot. Yet, I feel that it is ok to take good things from others for our own good. May be, we can start following the traffic rules!!!

Can we start this new month with that note?

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. And let the change begin from us..
      Thanks Vandana :)

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  2. I noticed all of this in my last visit to EUROPE. How do they manage without the horns blaring!!

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    Replies
    1. I really dont know...
      And I am still amazed...
      Yesterday we covered as much as 40 to 50 kilometers in 20 minutes..
      And I was flabbergasted!!

      Thanks!

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  3. It will be good if we can adopt these points too and make our society all the more beautiful :-)

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    Replies
    1. As I said, let us be the change :)
      Thanks Amrit !

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  4. Yes, the change must come from ourselves! Let us strive to be that change :)

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  5. I feel one must not mince patriotism with honest assessment.
    The bane about India is that we prefer to be anarchist even in matters that are mundane.

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    Replies
    1. I totally agree. Sometimes we fail to realise that we can contribute to the change by imposing self-made rules. Why wait for legal rules? Thanks Anil :)

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  6. All your points are correct except the gratuity. 18% is automatically added only if the dining party is six or more persons. If it is a family of 4 or a couple of 2 or just one person, it is not automatically added. It is up to the diner

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    Replies
    1. I know SG. It's just that I mentioned the practice without getting into the nitty-gritty. Appreciate that you shared it.
      Thanks a lot :)

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