It’s hard not to be drawn in by such a colorful image; but my favorite part of this photo is the story behind it. Photographer Mike Goldstein took the shot while visiting the old temples outside of Bagan, Myanmar. Upon arrival, this young lady started taking him on a tour of the village – showing off the looms, cotton products, etc. Mike explains what happened at the end of the tour on his blog (which is worth checking out by itself):
“At the end of it she asked us for some money and we refused out of principle: she hadn’t asked us if we wanted a tour, she just started towing us around. In retrospect I can’t believe we didn’t just give her a dollar or something, it would have been a lot for her, but it goes to show how money can warp your mind in a place like this. I think we sometimes treat beggars like they’re pets to be trained, and we forget that – hey – how about sharing something we have enough of?”
When traveling, this is a common situation to be put in – so how do you handle it? Share your thoughts in the comments, and if you have a photo you’ve nabbed on an impromptu tour, we want to see it!
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