Tip on tipping

Here are some great tipping tips for global travelers, from USA Today.

tipping is not practiced in 11 countries Brunei, Malaysia, Japan, Oman, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In most countries, travelers are expected to tip to a waiter or waitress 10%, pay the equivalent of $1 per bag to a porter and round the taxi fare to the next unit of the local currency.

Click here for a handy-dandy list of what to tip who in 77 different countries. I'm just glad I didn't have to compile this one! And, also from USA Today, how to avoid faux pas in foreign countries. Here's one I could have committed:

Frequent business traveler Jerry Galiger, of Winston-Salem, N.C., committed a faux pas without saying a word. During his first meeting in France with his United Kingdom-based company, he drank red wine, then switched to white.

"From the expressions of the group, you would have thought I exposed myself," says Galiger, whose company makes storage systems. "I later found out you never go to a white after a red, because you can't enjoy the bouquet of the white after you've drunk a red."

Thanks to Simone at Enhancing the Experience for the pointer!