The French Kiss And Other Things You Always Wanted To Know About France

For centuries, the French have fascinated visitors and arm-chair admirers around the world. The way they dressed, the way they ate, the way they lived...few other peoples have generated as much admiration, curiosity, misconceptions and misunderstandings as the French, and for visitors who may be wondering about some of the things they might encounter, here are are few things you might want to know!

1. Why do the French kiss all the time and how do I do it?

No, this is not about the one with all the tongue! In France, it is customary to greet friends and relatives with a light kiss on the cheeks. Known as la bisse, it is seen as a normal and completely unsexual act, despite continuous Anglo-Saxon fascination with it. As a visitor to France, you may not have the opportunity to faire la bisse, but if you ever do, just remember:

▪ Women can kiss both women and men;

▪ Men kiss only women or men they are fairly close to;

▪ A quick peck on the cheek is usually safer than a firm planting of lips;

▪ Its you're choice which cheek to kiss first, but most people start on the right;

▪ The eldest or most senior person usually initiates the ritual;

▪ The number of times you kiss depends on the region, but two is most common in Paris;

▪ And if any of this feels at all uncomfortable, a firm handshake will do!

Incidentally, noone really knows where the term French kiss came from, though it has been in use since at least the 1920’s. Like many similar English terms however, it can probably be attributed to the English penchant for associating all things naughty (i.e., French letters, French postcards) with their cousins across the Channel. Read more

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Vacations are a great way to clean out your closet. I take old clothes, everything from t-shirts to underwear, that are old, need replacing, or just worn out. After wearing them, I just leave them in the hotel room. It's a great way to get rid of old garments plus it makes room in your suitcase to put souvenirs.  

 -  Steven Barnes, USA

Always have more small change of notes when traveling. I was in an underdeveloped country for a working trip last year. I took out my wallet to pay for items I bought on the street and the seller just took my note and reluctant to return the balance to me. I did not mind if the balance was of a small amount, but it was a disgusting attitude. It took a long time before i talked him out AND I truly advise you or anyone on earth to be aware of the foreign notes and to have smaller change with you when traveling. It's not worth the time and argument.

- Jeffrey Tan, Malaysia

Many people, including myself initially, are under the mistaken impression that thick cotton socks are best in cold weather (10 degrees - 18 degrees C). I learnt the hard way that this is not true. After a day of hard walking, I would find that my poor feet are deathly cold at night and no amount of massaging could bring warmth back into them. (I had to soak them in warm water, which is bothersome considering I am dog-tired and dying to get some sleep).

I couldn't understand why my footsies should be semi-frostbitten despite a double layer of thick cotton sports-socks until a recent TV documentary on how to survive in sub-zero temperatures apprised me of my folly. Cotton socks, no matter how thick, simply lets the cold, and worse, moisture, in. Solution: Wear woolen socks. And if you are allergic to wool, wear your woolens over cotton socks. There! The solution to happy feet in the coldest of climes.

- Aaron Samuel, Malaysia

When travelling by train in Italy you should remember that all stations have many stairs up and down when changing platforms. You should take this into account when carrying yuor luggage as it can be very awkward going up and down many stairs.In addition ther is no help available at stations to assist you .
- John McAulay, UK


Do some research on the place where you plan to visit before you depart e.g. weather condition, tourists spot, food specialtise, culture habbit etc.... Make sure you have a sufficient fund to cover the whole journey. Brings along some basic medication from your home country for emergency use. For ederly must make sure you prepare enough for your daily regular medication which normally required to consume daily.
- Adeline Teh, Malaysia


If you want to visit Beijing’s tourist spots and avoid the local tourists crowd, be sure to miss the May Labour holidays (first week of May) as the local tourists numbered into the thousand and you need to jostle to get a good snapshot of anything! There are two other occasions when China have similar holidays during the year; be sure to ask your tourist guide to avoid them!

Before I travel abroad, I always print out a cheat-sheet from the internet. I will print the exchange rate of home currency to the destination currency and vice-versa. It saves me the trouble to bring a calculator along as it shows multiple denominations, from tens to thousand. It is real handy whenever I like to compare the relative cost in my home currency against the destination currency for – food, hotel, souvenirs, etc. The site I prefer is oanda.com (“currency exchange” googled top 10).

If you are making a trip to Nepal, bring along lots of ball-point pens. They are light, small and easy to squeeze into the luggage. “Why so many?” you may ask. It’s because good pens are expensive and hard to get there. In most tourist places, such as the Tibetan tourist centre near the city of Pokhara, you may exchange a pen for a beaded bracelet!
- Pin Keh, Malaysia