Beggars
Being in Lhasa one does not notice it so much, but Tibet really has quite a lot of beggars (not counting monks' alms here!) - and the more you go to south-west along the Friendship Highway, the more noticeable it is. Kids, men, women, old people - we've seen everybody at it. They can even come into the restaurant while you're eating - anything goes. In a restaurant, quite unexpectedly, it's often food they want - given the huge (for me) portions people get served, most people will usually be quite happy to give them some of it when approached. There's plenty of advice out there as to whether one should or should not give money. With kids (who tend to be the most persistent), we've bought some sweets & pens to hand out, which seemed to work well enough. That said, if you'd rather donate to an organised charity and are having a hard time to shake beggars off, the only trick we've found...
