Random Stories From Backpacking in Prague: The Kindness of Strangers

I’ve always been wary of people. Especially as an immigrant kid in Vancouver who never quite fit in. Remember that Canada during the 70-80s was not overrun with Asians like it is now. I grew up being called “Mr Kung Fu man”. 

Sure I was friendly and social and hung out with everyone. But I had so many interests that were seen as weird or uncool. Collecting and reading lots of books, especially history/sci-fi & westerns, loving Japanime and comic books. I was kind of a geek and hated most sports except for the martial arts I took. So I think many people were surprised that I ended up doing a long backpack trip after graduating from University. 

I spent half a year traveling through Europe and used Prague as a base for 2 months while I explored the region. I took this wariness on people with me on the trip. Especially after I got attacked by  some neo-Nazi skinhead locals. That knocked the Canadian naivety out of me. 

But in reflection, overall I had great experiences with people during that trip. Especially on that first leg in Prague. Many of them were super random. 

There was an European expat guy I met on flight, who kindly drove me from the airport to the subway station because he knew I had no money. 

There was the Chinese mother and daughter living in Prague who saw me by myself in the park and invited me over for a home cooked dinner and showed me around the city. This became a very regular occurrence during my entire time there. 

There was a group of 5 older and much bigger Australian guys who took me under their wing after they heard of the skinhead attack on me. They were protective of me for the 2 weeks we hung out and it was especially meaningful to me as I was feeling quite unsafe at that time. We had a great time hanging out, drinking, partying and camping in the forests of the Czech Republic. Maybe this is why I like Aussies so much to this day. 

Or the night me and a few other residents ended up consoling a fellow backpacker, a young Indian American girl who had her family heirloom and stuff stolen by a fellow backpacker. We took her for drinks and food and stayed up late talking with her and trying to make her feel better. 

I’ve experienced countless little and not so little kindnesses by people during my time there and since then too. 

It’s interesting how quickly bonds and tribes form, even in a nebulous community of foreign backpackers in a youth hostel. People are social creatures. We are hardwired for this. 

And what I found is that most people are good and want to do good. I’ve traveled all over the world in the 28+ years since then and this experience seems to hold true in most places, situations, organizations and countries I’ve been in. This gives me hope in our world and future.