During my first week in Thailand I went to a restaurant near Khaosan Road and ate green curry. It cost thirty-nine baht. At this stage I was still fairly green myself and I had yet to suss out the tipping situation. I was under the impression that forty baht was a lot of money so I paid with two twenties and went on my way, leaving what I thought was a respectable tip: one baht.

Later it occurred to me that the waiter probably didn’t even realize it was a tip. Something similar happened in Bali. My girlfriend and I were clueless as to the value of rupiah (far too many zeros) and we ended up giving a thousand-rupiah tip to the bellboy, which I think works out about 10 baht.

In Thailand I usually tipped any shrapnel (coins) handed back or else 20 baht. The main places to tip are restaurants and bars. I wouldn’t usually tip after buying a bottle of beer, but might have for a bottle of whiskey. Vendors of street food don’t expect tips, but most restaurants do. I hate being given change in one of those folding wallets, but there’s no escaping them.

In Dili I’m faced with a tipping dilemma: do you or don’t you? The issue seems to be a point of contention in expat circles. Some people tip at every opportunity while others see this as setting up a level of expectation from foreigners. I’ve already seen that, like the Thais, the Timorese see foreigners as rich. I don’t know if there is any level of resentment.

So far I haven’t being tipping in Dili. I don’t think it’s expected and I don’t want it to be. It seems common only in the Western bars and restaurants out here and therefore tipping is reserved only for expats and foreigners, which I think is ludicrous.

The best tip I was ever given while working as a barman in Sheffield was seven pounds. It was given to me by an extremely drunk girl who’d recently been paid some kind of loan, possibly her student loan. I should have declined the tip, but I was saving for my travels and wanted the money. The girl then stalked me for about two weeks and even turned up at my house one night. The life and times of Matt Crook.

What do other people think about tipping?