I boarded the train in Thailand to find a medium sized child (say 9 or 10 or 11) sitting in my seat. I smiled at the child, as his mother called him back to his rightful seat. I would have done the same at his age: wandering around the train carriage to get different views of the world from the train windows.

Ah this picture of exotic travel, domestic bliss and happy reminiscing was shattered when I found “the monster” before vacating my seat had carefully left his freshly chewed gum carefully along the side of his seat. Now I was covered in sticky saliva remnants of a child’s mastications. Gross!

I am assuming it was an accident.  The boy kept staring at me as if to see what I would do while chewing fresh gum. When he got off he respectfully “wei” ed the passenger sitting next to me and pointedly ignored me! Guilt or embarrassment?

Bearing in mind, neither his mother or he spoke any English, what would you have done? Ignored the situation? Complained? Laughed?

Welcome to travel!