I forgot to mention a trick that has worked well for me in overcrowded situations. Remember the old days when you went Christmas shopping at brick-and-mortar stores? Many people thought that was a dreadful experience, and so did I.
One day I was at a crowded mall and suddenly a "crazy" thought popped up: what if I became numb to the hordes around me by thinking of them as bushes, shrubs, or trees. After all, when you walk through a forest you aren't reduced to a nervous wreck.
So what is the difference between shrubs and people? All I had to do was renounce certain traditional thoughts such as humans as sentient beings with free moral agency. Actually, this was quite easy.
Once you have become numb and neutral about the hordes around you, you can relax. Don't make eye contact with anybody. Never initiate a conversation.
If somebody asks you a question, you can politely smile at them, try to answer their question in three or four words, crack a little joke, and sneak out of the encounter gracefully.
This is the perfect approach toward tourist areas in Coluh-raduh.
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| Mark of Gideon, Star Trek, the Original Series |
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