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People here consider immigration and expat question out of reach. But then I saw the following question: "How to use sink with separate hot/cold taps?." How is this travel related, more then immigration and expat questions? If it was really an oddity of ireland, it might have made sense to be a travel question. But it is not. These sinks are just antiques and you will find them worldwide.

So this is why I would ask, when is a question travel related?

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  • They're not antique in Australia. Though maybe everyone has mixer taps now as I've heard them called. I remember being impressed by them the first time I saw them in California in 1989.
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 21:11

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That question falls under the ambit of . I don't see why it is any different from How to avoid drinking vodka? or Clothing restrictions when visiting mosques. The question about sinks is totally on-topic as it is something even a short-term traveller to a country that adopts two-tap sinks will encounter. I have only ever encountered such separate taps in Europe; it's very uncommon in Asia to find taps which don't have combined hot-cold water outlet. Culturally, it's more common to find plugholes for filling up sinks in Europe / 'Western-world'. In parts of Asia, washing your hands in plugged sink is 'unthinkable' because they are considered 'dirty' from being spat upon. So for a traveller coming in from Asia, this is a legitimate local custom question to ask.

Another potential question I can think along these lines is 'How to use a squat toilet?' - it is highly likely a traveller from countries which don't have similar toilets will want to know, erm, what the local customs are.

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  • Haven't we asked how to use those toilets yet? I've been Asia plenty of times and I still can't use them. Hell I'm in Asia now and I can't use them! Anyone who has tried to pull their pants down to their ankles and then squat will realize their pants are now not in a place likely to stay clean. What's the secret??
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 21:10
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    Nope, it hasn't been asked yet. Maybe you should!
    – Ankur Banerjee Mod
    Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 22:44
  • Well dammit I want to know and I need to know and they're not always clean enough to use one of my workarounds and there's usually no hook to use my other workaround so the truth needs to be told! (It might also prevent a weekend slump)
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 22:56
  • You can't not have seen this, but just to keep everything nicely linked and webby, I give thee "OK we're all adults here, so really, how on earth should I use a squat toilet? "
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 28, 2011 at 7:52
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I think this is a good question, and I'll tell you what I think immediately upon reading this, reserving the right to change my mind upon further reflection. :)

I'm not sure that the sink question is exactly a travel question, but immigration and expat questions are, to me, not in the scope of a travel site because they imply a semi-permanent or permanent move. Travel implies a (usually relatively short) temporary visit to a new place, whereas expatriates or immigrants are moving their entire lives to their new location. (I know that "expat" is a term used for people who temporarily move as well as people who are permanently residing in a different country, but it still implies a greater level of commitment to me than simply traveling.)

There's also a bit of discussion about immigration in "How can we nip immigration questions in the bud?" and expats in "Expat questions.

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  • where do you find your definition of "travel" to be "a temporary visit to a new place". It certainly isn't the case on Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel
    – EdmundYeung99
    Commented Feb 19, 2013 at 0:43

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