On a business trip to India, a colleague of mine arrived at the airport in Delhi.

He took a taxi to his hotel, where his hospitable Indian host greeted him.

The cab driver requested the equivalent of eight dollars U.S. for the fare, which seemed reasonable, so my friend handed him the money.

But the host grabbed the bills and initiated a verbal assault upon the cabby, calling him a worthless parasite and a disgrace to their country for trying to over-charge visitors.

The host threw half the amount at the driver and told him never to return.

As the taxi sped off, the host gave the remaining bills to my colleague and asked him how his trip had been.

"Fine," the businessman replied, "until you chased the cab away with my luggage in the trunk."