I have no particularly aggressive tipping requests to share, but have had the "strong, silent and waiting" presentation by many masseuses, taxi drivers, rickshaw drivers, bellboys, etc.

Always interesting to read a tip thread. Reminds me again that even though I think the FT crowd is typically a well-traveled and discerning bunch, it is anything but a monolith. When I read that a poster doesn't follow (or care to try to follow) a custom, I wonder if such poster fails to follow custom anywhere. I suppose it's difficult at times to discern what is customary but even our flyertalk handy guide says 15-20% in the US for dining out.