I would say a qualified 'yes'.

The more I travel, the more I come to the opinion that people are fundamentally the same, and that the differences, while forming the interesting, fun part of travel, are largely superficial and habit-based. I see more diversity among my friends and neighbours than I do when travelling (admittedly, I live in South London), so when 'doing like the Romans', I always wonder what that means.

If it means learning a little language, learning the most important customs, and taking advantage of all the little things (esp food and drink) that make the place interesting, then absolutely. But if it means forcing yourself into acting in a way that fits with an ill-conceived stereotype of that country's people... Then absolutely not.

There can be a kind of inverse snobbery among certain groups of travellers with respect to 'seeing the real x' or 'acting like a local', 'doing what the locals do'. First off, the assumption that 'locals' all act the same and all prefer to eat in cheap, back-street restaurants is rather patronising. And the relentless quest for authenticity quite often leads to little but those trying to sell an archetype to the Lonely Planet crowd, looking authentic, but being actually as genuine as the Starbucks in the Hilton up the road.

I will act out of respect. I will take advantage of whatever I can. I went to Uzbekistan, I bowed with my hand on my heart, I drank tea cross-legged on a bedframe, I ate plov and shashlik. That's a great part of travellilng. Pretending to be something I'm not, or seeking out something that doesn't exist... No, I didn't do that.