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When I travelled through South America quite extensively I found the Ecquadorians were much more brazen about theft than people in some other countries. The mom
by rosege 9y ago
When I travelled through South America quite extensively I found the Ecquadorians were much more brazen about theft than people in some other countries. The moment I wasnt looking at a bag when on a bus they were going through it. I had an old laptop stolen while asleep even though the bag was right at my feet - think they must have come under the chair somehow - though they missed the cash in there. The next time I was on a bus I put my backpack above my head - the only thing in it was some spare batteries for the laptop - I just wanted to see if it would happen on this bus too - and sure enough it did - I could see them trying to be sly about it - but I just let them have those since they werent any good to me now anyway.
- username223 9y agoHaving just been to Ecuador, and ridden my share of buses, I saw nothing of the kind. The other bus riders just seemed to be people who were also hot, crowded, and wanting to reach their destinations. Then again, I kept my backpack on my lap, between my legs, or in the luggage compartment under the bus, just like I would anywhere.
- totalZero 9y agoDepends where you go, and how you act. In the Amazon part of the country and in Galapagos, it's hard to find crime, but in Guayaquil, it's sometimes unavoidable. Many Ecuadorian people are comfortable about stealing from Americans, or ripping them off, and there's a sense of "these Americans won't miss it." Partly, this idea is imposed by the government, which charges different prices for some services (including airfare) to Europeans, Canadians and Americans. I've encountered (and sometimes lost money to) attempted ripoffs by taxi drivers, laundry services, restaurants, and even a surgeon. Yet I haven't had much stuff stolen from me in Ecuador, and in fact a local acquaintance felt so bad to see me lose the only item that was stolen, she bought me a replacement.
- chatmasta 9y ago> and there's a sense of "these Americans won't miss it." To be fair, they’re probably right. Besides, if you’re traveling in Central America with any more than the bare necessities, you deserve to get robbed. At least you should assume all your belongings could be taken from you at any time.
- pc86 9y agoTIL traveling within a huge multicultural region of the world with anything more than a single change of clothes and a toothbrush means I deserve to get robbed.
- psyc 9y agoTypically when someone says you "deserve" such a thing, they mean "you will learn a hard lesson." They aren't impugning your morals, but your judgment.
- pc86 9y agoGP replied after you, they definitely mean morally.
- chatmasta 9y agoIf you view it as flaunting first-world wealth while you’re exploiting a developing nation for its tourism, then you might make the argument that you morally deserve to get robbed.
- pc86 9y agoIf you believe people in any circumstance morally deserve to have their property stolen by threat of bodily harm (or even without) you're a pretty sad excuse for a human being. I guess it would be better if tourism didn't exist and rural Mexico continued being cripplingly poor?